Evan Bouchard’s 2025-26 season should have put him on the Norris Trophy shortlist, and that omission is hard to square with the numbers.
The Edmonton Oilers defenseman finished with 95 points, a total that sits just outside the top 20 point seasons ever produced by an NHL defenseman. He also backed that up with strong work in front of his own net, which is why the idea of him being left out of the finalist group feels so jarring.
That kind of snub is exactly the sort of thing that makes the Norris race so frustrating. Bouchard wasn’t merely productive; he was among the most productive defensemen in the league by several measures.
He led all blueliners in points with 95, ahead of Zach Werenski’s 81 and Cale Makar’s 79. He also topped the league in assists among defensemen with 74, ahead of Quinn Hughes at 69 and Lane Hutson at 66.
His 1.16 points per game led the group as well, with Werenski at 1.08 and Makar at 1.05. Even at five-on-five, Bouchard was right there, posting 60 even-strength points, just ahead of Werenski’s 59 and Lane Hutson’s 58.
There’s a familiar pattern here, and it’s not a flattering one for the Norris voting process. Pacific division games often begin so late on the East Coast that they don’t get the same eyes on them as games in the East, where media members can watch more comfortably and more consistently.
The source of the issue isn’t that voters are all biased or dishonest. It’s that the schedule itself makes it easier for Eastern players to stay in view, and people tend to vote for what they see most.
The article points to Ray Bourque’s 1983-84 season as a useful comparison. Bourque piled up 96 points, including 30 goals and 65 assists, and helped the Boston Bruins win their division by a single point over the Buffalo Sabres.
He was named to the first all-star team, but his season still ended with a first-round loss to the Montreal Canadiens, and he watched Rod Langway win his second straight Norris Trophy despite producing only a third of Bourque’s point total, 33. Bourque later won five Norris Trophies, which only strengthens the case that a big season can still be underappreciated in the moment.
Bouchard’s situation carries the same feel. He had the kind of season that should have earned him a finalist spot, and the argument is that the voters may have leaned too heavily on tired talking points: that he didn’t do enough to lift the Oilers higher in the standings, or that his production was inflated by playing alongside Connor McDavid. The numbers in the source tell a different story.
If Bouchard puts together another season like this in 2026-27, the hope is that the voters will give him the attention his game deserves.
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