Dahlin's 74 points (19 goals, 55 assists) in 77 games ranked sixth in the League among defensemen and were a career high. He led the Buffalo Sabres in even-strength goals (13), even-strength points (52), power-play goals (six), power-play points (22) and ice time per game (24:11). The 27-year-old captain led the team in takeaways (32), was second with 67 hits and fifth with 79 blocked shots.
He helped the Sabres to a 50-23-9 record and 109 points, their most wins and points since the 2006-07 season. Buffalo won its first division title since 2009-10 and earned its first playoff berth since 2010-11.
A first-time Norris finalist, Dahlin would be the first Sabres player to win the award. He was also named a finalist for the Masterton Trophy, awarded for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey, on Monday.
A finalist for the sixth season in a row, Makar is a two-time winner (2021-22, 2024-25) and is looking to become the 10th player to win the award at least three times. The 27-year-old was third among defenseman in points with 79 (20 goals, 59 assists) in 75 games for the Colorado Avalanche, the third straight season and fourth time in five he's scored at least 20 goals. He averaged 24:51 of ice time per game and was plus-32, finishing third in power-play points among defenseman with 29.
Makar helped Colorado win the Presidents' Trophy for having the best record in the NHL (55-16-11) as well as the William M. Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals in the NHL (197 excluding shootout goals), and finish first with a plus-99 goal differential. He averaged 1:57 of short-handed ice time per game for Colorado, which finished first in the regular season with a penalty kill rate of 84.6 percent.
Werenski was second in scoring at the position with 81 points (22 goals, 59 assists) in 75 games for the Columbus Blue Jackets, finishing tied for third in goals by a defenseman. He led defensemen in shots on goal (260) and his 1.08 points per game were second among defensemen behind Evan Bouchard of the Edmonton Oilers (1.16). Werenski was second in the NHL in ice time per game (26:37) behind Quinn Hughes of the Minnesota Wild (27:44). The 28-year-old led the team with 3:02 of ice time on the power play and also played 1:13 per game short-handed.
A finalist for the second straight season, Werenski was runner-up last season and is looking to become the first Blue Jackets player to win the award.
