[ARTICLE] Canucks’ Quinn Hughes now the favourite to win the Norris Trophy as NHL’s top defenceman

[Elias Pettersson]

Canucks’ Quinn Hughes now the favourite to win the Norris Trophy as NHL’s top defenceman - CanucksArmy

 

Quinn Hughes is getting the attention he deserves for his hot start to the 2023-24 NHL season.

 

After starting the season with the fourth-best odds at taking home the James Norris Trophy by most oddsmakers, including our friends over at Betway, Hughes is now the favourite to win the award, given to the NHL’s “best all-around defenceman”.

 

Prior to puck drop on the season, Hughes sat behind Cale Makar, Adam Fox, and Miro Heiskanen on the Norris line. Makar was the favourite to win the award with +175 odds; Fox had +600 odds; Heiskanen +850; and Hughes with +900. This meant that while Makar was the favourite by a considerable margin, the gap between Fox, Heiskanen, and Hughes wasn’t that big.

 

Now, however, Hughes has skyrocketed up the Norris betting line, currently sitting in the top spot with +200 odds over at Betway. Sitting closely behind him with +250 odds is the original favourite to take home the hardware, Colorado Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar.

 

Some other names in the race are Rasmus Dahlin (+800), Adam Fox (+900), Dougie Hamilton and Miro Heiskanen (+1400), Erik Karlsson and Josh Morrissey at (+1800), and further down the list with the 15-best odds, Quinn’s youngest brother Luke, who is playing in his rookie campaign with the New Jersey Devils this season.

 

The eldest Hughes brother has been turning heads early on this season, and his ranking at the top spot of the Norris race is well-deserved. Currently, Hughes leads all defencemen in points and was second to only Canucks teammate Elias Pettersson in the league’s overall scoring race just a couple days ago. Now, Hughes is tied with his brother Jack and Rangers forward Artemi Panarin for third in league scoring with 20 points through his first 12 games of the year.

 

Aside from putting up the points, Hughes has been a defensive stalwart for the Canucks all season as well, and is making a strong early case as the Canucks’ most valuable player this season. Hughes has spent most of his time this season with Filip Hronek, who Hughes called the best partner he’s ever played with.

 

It will be interesting to see how long that partnership lasts, and even more interesting to see how long Hughes’ spot as the front-runner in the Norris Trophy race lasts.

[Miss Korea]

You hear that, brother Luke?  Filip is the best partner he's ever played with!

 

Now your failure is complete

 

[Kevin Biestra]

Completely under the radar is that Hronek is himself on pace to shatter the scoring record for a Canucks defenseman in a season.

[Jack Fig]

Maybe he will,maybe he won't.

But let's talk about the Here and Now: Huggy is the best player in the league at the moment. 

[Gawdzukes]

These articles are hilariously pathetic 12 games into the season. Are they going to write a knew one every 3 games?  lol

[kettlevalley]

https://detroithockeynow.com/2023/11/08/did-red-wings-give-nhls-best-defense-pairing-canucks-hughes-hronek-foote-yzerman/

 

Apparently they are going to have a new spin daily.  

[Sativika]

6 hours ago, Jack Fig said:

Maybe he will,maybe he won't.

But let's talk about the Here and Now: Huggy is the best player in the league at the moment. 

 

Not just Huggy but Petey, Mils, Flow, and Demmer are also making hockey news in their respective ways. It's great to have NHL experts and media types talking about our team. The organization as a whole has the respect it truly deserves.

[Jeremy Hronek]

9 hours ago, Miss Korea said:

You hear that, brother Luke?  Filip is the best partner he's ever played with!

 

Now your failure is complete

 

 

Still *way* too early.  

 

After Game 1, Brock Boeser was slated to be the next Wayne Gretzky.    

[Johnny]

8 hours ago, Gawdzukes said:

These articles are hilariously pathetic 12 games into the season. Are they going to write a knew one every 3 games?  lol

What a needless thing to say

 

Canucks players are being recognized for their strong play and you criticize that

 

go cheer for the the Oilers

[kettlevalley]

51 minutes ago, Jeremy Hronek said:

 

Still *way* too early.  

 

After Game 1, Brock Boeser was slated to be the next Wayne Gretzky.    

More like Greg Adam's.  

[Gawdzukes]

2 hours ago, Johnny said:

What a needless thing to say

 

Canucks players are being recognized for their strong play and you criticize that

 

go cheer for the the Oilers

 

I'll cheer for whoever I like thank you very much.

 

I just find picking the awards 12 games into the 82 season is a little premature don't you? It a little silly. That's like awarding the Vince Lombardi trophy after 2 NFL games. Awards like these are stupid anyway. It's a team game. An award voted on by as bunch of random dudes doesn't really mean much of anything as we've seen in the past.

 

Redrum redrum

 

I'am very happy he's doing well (on the ice) but this article is just a little dumb. Is there going to be a new article every time the odds at Betway changes? Talk about desperate for validation lol.

 

First of all we're talking about a bunch of old dudes who vote based on their personal opinion, second of all the actual vote is 70 games away, 3rd this isn't even about the vote, it's about another random bunch of old dudes speculating about who is is going to speculate about who is in their subjective opinion going to win an award that means absolutely nothing as far as the on ice product.

Edited November 9, 2023 by Gawdzukes

[IBatch]

1 hour ago, kettlevalley said:

More like Greg Adam's.  

Or Tony Tanti ... but yep agree.  Plus the Kettle Valley is some really, really nice country. 

[IBatch]

1 hour ago, Gawdzukes said:

 

I'll cheer for whoever I like thank you very much.

 

I just find picking the awards 12 games into the 82 season is a little premature don't you? It a little silly. That's like awarding the Vince Lombardi trophy after 2 NFL games. Awards like these are stupid anyway. It's a team game. An award voted on by as bunch of random dudes doesn't really mean much of anything as we've seen in the past.

 

Redrum redrum

 

I'am very happy he's doing well (on the ice) but this article is just a little dumb. Is there going to be a new article every time the odds at Betway changes? Talk about desperate for validation lol.

 

First of all we're talking about a bunch of old dudes who vote based on their personal opinion, second of all the actual vote is 70 games away, 3rd this isn't even about the vote, it's about another random bunch of old dudes speculating about who is is going to speculate about who is in their subjective opinion going to win an award that means absolutely nothing as far as the on ice product.

Absolutely nothing as far as in ice product is a little bit over the top.   Will agree not all trophies are the same though.   Gretzky's for example.   Can't compare his Hart trophies to 95% of those before or since.   Same with Orr's Norris trophies although Potvin, Park and Robinson were right there waiting for their turn as well.   It's also a little invalidating, to the writers who put their dues in, to get their beat.   The voting system is also pretty fair, equal West and East voters.     And in todays world anyone can watch anything whenever they want too.  

 

GMs voting in the Vezina winner is probably the silliest one.   But sure they are happy to do it. 

[Johnny]

2 hours ago, Gawdzukes said:

 

I'll cheer for whoever I like thank you very much.

 

I just find picking the awards 12 games into the 82 season is a little premature don't you? It a little silly. That's like awarding the Vince Lombardi trophy after 2 NFL games. Awards like these are stupid anyway. It's a team game. An award voted on by as bunch of random dudes doesn't really mean much of anything as we've seen in the past.

 

Redrum redrum

 

I'am very happy he's doing well (on the ice) but this article is just a little dumb. Is there going to be a new article every time the odds at Betway changes? Talk about desperate for validation lol.

 

First of all we're talking about a bunch of old dudes who vote based on their personal opinion, second of all the actual vote is 70 games away, 3rd this isn't even about the vote, it's about another random bunch of old dudes speculating about who is is going to speculate about who is in their subjective opinion going to win an award that means absolutely nothing as far as the on ice product.

Lets just never have any sort of projection journalism, no? Jeez

 

 

Reading positive things about the team I cheer for is welcomed any time of the year

 

Also included in the article are the odds for sports betting for those of us that take part

[Gawdzukes]

30 minutes ago, IBatch said:

Absolutely nothing as far as in ice product is a little bit over the top.   Will agree not all trophies are the same though.   Gretzky's for example.   Can't compare his Hart trophies to 95% of those before or since.   Same with Orr's Norris trophies although Potvin, Park and Robinson were right there waiting for their turn as well.   It's also a little invalidating, to the writers who put their dues in, to get their beat.   The voting system is also pretty fair, equal West and East voters.     And in todays world anyone can watch anything whenever they want too.  

 

GMs voting in the Vezina winner is probably the silliest one.   But sure they are happy to do it. 

 

Alright my post may have been a bit extreme ... but:

 

I was just trying to say is that the award means nothing in terms of helping obtain points for the Canucks. Most of these guys who win, and the better a player they are don't care near as much for an individual award as they do about their teammates, and winning hockey games and playoff rounds. I am 99.98% sure QH's would say the same.

 

It's a tad ironic. First of all everyone gets mad because they claim the East doesn't stay up to watch hockey and players like #43 get shafted in the award voting. Now all of the sudden we're apparently rejoicing because some third party is making a guess that these same bunch of so called Eastern people will prefer QH 70 games from now. Just seems lacking in consistency and substance.

 

I'm curious if that's across the board on all betting sites ... ah I guess they say most.

 

As far as Gretzky and Orr what do you mean specifically about not being able to compare? Are you saying they deserved it more without question?

 

Also, are you're saying you are one of the rare few who around here who think the voting is actually

fair?

 

It's all just a bunch of subjective fluff for myself, not that I think it's unfair it just don't matter imho. Cups and playoffs matter.

[Gawdzukes]

1 minute ago, Johnny said:

Lets just never have any sort of projection journalism, no? Jeez

 

 

Reading positive things about the team I cheer for is welcomed any time of the year

 

Also included in the article are the odds for sports betting for those of us that take part

 

Sorry didn't mean to come off so snooty. Read my reply to Ibatch. I just find the whole awards thing a little subjective, meaningless, and hokey. I do like to bet from time to time but not on subjective opinion stuff like this.

 

And yes I suppose fans should be able to find some happiness in this if they want. I'm very excited by the start the team has had. QH is a very big part of that Norris or no Norris.

[Johnny]

12 minutes ago, Gawdzukes said:

 

Sorry didn't mean to come off so snooty. Read my reply to Ibatch. I just find the whole awards thing a little subjective, meaningless, and hokey. I do like to bet from time to time but not on subjective opinion stuff like this.

 

And yes I suppose fans should be able to find some happiness in this if they want. I'm very excited by the start the team has had. QH is a very big part of that Norris or no Norris.

Obviously team success trumps individual. One of the reasons why i cant stand and wouldn’t want mcdavid on the canucks is that hes gone on record saying that he puts a lot of effort into individual awards

 

However, I watch hockey because its an exciting game and I love the rush and excitement from seeing the Canucks win. Knowing that players on the team are also considered the top players in the league at the moment adds to the overall experience. I think they are are the best at the moment and others saying the same affirms this belief and creates an overall viewing experience.

 

in the end, it is a silly article about silly awards for an event that really doesnt do much in the big picture of humanity and moving forward in life. But it is something that some of us look forward to as a treat to help enjoy our time away from the grind

 

that got a little nihilistic, but sports is just silly entertainment with silly award and silly articles

[DownUndaCanuck]

An eighth of the season in is a bit too soon to be writing these articles, at least wait until the quarter mark. I knew Quinn would come out ready to play this year, all his off-season chatter, the way he conducted himself towards the end of last season, the captaincy and then training camp - you could tell he was going to take it to another level. I predicted 90 points in the pre-season but he's obviously on pace for 100+ with no real signs of slowing down.

 

Surely he'll buckle at some point and our offence will sputter at times, but there's not too many signs of that just yet and if he's getting PP time, he'll get his points.

[coolboarder]

9 hours ago, kettlevalley said:

https://detroithockeynow.com/2023/11/08/did-red-wings-give-nhls-best-defense-pairing-canucks-hughes-hronek-foote-yzerman/

 

Apparently they are going to have a new spin daily.  

Imagine if the Wings picked Hughes and Hronek, they'd be a powerhouse.  We got lucky here.

[Life of a Canuck]

In early October we were rated by SPN as having the 4th best defence corps among Canadian teams.

I did not agree with it then, and certainly do not agree with it now!
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/ranking-each-canadian-teams-defence-corps-ahead-of-the-2023-24-nhl-season/

 

Fun read.

[Diamonds]

20 hours ago, Life of a Canuck said:

In early October we were rated by SPN as having the 4th best defence corps among Canadian teams.

I did not agree with it then, and certainly do not agree with it now!
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/ranking-each-canadian-teams-defence-corps-ahead-of-the-2023-24-nhl-season/

 

Fun read.

I don't have much of an issue with it. Oilers clearly shouldn't have been listed 3rd and Winnipeg's defense is certainly better than 6th. Calgary's defense on paper is still clearly the best and Ottawa's is quite well-rounded and young. The Canucks meanwhile are still clearly missing another top 4 defenseman.

[HIWATT]

On 11/8/2023 at 10:05 PM, Miss Korea said:

You hear that, brother Luke?  Filip is the best partner he's ever played with!

 

Now your failure is complete

 

Man, you deserve a hand....   

 

[cuporbust]

[IBatch]

On 11/9/2023 at 2:35 PM, Gawdzukes said:

 

Alright my post may have been a bit extreme ... but:

 

I was just trying to say is that the award means nothing in terms of helping obtain points for the Canucks. Most of these guys who win, and the better a player they are don't care near as much for an individual award as they do about their teammates, and winning hockey games and playoff rounds. I am 99.98% sure QH's would say the same.

 

It's a tad ironic. First of all everyone gets mad because they claim the East doesn't stay up to watch hockey and players like #43 get shafted in the award voting. Now all of the sudden we're apparently rejoicing because some third party is making a guess that these same bunch of so called Eastern people will prefer QH 70 games from now. Just seems lacking in consistency and substance.

 

I'm curious if that's across the board on all betting sites ... ah I guess they say most.

 

As far as Gretzky and Orr what do you mean specifically about not being able to compare? Are you saying they deserved it more without question?

 

Also, are you're saying you are one of the rare few who around here who think the voting is actually

fair?

 

It's all just a bunch of subjective fluff for myself, not that I think it's unfair it just don't matter imho. Cups and playoffs matter.

Meant that half the voters are from the West - the other half from the East.   So don't get caught up in that BS as much as some (Eastern bias).   And that in that for decades now, it's pretty easy to catch up.   Heck when the VCR was created, we all would tape games.   Do people really think that coaches, management, scouts, and yes, hockey writers weren't doing that if just normal fans were using that analog tech back then?    Of course they are.    As far as fluff goes, not sure what you mean.    I don't think it's fair, and have seen several "legends" get an extra trophy (or two) over the years (Lidstrom's last trophy was about as weak as it could be), get more votes then they deserved.   And if it comes down to a couple votes it's not the same as a lopsided vote like Gretzky and Orr used to get.    First place votes.    

[Gawdzukes]

1 hour ago, IBatch said:

Meant that half the voters are from the West - the other half from the East.   So don't get caught up in that BS as much as some (Eastern bias).   And that in that for decades now, it's pretty easy to catch up.   Heck when the VCR was created, we all would tape games.   Do people really think that coaches, management, scouts, and yes, hockey writers weren't doing that if just normal fans were using that analog tech back then?    Of course they are.    As far as fluff goes, not sure what you mean.    I don't think it's fair, and have seen several "legends" get an extra trophy (or two) over the years (Lidstrom's last trophy was about as weak as it could be), get more votes then they deserved.   And if it comes down to a couple votes it's not the same as a lopsided vote like Gretzky and Orr used to get.    First place votes.    

 

Yeah I agree. I just mean that personally I don't put value in awards for team sports. It's just fluff for me. I really only care about winning hockey games.