When the NHL did their European player tour over the summer, Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiksanen served notice: he’s coming for the title of best defenseman in the league. “[The Norris Trophy is] one thing I really want to win,” he told NHL.com’s Dan Rosen. “I want to be the best defenseman in the NHL.”
As the Stars got training camp under way for the 2023-24 season, he was asked about that quote and how the reaction has been to it. While he didn’t opine on if anyone has said anything to him about making the public claim that he’s in the hunt for the Norris Trophy, given to the top defenseman in the league each year as voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, he stood squarely behind what he said earlier this summer.
“It’s true,” Heiskanen said. “I want to be the best if that’s possible. That’s what I’m here for and trying to do everything I can to make it possible. Work hard every day and that’s it.”
But what “best” in the entire NHL means can vary depending on who you talk to. For Heiskanen, it’s excellence on both sides of the puck. “I think it’s overall game. Of course, if you’re a great defenseman, I think you have to play great defense as well and score points. I think overall game is the biggest thing you need to have there.”
That particular definition doesn’t always jive with the NHLPA voter’s definition of Norris Trophy contenders. Over the past decade or so, the award has generally gone to the defenseman that has had among the highest point totals at that position without all that much consideration given to the defensive side of that player’s game.
Heiskanen acknowledged that points are a key component to winning over the voters, but it’s not his number one focus when he’s on the ice.
“For sure it’s important these days to score points as a defenseman too,” Heiskanen said. “It’s an important thing. But I think my first mindset is still the defending game. When I step on the ice, I want to be good defensively, and of course I want to score points, but defense first. After that, you can jump on offense and try to make things happen there.”
One thing that has helped defenseman get over the hump when it comes to the voters for the Norris is the hype of the player in seasons prior to winning it. In some ways, that trophy feels like a combination of “did this person score a lot of points?” and “do we know his name?” For Heiskanen, some of that recognition is coming across the league after the Stars went on a deep run to the Western Conference Final last year.
NHL Network ranked Heiskanen as the third best overall defenseman in the league behind only Cale Makar, who has won the Norris before, and Adam Fox, who has been in the conversation in years past. The Athletic ranked him in their player tiers as 2B, but felt that Heiskanen sacrificed some of his defensive prowess for more offense last year:
Heiskanen took a step back last season in what previously made him special enough. He actually contributed to fewer scoring chances at five-on-five (his increased production was power-play driven). He wasn’t as effective leading the breakout or jumping into the rush. He wasn’t as strong defending the line. And his defensive impact took a hit.
The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn, Sean Gentille, and Shayna Goldman
Based on Heiskanen’s comments, he seems pretty set on trying to prove to the league that he’s the best overall defenseman by playing a balanced game. Seemingly recognizing the step back he took at even strength last year, as pointed out by The Athletic, Heiskanen said he spent the offseason working on his shot to help score more goals from the Stars’ blueline.
“I’ve been working a lot on my shot, try to improve that,” Heiskanen said. “That’s probably the biggest on-ice thing to improve. I’ve been working on it and hopefully can score some more goals with it.”
Heiskanen set career-best marks in both assists (62) and points (73), and nearly matched his career-high 12 goals with 11 in last year’s campaign. If he’s been working on that shot to increase his goal-scoring, and with the Stars returning basically the entire roster this year in a system they have a full year’s worth of experience in, it seems rather attainable for Heiskanen to make his case for being the best in the NHL — on both sides of the puck.