Since Erik Karlsson was acquired by the San Jose Sharks, the blue line — when healthy, which has been exceedingly rare over the last few years — hardly had to wonder what it was like to not have a Norris-caliber defender on the ice. The pair of Karlsson and Brent Burns came with three Norris Trophies and hefty price tags, however, and on the wrong side of 30, that dream simply couldn’t last forever.
If you told anyone during the 2016 Cup run that this wouldn’t be Brent Burns’ blue line in 2022, they’d probably say something like, “Who are you and why are you telling me this?