Canucks defenceman Quinn Hughes not named Norris Trophy finalist… yet

Just as we had to with Elias Pettersson when it came to the Selke Trophy and Lady Byng Trophy, we bring not-so-great news with regard to the Norris Trophy.

And that’s because, on Thursday evening, the National Hockey League unveiled the top three finalists for the James Norris Trophy, awarded to the league’s best all-around defenceman.

The finalists named were Erik Karlsson, Adam Fox, and Cale Makar.

Hughes tied with Winnipeg’s Josh Morrissey for the second-highest point total, trailing just Karlsson, who put up 101 points and is going to win the award in all likelihood. Of the three finalists, Makar was the only one who logged more time on ice per game than Hughes.

Fox is the only finalist who Hughes had a higher points per game rate than, as Makar tallied 66 points through the 60 games he played this season.

This is all to say that while Hughes didn’t make the top three this season, he’s right there and it will be interesting to see where he stacks up in the eyes of the members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association — who voted on the award — when the full ballots are released. Hughes picked up Norris votes last season, finishing 13th overall after picking up two fourth place votes and three fifth place votes.

The defenceman took his game to another level this year, and is bound to move up from 13th place. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising to find out that he only narrowly missed out on being named a finalist. Finishing fourth or fifth this year would be a massive jump from 13th and is certainly something Hughes is deserving of.

As the Canuck blue liner’s reputation grows around the NHL and as more and more out east become familiar with his game, the 23-year-old’s Norris Trophy consideration should only increase with each season, just like it did this year.

Stephan Roget laid out Elias Pettersson’s Selke case earlier today, and we’ll certainly have something in the coming days expanding on Hughes’ case for the Norris, and where he truly stacks up against the three rearguard who were named finalists this evening. Read Stephan’s piece on Pettersson by clicking here.