Quinn Hughes has 20 assists in his first 19 games this season.
Quinn Hughes continues to etch his name into the NHL history books. On Wednesday, Hughes hit the 20 assist mark on the season despite only needing 19 games. Overall, it was the third time the Vancouver Canucks captain has recorded at least 20 assists in his first 20 games, with the other two times coming in 2022-23 and 2023-24.
A defenceman recording at least 20 assists in the first 20 games of a season is very rare in the NHL. It has happened only 39 times, meaning Hughes has accounted for 7.69% of those instances. Achieving the feat once is impressive, but three times puts Hughes in rarefied air.
Of the 19 defencemen who have recorded at least 20 assists in their first 20 games of the season, only five others have hit the milestone three or more times in their career. The five players are Bobby Orr, Paul Coffey, Phil Housley, Cale Makar and Denis Potvin. Orr leads all players with six, while Makar is tied with Hughes at three.
Hughes also continues to make his way up the all-time assist leader board for defensemen in NHL history. In his first 452 games, the 26-year-old has 370 assists, which already ranks 82nd overall. As for his rank in Canucks history, he sits in sixth place and is 40 away from Markus Näslund.
At this point, Hughes is on pace to become one of the best playing defensemen in NHL history. He has the 12th all-time among defenders for assists before turning 27, and still has 10 months to add to that total. If Hughes can keep up this production for another decade, he could find himself in the Hockey Hall of Fame once he retires.
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