Strong argument to be made for Canucks star blueliner
Now that reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson no longer resides in the Pacific Division, it seems reasonable to suggest that Quinn Hughes can lay claim to the title of top blueliner in the division.
Based on points and Norris Trophy balloting last season, no other candidate finished ahead of Hughes who finished tied for second behind Karlsson with 76 points and wound up ninth in the Norris race.
The strongest competition for Hughes likely comes from Alex Pietrangelo who helped guide Vegas to a Stanley Cup in June. Although 33-years-old, the two-time Cup winner matched his career high with 54-points last season and added 10 more in the playoffs en route to the championship.
And it's impossible to ignore Drew Doughty who is still playing at a remarkably high level registering 52 points for the Los Angeles Kings last season. Like Pietranglo, Doughty is 33, but was second in the National Hockey League last season averaging 26:14 of ice time per game. Doughty has won a pair of Stanley Cups and was the Norris winner in 2015-16.
Vince Dunn had a breakout season in Seattle scoring 14 goals and adding 50 assists to finish tied for 10th in NHL scoring among blueliners. Dunn finished 11th in last season's Norris voting.
Others in the conversation perhaps, Calgary's Rasmus Andersson, Vegas' Shea Theodore, Edmonton's Darnell Nurse and Mathias Ekholm. All are good players and hold down key roles on their respective clubs, but no one in that group is at Quinn Hughes' level.
So really it seems like a three horse race between Hughes, Pietrangelo and Doughty.