intriguing theory: on choosing a minus player for the Norris

Apparently I suck at reading. When I looked up what the NHL's Norris trophy is, I found this: it goes to the

defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position

(Pierre Idiot Trudeau hasn't got time to listen to your bullshit.)

Now, I'd assume that demonstrating great all-round ability to play defense would mean that when you were playing, your team would not let the other team score much. But here comes Pierre LeBrun with an impassioned defense of an alternative position on the matter.

LeBrun: For a while, it appeared Lidstrom was going to run away with his seventh Norris Trophy in a cake walk, but hard-charging Visnovsky of the Ducks has made it quite a race with his league-leading 66 points among defensemen. We also point to his plus-15 rating. And that's where Lidstrom's detractors are pointing to, the Wings captain's minus-1 rating as of Wednesday morning. But I attribute that more to the team's defensive struggles this season and not the legend's own play.

Chara also deserves strong consideration, while Kris Letang, Yandle and Weber also have merit. In the end, I find myself vacillating between Lidstrom and Visnovsky. In the end, even at age 40, "The Perfect Human" still rocks.

Winner: Lidstrom.

So here we see that the plus/minus rating is apparently now not an individual statistic, but one "attribut[able] to [a] team". And that being great at playing defense doesn't mean your team doesn't get outscored when you're...playing defense.

(Bogdan von Pylon isn't just the president of Hair for Fops: he also dresses like a bike messenger.)

I am not shocked by this: as always, Down Goes Brown beat us to the punch:

Norris Trophy
Awarded annually to the defenceman adjudged to be Nicklas Lidstrom.

In other news, It's shopping time!

(Jew Grimson's hair makes me baffled and hostile.)

I believe you can tell a lot about a man just by looking into his face, the paint job of the soul. And I believe that none of these men should be paid a million dollars to do anything.

--Collision, playing for next year's contract...again