Dallas Stars Norris Race: Can John Klingberg Catch Up to Morgan Rielly?

The Dallas Stars are playing the Leafs tonight, and it’s going to be a faceoff between two defensemen who are potential Norris candidates this season.

Both John Klingberg and Morgan Rielly could be on the receiving end of quite a few votes come April, but how likely is it that the Dallas Stars might be adding a new trophy to the case at the American Airlines Center?

At this point, it’s hard to say, since there’s a lot of the season left to play, but Rielly looks like the favorite between them at this point.

Sure, Klingberg has one more goal, but Rielly’s ahead in most aspects at this point in the season.

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Rielly’s got 15 points to Klingberg’s 11, and 39 shots over Klingberg’s 30. Rielly has a higher point share, both offensively and defensively, and he’s at a +4, where Klingberg is at a -1. He’s also doing all that in less average ice time per night.

That difference in plus/minus a bit misleading and it’s largely because of Klingberg’s power play work. He’s an amazing asset for the Stars on the power play, but that doesn’t count in this stat. Klingberg’s getting almost an extra minute of power play ice time per game on average. That means he’s on the ice helping more when he can’t be adding to his plus/minus, whether he gets a point on the goal or not.

Almost half of Klingberg’s points are from the power play, including 2 goals. Rielly’s got 7 assists on the power play as well, but he’s not the same difference maker that Klingberg is with the extra man.

Last season, Klingberg finished sixth place in Norris voting. He also finished sixth in 2015-16. Rielly’s never been on the receiving end of votes, but he’s making a case for himself this year.

Rielly is tied with Brent Burns for most points by a defenseman in the league right now. Norris voting has typically favored offensive defensemen in recent years, so that’s a plus for Rielly in this race.

With that said, Klingberg did well offensively last year and earned votes, but his numbers are even better so far this season. He’s tied with John Carlson for most goals by a defenseman this season, and he’s tied with Alexander Radulov for most goals on the Stars roster.

Rielly looks like the favorite between the two of them right now, but they’re also not the only candidates.

Burns will probably have his name in the conversation again this year after winning in 2016-17. His new teammate, Erik Karlsson, already has two Norris trophies as well, but he’s not been playing like a Norris candidate so far this season.

Victor Hedman won last year, but he’s injured right now and will miss 3-4 weeks. Depending on how he recovers, he could still struggle even when he returns if he’s not at 100%.

Kris Letang‘s offensive numbers are looking similar to Klingberg’s right now, and he could potentially be a finalist for the first time since 2012-13. Ryan Suter‘s numbers are also similar, and he’s had Norris votes in each of the last nine seasons, so it’s hard to imagine him not getting at least some discussion by April.

Realistically, with so many good defensemen around the league, it’s hard to predict with confidence that Klingberg will be a favorite for the Norris by the end of the season. However, he’s keeping up and doing what he needs to so far this season.

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If he keeps doing that and pushing his game to the next level, he’s got a good chance of being a finalist, especially if the Stars can find their way back to the playoffs.

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