The Minnesota Wild is hoping to reach a contract extension with star defenseman Quinn Hughes this summer and it will have everyone holding their breath. Hughes was a transformational player after coming over in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks last December and will have plenty of factors determining if and how long he stays in Minnesota.
But if Hughes needed a little nudge to convince him to sign, he may look no further than the voting for the Norris Trophy.
The NHL announced Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets as this year’s winner of the award and Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche as the runner-up on Tuesday. But while Hughes had a monumental year, he still finished seventh in voting behind Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres, Evan Bouchard of the Edmonton Oilers, Moritz Seider of the Detroit Red Wings and Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens.
The amount of players ahead of Hughes had to be staggering for Wild fans who watched him lead their team into the second round of the playoffs for the first time in a decade and it may convince him to run it back for another couple years to get some hardware – and potentially a Stanley Cup to go with it.
Quinn Hughes’s Norris Trophy snub should convince him to stay with Wild
The official criteria of the Norris Trophy is that the award goes to the defenseman who demonstrates the “greatest all-around ability.” But voters have traditionally given the award to the defenseman that either has the most points or is toward the top of the NHL in that category.
With that in mind, some of the names ahead of Hughes make sense. Werenski’s 81 points finished second among defenseman behind Bouchard’s 95 points and Makar (79 points) and Hutson (78) also finished ahead of Hughes, who finished with 76 points. Dahlin had 74 points but a plus-18 plus/minus rating compared to Hughes’s minus-4 and Seider finished with a plus-15 despite posting just 60 points.
All of this makes a seventh place finish understandable, but it discounts what Hughes did for the Wild compared to his time with the Canucks. Playing in Adam Foote’s broken system, Hughes had just two goals and 23 points with a minus-10 rating in 26 games before the trade. After making his Wild debut on Dec. 14, Hughes scored five goals and put up 53 points, which ranked second in the NHL behind Bouchard.
Votes were submitted at the end of the regular season but Hughes may have driven the point home with four goals and 15 points during the playoffs. The 15 points are currently second among defenseman in the playoffs and is more impressive considering Hutson, who has the lead with 16 points, played in eight more games as Montreal reached the Eastern Conference Finals.
With 78 points in 59 games in a Wild sweater, this is something for Hughes to consider as he sits down at the negotiating table when he is eligible for an extension on July 1.
While playing with his brothers Luke and Jack, who are currently with the New Jersey Devils, may be a priority. The Wild may give him the best chance to win his second Norris Trophy after winning the award with Vancouver for the 2023-24 campaign (17 goals, 92 points). It may also give him a better chance to win a Stanley Cup, especially if Bill Guerin can find a No. 1 center to put him in an even better position to succeed.
Should that happen, Wild fans may as well send a thank you to the Norris Trophy voters for lighting a fire under Hughes this summer and it could convince him to stay in Minnesota for the foreseeable future.
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