One 'Shocking' Result From Norris Trophy Voting

We have a first-time winner of the Norris Trophy, with the Columbus Blue Jackets' Zach Werenski taking home the honors. Although many had Cale Makar as the favorite, the Jackets' elite two-way D-man taking the prize is no surprise to anyone. It follows up his runner-up showing last season.

But there was one "shocking" result as the Norris voting numbers were announced today. Rookie of the Year Matthew Schafer, the first unanimous recipient of the Calder Trophy in 33 years, finished a distant 12th —yes, 12th— in the Norris voting. Many observers around the sport are stunned at that, including insider Elliotte Friedman, as he told The Fan Hockey Show on Tuesday.

I am SHOCKED at Schaefer being 12th. He wasn't on my Top 5... but he could have been... I don't know, maybe people got trapped because they were voting for him for Rookie of the Year? I have no idea, but I'm shocked that he was only 12th.

The results show that the Islanders' generational blueline star got only three 4th-place votes and five 5th-place votes of the 194 ballots cast.

Is it possible that 186 of the voters didn't watch Matthew Schafer play this year?

The 18-year-old, who was the first overall selection in the 2025 NHL Draft, tied or shattered numerous records this season, as his transformational play helped the Islanders to a nine-point improvement in the standings from last year, and allowed the team to stay on the periphery of the playoff race down to the final week.

Let's break down the records Schaefer notched this season:

Goal Scoring Records

Most Goals (23) by an NHL Rookie Defenseman: Ties Hall of Famer Brian Leetch’s all-time record.
Most Goals by an 18-Year-Old Defenseman: Set an NHL record, surpassing Phil Housley's mark.
Youngest D-Man in NHL history with a 20-goal season
Islanders Franchise Records: Set the Islanders record for most goals and most points by a rookie defenseman.

Time-on-Ice Records

Most Single-Game Ice Time by a Teenager: Logged an incredible NHL record 31 minutes and 59 seconds of ice time in a single game on March 24, 2026. He was a +2 in that time on ice, and the Islanders had a ridiculous 36-9 margin in scoring chances over the Blackhawks when he was on the ice.
Youngest to Play 25+ Minutes: Became the youngest skater ever to log over 25 minutes in an NHL game, surpassing Sidney Crosby’s record

12th-best defenseman in the NHL, huh?

It's likely the last time that Schafer won't be at least a finalist for the award for a long time.