Dahlin’s 74 points (19 goals, 55 assists) in 77 games ranked sixth in the League among defensemen and were a career high. He led the Buffalo Sabres in even-strength goals (13), even-strength points (52), power-play goals (six), power-play points (22) and ice time per game (24:11). The 27-year-old captain led the team in takeaways (32), was second with 67 hits and fifth with 79 blocked shots.
He helped the Sabres to a 50-23-9 record and 109 points, their most wins and points since the 2006-07 season. Buffalo won its first division title since 2009-10 and earned its first playoff berth since 2010-11.
“For me, it means a lot,” Dahlin said. “We grinded for a lot of years, and finally the team has success. And when the team is having success, you usually get individual success, too. So, it’s unreal. It’s cool.
“I think that’s the type of person I am. I don’t think I’m ever satisfied, and I want to get better every day. And when you have that, success kind of comes to you. You’ve just got to make sure every single day’s important, and you’ve got to make sure you bring your best, even though you’re not feeling great that day or whatever. But if you have that hunger, good things come.”
A first-time Norris finalist, Dahlin would be the first Sabres player to win the award. He was also named a finalist for the Masterton Trophy, awarded for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey, on Monday.
“Very well deserved,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “A huge part of our team and the reason why we got to where we got to. A lot of times when the game’s on the line and we need offense, he’s there. He’s been a guy that, with him and Mattias Samuelsson, that have played against all the top lines, night in, night out. He’s got a physicality to him that makes it really tough on the opposition. Hard guy to play against. So I think it’s really well deserved.”
A finalist for the sixth season in a row, Makar is a two-time winner (2021-22, 2024-25) and is looking to become the 10th player to win the award at least three times. The 27-year-old was third among defenseman in points with 79 (20 goals, 59 assists) in 75 games for the Colorado Avalanche, the third straight season and fourth time in five he’s scored at least 20 goals. He averaged 24:51 of ice time per game and was plus-32, finishing third in power-play points among defenseman with 29.
“I asked him today how many he’s been nominated for and he didn’t even know,” Avalanche forward Logan O’Connor said of Makar. “Once you get to that point, I mean, I didn’t know it was six but that’s pretty remarkable. He’s the best D-man in the world and being on the same team as him has been remarkable to watch. What he brings to the rink every day as a leader, a person, a friend, he’s massive for our locker room. Just the way he goes about it with his humbleness is pretty unbelievable to watch. He’s just a great guy to be around. You wouldn’t know he’s a world-class player, best D-man in the world, just being around him. He’s super humble, just does his own thing. He’s been the man.”
Makar helped Colorado win the Presidents’ Trophy for having the best record in the NHL (55-16-11) as well as the William M. Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals in the NHL (197 excluding shootout goals), and finish first with a plus-99 goal differential. He averaged 1:57 of short-handed ice time per game for Colorado, which finished first in the regular season with a penalty kill rate of 84.6 percent.
“When you have a No. 1 guy that is on power play, penalty kill, eats all the biggest minutes when you’re trailing, when you’re leading, and you’re playing in all those situations, that’s, to me, what a No. 1 guy is and what the Norris is all about,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “So it’s not necessarily, for me, just about the points, but it’s about the way you defend, and how you keep the puck out of your net, I think, is equally as important, and he certainly does all of that for us, and he does it as consistent as anyone else in the League.”
Werenski was second in scoring at the position with 81 points (22 goals, 59 assists) in 75 games for the Columbus Blue Jackets, finishing tied for third in goals by a defenseman. He led defensemen in shots on goal (260) and his 1.08 points per game were second among defensemen behind Evan Bouchard of the Edmonton Oilers (1.16). Werenski was second in the NHL in ice time per game (26:37) behind Quinn Hughes of the Minnesota Wild (27:44). The 28-year-old led the team with 3:02 of ice time on the power play and also played 1:13 per game short-handed.
A finalist for the second straight season, Werenski was runner-up last season and is looking to become the first Blue Jackets player to win the award.
