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At 35, Mark Giordano finally wins Norris Trophy

NHL Awards Hockey

Calgary Flames’ Mark Giordano poses with the James Norris Memorial Trophy, as top defenseman, after winning the honor at the NHL Awards, Wednesday, June 19, 2019, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

AP

The 2019 Norris Trophy goes to: Calgary Flames defenseman Mark Giordano. Giordano beat finalists Brent Burns (San Jose Sharks) and Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning).

Sometimes the wording of an award can provide some insight, or perhaps semantic debates, on an award, so note that the Norris Trophy is described as: “defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position.” Do with that, what you may.

Giordano, 35, didn’t have the instant transition into the NHL that, say, Hedman enjoyed. The 35-year-old went undrafted, and was playing in Russia as recently as 2007-08 before finally truly cementing his spot with the Flames starting in 2008-09. He’s been one of those “hidden gems” for some time, but he won’t slip under the radar any longer, as Gio is now a Norris Trophy winner.

As you can see the voting really dropped off after the top five, while John Carlson and Morgan Rielly weren’t that far from being in the top three.

norrisvoting

Hedman won the Norris Trophy in 2018, while Burns won in 2017, so they’re probably not too upset to see Giordano get his kudos.

James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.