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Bouchard says Norris Trophy snub ‘stings’, but he won’t let it bother him
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Photo credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images
Michael Menzies
May 8, 2026, 14:00 EDTUpdated: May 8, 2026, 14:31 EDT
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Evan Bouchard admits there are many great defencemen in the National Hockey League.
But for the Edmonton Oilers blueliner to finish outside the top three in Norris Trophy voting, despite leading the league in points by a defenceman with 95, and playing huge minutes on the penalty kill  — that does sting.
“When I saw that come out, I was definitely upset a little bit. But you can’t really let that bother you,” Bouchard told TSN Overdrive on Thursday.
“I didn’t think about it too much until it came out today. Stings a little bit, but you know what? You get back at it, and you forget about it. There’s a lot of great defensemen in the league, so it’s kind of hard to pick between three of them.” 
Instead of Bouchard, the three Norris finalists are Rasmus Dahlin, Cale Makar, and Zach Werenski. Worthy for sure, but Bouchard has just as compelling a case.
The Evan Bouchard discourse, amongst Oilers fans, or those who see clips on social media, is divisive. But this season, he raised his floor, becoming a better one-on-one defender, while having a positive expected goal share, away from Connor McDavid just as much as with him.
After a sluggish start to the year, Bouchard was excellent through the meat of the season.
“I’m not gonna go run around, be the big, heavy, hard defenseman that are usually tough to play against,” said Bouchard. “It’s a lot of game film. You watch yourself play, and you can see little things.
“If it’s gapping up a little better at the offensive blue line to make things easier, denying the blue line, little things like that. Playing with a guy like Ekky [Ekholm] makes it a lot easier. If I try to do something, make a mistake, he’s usually there to cover up for me. That helps to give you confidence in the D-zone.” 

‘Honour’ to play for Canada

The goalposts have moved in a positive direction for Bouchard. A year ago, it may’ve been difficult to see him in the Norris Trophy conversation, despite being one of the most productive playoff defencemen of all-time.
But the recognition from the overall hockey world hasn’t quite followed, in terms of accolades or opportunities. Bouchard didn’t make Team Canada at the Olympics, as his skills were thought to overlap too much with Cale Makar. As we know, Canada lost the gold medal game, but at stages of the tournament, the ability to breakout pucks cleanly from the defensive zone was an issue.
This spring, Hockey Canada did come calling. Bouchard, along with teammate Darnell Nurse, will wear the maple leaf in Switzerland at the World Championships.
He hasn’t had the opportunity since 2019 to play for his country, a prime opportunity to deliver a gold medal at the Worlds while being leaned on to play a major role. If nothing else, it’ll shake the “weird” feeling of not playing hockey in May.
“It’s always an honor when you get the ask,” said Bouchard. “To have hockey over in early May is something that I’m not too familiar with. So to get the call from them to go play? I feel like it was a no-brainer and get a few more games with Team Canada.” 
Bouchard wants to stay in the “hockey mood” as he put it. He’ll come back in June and take a break for a couple of weeks before gearing up in September.

The Oilers

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl let their thoughts be known during exit interviews. There was concern about the direction of the team. Questions linger whether coach Kris Knoblauch will return, or whether general manager Stan Bowman is safe.
Bouchard is not one to be so blunt. But he does see areas where the Oilers can improve.
“First and foremost is everyone getting healthy,” said Bouchard.
“Then after that I think there’s a few system changes we can do. I think there’s a team aspect in the D-zone, everyone playing together in the D-zone. With the Oilers, we score enough goals to win. It’s about keeping the puck out of our net. I think if we have a team-first mindset, protecting the puck, keeping it out of our net, then things will go up for us.” 
He believes he missed an opportunity to step up for his team against the Ducks. He didn’t allow the team’s injuries to be an excuse.
“That definitely doesn’t help when you got four guys like that injured. But at the same time, it’s time for other people to step up. Unfortunately for myself, I didn’t do that,” said Bouchard. 
“I think there was other guys that could have stepped up a little more too. But in the end, we’re a team and when guys are hurt playing through injuries, you really have to find a way to step up and a few of us didn’t do that this series against Anaheim.”
Channeling these sleights of Norris Trophy and Olympic selection can be used as motivation for Bouchard. He’ll turn 27 in October. If he continues progressing, these accolades could become inevitable.
Michael Menzies is an Oilersnation columnist and co-host of PreGaming and Oilersnation After Dark. He’s also been the play-by-play voice of the Bonnyville Pontiacs in the AJHL since 2019. With seven years of news experience as the Editor-at-Large of Lakeland Connect in Bonnyville, Menzies collects vinyl, books, and stomach issues. Follow him on X at Menzies_4.

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