2022-23 NHL futures: Best bets to win the Norris Trophy

The 2022-23 NHL season begins in less than a month. That means it's time to ramp up our preview content and focus on many of the prominent futures markets, such as player awards.

Let's take a closer look at how the Norris Trophy market is shaping up and where the value might lie.

Note: Only listed players +8000 or shorter.

Cale Makar (+150)

You can't talk about the Norris without mentioning Cale Makar. He recorded a 28-goal, 86-point campaign and led all NHL blue-liners in goals above replacement. Makar is more than competent defensively, and he's a one-man breakout who dominates the puck and creates something out of nothing in virtually every shift.

While the Colorado Avalanche did lose some quality pieces this offseason, Makar will still be a big-minute player on what should remain an elite team. He'll quarterback perhaps the NHL's top power play featuring Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Gabriel Landeskog. He's going to put up a ton of points once again while impacting play all over the ice.

So long as he stays healthy, he deserves to be the favorite.

Miro Heiskanen (+2000)

Having quickly established himself as one of the best defenders in the sport, Heiskanen is poised for a monster year with the Dallas Stars. He's so good at neutering opposing offenses with fantastic gap control, positioning, and stick work - including in transition.

Heiskanen is also a fantastic puck-rusher who can transport it out of trouble and safely into the offensive zone. He sees the ice well, can create looks for teammates, and facilitates a lot of what the Stars do - even though the point totals don't necessarily suggest it.

With John Klingberg out of the mix, more offensive responsibility will fall on Heiskanen's plate. If he can convert those opportunities into more points while remaining stout defensively, we could easily be looking at a 50-plus point defender who controls play at both ends of the rink. There's real value at this price.

Dougie Hamilton (+5000)

As reluctant as people are to admit it, you need to have high offensive outputs to have a real shot at winning the Norris.

Any contender probably needs at least 50 points, if not 60, to really have a chance. That's one of the reasons Hamilton screams value at +5000.

While he's coming off a down season with the New Jersey Devils, he was in and out of the lineup with injuries all season long and never really got healthy. It was a write-off of a year.

Hamilton has proven in the past he can put up points in bulk. From 2019-21, he put up 82 points in 102 games. That equates to 65 per 82. He also posted fantastic underlying metrics and was better defensively than given credit for.

If he can get back to his usual self on a talented and young Devils team featuring ever-improving talents like Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Jesper Bratt, he could be a serious threat.

Drew Doughty (+8000)

Doughty has everything you look for when betting the Norris Trophy market. He's a marquee name, plays in all situations, produces offense, and his team should be good. Attaching a +8000 price tag to his name feels egregious, to say the least.

Take last season, for example. Doughty put up 31 points in 39 games prior to suffering a year-ending injury. That's a 65-point pace over a full season, which, along with strong defense, is more than enough to warrant consideration for the Norris.

The Los Angeles Kings - led by their five-on-five dominance - were also a playoff team despite playing more than half the season without their best defenseman.

With Doughty healthy and a much-needed dynamic element added up front with the acquisition of Kevin Fiala, the Kings should win more games in 2022-23 - and score more goals along the way.

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.