Heiskanen hopes scoring, defense for Stars will lead to Norris Trophy

STOCKHOLM -- Miro Heiskanen is considered one of the top defensemen in the NHL, but he wants to be the best, and doing that means winning the Norris Trophy.

"That's one thing I really want to win," the Dallas Stars defenseman said at the NHL European Player Media Tour last week. "I want to be the best defenseman in the NHL."

Heiskanen finished seventh in Norris voting last season, his fifth in the League, after more than doubling his previous NHL high in points with 73 (11 goals, 62 assists) in 79 games. His previous best was 36 points (five goals, 31 assists) in 70 games in 2021-22.

"I kind of knew that it is there, that I can score more points and be more involved offensively," Heiskanen said. "I think I was able to put it all together. It didn't take away the defense by playing more offense."

But the 24-year-old got just one first-place vote (out of 196) for the Norris from members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. This despite finishing third in assists and tied for fifth in points among all NHL defensemen. He also played the third most minutes in the NHL (2,013:48) and was sixth in average ice time per game (25:29).

Erik Karlsson, then of the San Jose Sharks, won the Norris after becoming the first defenseman in 31 years to top the century mark in points with his 101 (25 goals, 76 assists). He was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Aug. 6.

Adam Fox (New York Rangers) was second in the voting, followed by Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche), Hampus Lindholm (Boston Bruins), Josh Morrissey (Winnipeg Jets) and Dougie Hamilton (New Jersey Devils).

Stars coach Peter DeBoer made his case for Heiskanen during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, saying a defenseman's entire game needs to be considered.

"The Norris is the best defenseman in the League, not just the highest-scoring defenseman in the League," DeBoer said. "He gets the toughest assignments every night shutting down the best players on the other team, killing penalties, on with a disadvantage 5-on-6 late in games, blocking shots. I think all those things should go into that bucket when you're picking that guy. I think Miro checks boxes in all those areas."

Heiskanen previously finished 12th in Norris voting in 2019-20 and 2021-22. He did not receive any votes for the Norris Trophy as a rookie in 2018-19 or in the 2020-21 season.

"It's the thing I want to win, but I don't think about it too much during the season," Heiskanen said. "It's like I always say, I try to help my team win the Stanley Cup, but if there is a chance to win the Norris Trophy as well that would be great. Hopefully next year."

Heiskanen helped the Stars finish second in the Central Division last season with 108 points (47-21-14), one point behind the Colorado Avalanche (51-24-7).

He had 12 points (one goal, 11 assists) in 19 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, helping the Stars reach the Western Conference Final, where they lost in six games to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights.

Heiskanen said he'd like to find ways to score more goals this season, which is why he's been focused on working on his shot during the offseason.

Though he took more shots last season (206) than he had in his previous four seasons, his shooting percentage was 5.3 percent, which was tied for 54th among 89 defensemen to take at least 100 shots on goal last season.

It was an improvement from his 3.2 percent shooting percentage in 2021-22, but a dip from his 6.6 percent from 2020-21.

"My shot feels stronger than what it was last year," he said. "It's been good so far. Hopefully it can help. I never had a great shot. It's been all right but that's something I have always wanted to get better. Now I've been working on it more than previous years. It's getting there."