Is It Time To Have The Evan Bouchard For The Norris Trophy Conversation?

It’s one of those philosophical questions, up there with whether a player from a non-playoff can win the MVP or whether a goalie can win the Vezina Trophy if he didn’t play more games than his backup.

Think about this for a second: if a team’s biggest is critique is their lack of defense, then can that same team have a defenseman win the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman?

We’re, of course, talking about Edmonton's Evan Bouchard, who is the highest-scoring defenseman in the NHL, while also playing on an Oilers team that has given up the fifth-most goals this year.

If you were to ask Oilers fans what is standing in the way of their team reaching the Stanley Cup final, most would say the defense. That’s why Edmonton traded for Connor Murphy on Monday and why GM Stan Bowman will probably try to acquire another defenseman before Friday’s trade deadline.

That’s not really Bouchard’s fault. And yet, when voters are filling out their Norris Trophy ballot, it will be interesting if they can separate the two.

On one hand, Bouchard is part of Edmonton's issues on the defensive end. On the other hand, he was the reason why the team came back and defeated the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.

"Ok everybody," tweeted former NHLer Jason Demers on X. "I agree it’s time we all sit down and have the Bouchard for Norris conversation. It’s becoming undeniable, and if you vehemently disagree with even considering the possibility. You don’t watch enough Edmonton Oilers games."

Demers' tweet came after Bouchard almost singlehandedly pulled the Edmonton Oilers from defeat on Tuesday night, where he assisted on the game-tying goal with 1:25 remaining in the third period, and then scoring in overtime on his patented "Bouch Bomb" in a 5-4 win against Ottawa.

"Yeah, I mean, he's as good as it gets in the league," Oilers center Leon Draisaitl told reporters of Bouchard, who has scored 49 points in 36 games since Dec. 1, the sixth-most among all NHLers. "He's up there with the (Cale) Makar, the (Quinn) Hughes. He does it his way. It might not be as flashy as those guys, but he gets it done, and he is one of the best defensemen in the league."

Which raises the question: what more does Evan Bouchard have to do to get his name on the Norris Trophy?

It's a question that might raise some eyebrows and get a few laughs.

Bouchard for the Norris Trophy? Forget about being one of the best defensemen in the league. On some nights — or some shifts — he isn't even one of the best on his own team. Yes, he scores and puts up a ton of points. But often, it comes at the expense of some temporary lapses of judgment that negate all the good that he does.

Against Ottawa, Bouchard was also on for three of Edmonton's goals. He was also on the ice for two of Ottawa's even-strength goals.

It's that Jekyll and Hyde quality to his game that kept Bouchard off Team Canada's Olympic roster, as well as the Norris Trophy ballot. 

Bouchard will never be mistaken for a defensive defenseman such as Carolina's Jaccob Slavin or even two-way defenseman like Columbus' Zach Werenski.

But in a league where defensemen are basically a fourth forward and are now measured by the offense they provide, it's difficult to suggest that Bouchard is not having a Norris Trophy-worthy year.

"I'm not saying he's better than Cale Makar," former NHLer Ryan Whitney said on the Spittin' Chiclets podcast. "Cale Makar is a better player. If you offer Evan Bouchard for Cale Makar, the Colorado Avalanche would legit might spit in your face. They legit would just laugh you out of the building. They're not even close. Cale Makar is a better player. This year, Evan Bouchard has been better.'

Let's start with the offense.

Two years ago, Bouchard finished fifth on the Norris Trophy ballot after having a breakout season where he was fourth among defensemen with 82 points, was fifth with 18 goals and tied for fifth with a plus-34 rating. 

This year, he's been arguably even better.

Bouchard leads all NHL defensemen with 71 points in 62 games. That's an 85-point pace, which would be the seventh-highest total by a defensemen in the past 30 years. Bouchard has six more points than Werenski, seven more than Colorado's Cale Makar and 10 more than Minnesota's Quinn Hughes.

That alone should make put him on a short list for an award that has gone to the top-scoring defenseman in each of the past three seasons.

Bouchard is also tied for fourth among defensemen with 18 goals. He is second in even-strength points, sixth in even-strength goals, tied for second in power play goals and is second in power play points.

Put simply, he has been one of the best offensive defensemen in the league this season. And for those who think he has been equally as bad in his own end, some of Bouchard's defensive stats might actually surprise you.

Bouchard has a plus-18 rating that puts him in the top-30 in that controversial category. He also ranks in the top-10 with 30 takeaways, and has blocked more shots than Werenski, Hughes and Buffalo's Rasmus Dahlin. 

Is he the best all-around defenseman? No. That honor would probably go to Werenski or Makar. 

However, as good as Werenski has been, the Blue Jackets are currently out of the playoff picture. And while Makar and Hughes are pretty much locks as Norris Trophy finalists, keep in mind that Makar is paired with Devon Toews and Hughes is paired with Brock Faber, who were both at the Olympics.

Bouchard, meanwhile, has been paired with Jake Walman. And yet, the Oilers might still end up finishing first in the Pacific Division, despite not having a legitimate No. 1 goalie and with a defense corps that is littered with holes.

"He's piling up the points and he's always fun to watch," former Oilers goalie Devan Dubnyk said on The Big Show this week. He looks like he's working his way toward playoff Bouch, which we'd like to see a little more of in the regular season. But playoff Bouch is a weapon."

When you put it that way, it might be difficult to keep Bouchard off the Norris Trophy ballot.