The Vancouver Canucks captain became the first defenceman in franchise history to be nominated for the Norris Trophy.
The Vancouver Canucks captain became the first defenceman in franchise history to be nominated for the Norris Trophy.
Quinn Hughes' historic season added a new chapter on Wednesday when he became the first Vancouver Canucks defenceman nominated for the James Norris Memorial Trophy. Hughes, who led all defenders with 92 points, is expected to take home the prestigious award, which would make him the tenth player in the franchise to be recognized with a year-end award. While he has only played 365 regular-season games for the Canucks, he has exceeded expectations and can now be called the greatest defenceman in franchise history.
Hughes' name can be found all over Vancouver's records book. He sits tied for second in assists (290) and second in points (333) by a defenceman all-time and should smash those records in 2024-25. Hughes also owns the top three entries for both assists and points in a season by a defenceman and is the only player outside of Henrik Sedin to record 70+ assists in a season. This season, Hughes also set a new plus/minus franchise record of +38, beating out Christian Ehrhoff's and Daniel Sedin's previous record of +36.
As of the playoffs, Hughes has already joined an exclusive list in the NHL history books. He became the seventh defenceman in NHL history to record 20 playoff points in their first 20 playoff games and currently sits with 21 in 22 games. As for his 21 career points, that ranks seventh in franchise history by a defenceman, while his 16-point performance in 2020 is the most ever by a Canucks defender in a single postseason. With five assists so far, he should continue the all-time points list and, with a significant run, could find himself in the top three on Vancouver's all-time postseason points list by a defenceman.
While the Canucks have had high-end defencemen like Alex Edler, Jyrki Lumme, Mattias Öhlund, Ed Jovanovski and Dennis Kearns, none have had as big of an impact on the Canucks as Hughes. According to Hockey Reference, Hughes had the fourth-highest "Point Shares" total in the league at 14.4, ranking behind only Nathan MacKinnon, Nikita Kucherov and Austin Matthews. As for his "Defensive Point Shares," which is an estimate of the number of points contributed by a player due to his defence, his 6.5 total ranked first among all players in the top 25 for overall Point Shares. Some names in the top 25 include Roman Josi, Cale Makar, Adam Fox, Victor Hedman and Josh Morrissey, showing just how strong Hughes has been defensively this season.
Overall, Hughes' 2023-24 campaign will go down as one of the best seasons by an individual in franchise history. He showed that he can control the game in the offensive better than any other defenceman in the league and led by example in his first year as Vancouver's captain. While he still has a long career ahead of him, he has already emerged as the greatest defenceman in Canucks history. If he can continue this level of production over his career, he should find his jersey hanging from the rafters after he retires.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.
Canucks Playoff Performance Bolstered by Zadorov's Big Blue Line Presence
Abbotsford Canucks Fall 3-1 To Ontario Reign In Game 1
Canucks To Hold Game 6 Viewing Party At Rogers Arena
Canucks Assign Vasily Podkolzin To Abbotsford Ahead Of Second-Round Matchup With Ontario
Canucks Quinn Hughes Named Norris Trophy Finalist
Canucks Phil Di Guiseppe Talks' Quiet Desperation' Of Staying In Playoff Lineup
