In this edition of the eDraft NHL Versus Series, we’ll compare the last two winners of the Norris Trophy. The award is given to the top defenseman in the NHL, but seems to have turned into the “highest scoring defenseman” award.

That being said, P.K Subban and Erik Karlsson are two of the best players in the NHL today. They are likely considered the top two fantasy defensemen available in your draft and should be considered accordingly. Depending on your drafting strategy, defensemen could go late in the first round or early in the second. With four slots on your roster to fill, it can’t be dismissed how important a top tier defenseman can be to your success or failure.

We’ll start by looking at Karlsson, the 2012 "king" of all defensemen. His 2013 season was abbreviated by your garden variety Achilles tendon slicing courtesy of Matt Cooke. Though he managed to miraculously return for the end of the regular season and Ottawa’s brief playoff run, Karlsson was running at around 75% capacity.

With a clean bill of health and a steely Swedish resolve to recapture his metaphorical championship belt, expect another huge offensive season from the Ottawa star. At 23-years old, Karlsson is no longer the defensive liability from his early years in the NHL. A combined minus-40 after his first two seasons, Karlsson became more responsible with the puck and more selective with his sojourns up the ice. The result was one of the most impressive individual performances by a defenseman since Nick Lidstrom’s glory days.

Ottawa will look to build on last year’s playoff run with another strong effort in their re-aligned Atlantic Division. With Jason Spezza, Craig Anderson, newcomer Bobby Ryan and a healthy Karlsson, the Senators could contend for a division crown. At the very least, expect a stat line from Ottawa’s top blue liner similar to the 2012 season.

Montreal was reborn last year due in large part to their top defenseman P.K. Subban and goaltender Carey Price. After drawing the ire of the passionate Montreal faithful during contract negotiations, Subban became the favorite son after posting his top statistical season. The Canadiens finished second in the Eastern Conference and won the Northeast Division. Subban and Montreal were bounced in the first round of the playoffs but the Habs announced that they were back as contenders in the east.

Individually, P.K. Subban has come miles from the raw, overzealous, turnover-prone defenseman with the maddening pile of talent. He was easy to love with his breakneck speed and laser of a shot, but would drive Montreal fans and management crazy with poor decision-making and immaturity. For the most part Subban has turned the corner on the professionalism and seems more committed than ever to do the right things on and off the ice.

Three months removed from his 24th birthday, we have only seen the beginning of P.K. Subban’s talents. While the Canadiens may or may not prove to be a paper tiger in the Eastern Conference, Subban is the real deal. At almost a point-per-game clip, Subban will surely be battling with rival Karlsson for statistical supremacy.

In the end I’m going to stick with Karlsson, and not because I’m partial to Swedish defensemen or his legendary flow. Ultimately it boils down to Karlsson playing for a better team. The quality of players in Ottawa will translate into better production for the Senators' trophy winner. It’s the narrowest of margins, but the nod goes to Erik Karlsson. By a hair. See what I did there?