Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard had 95 points and was not a Norris Trophy finalist. Critics will put down his defensive play, but the underlying metrics suggest something different.
As the NHL reveals the finalists for its annual awards, debate has naturally sparked over which players are best suited to take home some hardware.
The biggest debate came on Thursday when the league revealed its finalists for the Norris Trophy. Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard was left outside of the top three in favor of Cale Makar, Rasmus Dahlin and Zach Werenski.
While Bouchard has become one of hockey's most polarizing defenders, he was deserving of more consideration for this year's award after a remarkable 2025-26 campaign.
Bouchard's Offensive Dominance
Bouchard's raw offensive totals alone are worthy of being a finalist.
He led all blueliners with 95 points in 82 games to become the ninth defender in NHL history to score at least 20 goals and 95 points in a season. He had 14 more points than Werenski, the next-closest in the league.
Bouchard also led all defensemen in points at even strength with 60. That lead would have likely been challenged if Werenski (59), Dahlin (52) and Makar (50) had each played full 82-game seasons. But it does provide further evidence that Bouchard's offensive impact went beyond the power play, which has been a common misconception throughout his career.
Additionally, Bouchard ranked second in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) among defensemen this season at a 4.23 rating, which trailed only Werenski (4.56), according to hockeystats.com. Dahlin (2.3) and Makar (2.15) ranked 19th and 21st, respectively.
WAR is far from the definitive measure of a player's overall value, but it makes it even more puzzling to suggest that he isn't worthy of being a finalist for the award.
The last time the highest-scoring defensemen wasn't a finalist for the award was in the shortened 2020-21 season when Tyson Barrie finished with 48 points in 56 games as a member of the Oilers, while Adam Fox, Cale Makar and Victor Hedman were the finalists.
The last time it happened over an 82-game season was all the way back in 2010-11 as Lubomir Visnovsky of the Anaheim Ducks finished fourth in the voting behind Zdeno Chara, Shea Weber and winner Nicklas Lidstrom.
While most would agree the award should not be based solely on offensive contributions, there's a clear historical precedent that would suggest a 95-point campaign would be worthy of finishing in the top three.
Defensive Misconceptions
Bouchard may never be able to escape the narrative that he cannot defend well after putting together a frankly hilarious reel of defensive blunders over the past few seasons.
However, top defensemen who play nearly 25 minutes a night in all on-ice scenarios, possess the puck more than anyone and are relied on to drive plays, are bound to have turnovers in more than a few costly situations.
Even with this narrative that has followed Bouchard, the underlying metrics suggest there isn't a massive discrepancy in how opponents generated scoring chances against him compared to this year's finalists.
Click on the image for a closer look. Stats according to naturalstattrick.com.It also can't be understated just how detrimental the goaltending situation in Edmonton was to Bouchard's defensive metrics.
The combined save percentage of the Oilers' goaltenders during his minutes at 5-on-5 was .889, while each finalist for the Norris this year had a save percentage well above .900 from their netminders, according to naturalstattrick.com.
On top of being a valuable asset on the NHL's best power-play unit, Bouchard began contributing on the penalty kill as well.
While the team ultimately ranked 20th in the league while shorthanded, that was far from being Bouchard's fault alone. He led all Oilers defenders in total ice time while on the penalty kill and averaged significantly more minutes than Dahlin and Werenski when down a man.
Bouchard was deployed and trusted in key defensive situations far more frequently than he had been prior to this season, held his own and still managed to put up career offensive numbers.
So Why Wasn't Bouchard A Finalist?
It's possible that the stylistic difference in Bouchard's offensive creation has played a role in how those view his accomplishments this season.
He may not stand out the same way dynamic skaters like Makar, Dahlin, Matthew Schaefer or Lane Hutson do, but that doesn't mean he is any less effective.
Defensively, the public has seemingly made up its mind without acknowledging the context that goes into assessing a player's impact in their own zone on a nightly basis. It's an unfortunate reality for Bouchard that will hopefully change over time.
While Makar, Dahlin and Werenski put together incredible seasons worthy of acknowledgment from around the hockey world, it feels like Bouchard's overall body of work made a compelling case to finish as a finalist for this year's Norris Trophy.
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