Oilers’ Bouchard Should Easily Win Norris Trophy – The Hockey Writers –

One of the biggest debates in the world of hockey today is who should take home the Norris Trophy for the 2025-26 campaign.

The obvious names that are always going to be in the mix are Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes, but it seems as though a couple of other names will be frontrunners to take home the award this time around.

Columbus Blue Jackets’ Zach Werenski is a name that many fans consider to be the frontrunner for the award, after having a dominant season and almost helping take the Blue Jackets to the postseason, but there is another name that has sparked some serious debates online.

Edmonton Oilers’ Evan Bouchard led all defenders in scoring this season, and while some still question whether his defensive game is strong or not, his underlying numbers would indicate that he has improved that side of his game.

From being someone who had some terrible numbers defensively, to having around average numbers is a significant improvement, with one model indicating he should be a frontrunner for the award.

Excellent choice. Evan Bouchard is having an elite season again. Right now, I think that Werenski or Bouchard should win the James Norris Memorial Trophy this year. pic.twitter.com/YvQcgtpxk4

— Rono (@RonoAnalyst) April 9, 2026

Another model, which is from the popular JFreshHockey, indicates that Bouchard was above average defensively while playing against elite competition.

What a season for Evan Bouchard pic.twitter.com/4IHKdengiD

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) April 17, 2026

The game has been changing in terms of defending, with more fans understanding that the position isn’t only about shutting the play down, but rather how good a player is at suppressing goals. Hughes and Makar can still do that at an elite level, but Bouchard has had a better all-around season, when we start considering the offensive side of the game as well.

Simply put, Bouchard’s defensive blunders are what many fans and analysts question, but the reality is that those mistakes are bound to happen with the amount of ice time he gets, combined with the elite competition he faces on a nightly basis. At the end of the day, nobody in the league had a better all-around season than Bouchard.

At the same time, Makar, Hughes, and Werenski all make big mistakes as well, as every player who is placed in a position where they have to try and play against the league’s best is bound to do more often than someone who is playing on the bottom pairing.

Bouchard’s blunders don’t mean he shouldn’t be awarded for an incredible season.

Bouchard’s Offensive Game Sets Him Apart

Points shouldn’t be the only thing that voters consider when casting their vote, but at the end of the day, it will impact how some people decide who deserves the award. In this case, though, the argument supports Bouchard, who led defenders in points with 95, scoring 21 goals and adding 74 assists.

Werenski finished second, with 81 points.

Points aren’t everything, though, and how smart he is in the offensive zone should also be taken into consideration.

The way he can hold the blue line, combined with his ability to get shots through, while also quarterbacking the best power play in the league make him an elite offensive mind on the back end, and it showed in his point totals.

Some people have argued that Bouchard doesn’t deserve consideration due to him being left off of the Canadian Olympic team, but that shouldn’t be something any voters consider either.

Of course, most fans view the award as something that automatically goes to the player with the most points, which has started an argument that two separate awards are needed to highlight both sides of a defender’s game.

Realistically, a defender who can suppress pucks and be elite defensively makes them the best defender. The fact that they can play their position while putting up good numbers offensively is unbelievable.

That being said, it seems as though Bouchard’s season won’t be remembered by voters for his offensive dominance, but rather the odd defensive blunders he had throughout the campaign.

The Eye Test vs Analytics

Something that fans and analysts always resort to is the eye test.

In short, the eye test is what someone sees on the ice with their own eyes, and that’s how they form their opinions.

Unfortunately, the days of only using the eye test as a metric for deciding who is elite and who isn’t are over. The amount of statistics and analytics available to everyone makes it impossible to ignore what they say, and while some models might be flawed and some might say different things depending on which one you look at and what they value, Bouchard seems to be the biggest differentiation between analytics and the eye test.

Bouchard’s analytics have been consistently strong, at both ends of the ice, as he does a lot of little things right. However, most fans who rely on the eye test because they watch a lot of games simply can’t comprehend how his analytics look as strong as they do, when he seems to make a lot of defensive blunders.

The real answer is that the eye test is extremely flawed. Bias plays a huge factor, and there is simply no way someone can watch a player for an entire 82-game season, see every play they made on every single shift, and see exactly what went right and what went wrong.

Watching the game is key to deciding on how strong a player is, but analytics are there to fill in the gaps of what anyone doesn’t see. I am a big believer that neither one of those should be the sole deciding factor on a player, but neither one should be ignored.

Erik Karlsson Didn’t Have Greatest Defensive Stats & Still Won

It seems as though many voters are focused on how strong a defender is at defending, but in the past, that part of the game has been ignored. A prime example is Erik Karlsson, who won the award in 2023 after leading the league in points by a defender, even with rough defensive numbers.

Karlsson’s on-ice expected goals against per 60 minutes that season was an average of 3.4, and he led all defenders in giveaways, while playing the second-most minutes of all blueliners.

Bouchard is mirroring a season that Karlsson had, and while Karlsson was able to break 100 points on a struggling team, Bouchard’s play is likely a significant factor as to why the Oilers made the playoffs in the first place.

At the end of the day, a few blunders shouldn’t be the deciding factor as to why Bouchard shouldn’t win the award. Bouchard’s dominant offensive campaign, combined with his improved defensive play, on top of him being a clutch performer no matter what is at stake, should make him an easy decision for voters.

I believe he had a better all-around season than Makar, Hughes, Werenski, and any other defender in the NHL, and should be a no-brainer to win the award.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like it will go that way.

As the 2025-26 postseason moves along, be sure to continue following The Hockey Writers as your source for news, updates, and more from around the NHL and the hockey world.