Will this finally be the year Josh Morrissey gets the attention he rightfully deserves?
And with all due respect to a singular all-star selection he received two seasons ago, will the rest of the league and those who cover it ultimately be obliged to acknowledge the Winnipeg Jets defenceman’s elite presence in the game?
Specifically, we’re talking about being nominated for the Norris trophy – and possibly beyond that, winning it — because at this point in the season, the 29-year-old is putting together another career year, especially as he’s set to play his 600th game this Saturday in Florida.
Through 16 games, Morrissey is second in league scoring by a defenceman, slightly behind Colorado’s Cale Makar. He leads his team in ice time and shot blocks and plays every night against the opposition’s best. And as it was stated last evening on our 680 CJOB pregame show by a member of the New York media, Morrissey is the best defenceman in the league that nobody talks about.
Simply put, flying under the radar in this case is likely a cause of being cloaked on the Canadian Prairies and in the league’s smallest market, but that obscurity is drastically changing.
Sure, we’re only midway through November, and there’s 80 per cent of the schedule still to play out, but Morrissey’s contribution to the Jets’ record-setting start is undeniable, an impact that will assuredly earn him a spot on Canada’s Four Nations Cup team in February.
It is there where the rest of the league and hockey world will truly have a first-hand introduction to the player he is and the sway he has in the game as one of the NHL’s best rearguards – at both ends of the rink.
Of course, we might be less than 20 games in with plenty of hockey still to play – both league-wide and internationally – but might this finally be the year Josh Morrissey earns the attention and recognition of a Norris nomination, something he rightfully deserves?
