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Where does Evan Bouchard rank in the Norris Trophy race?
Edmonton Oilers Evan Bouchard
Photo credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
Golden Hockey
Jan 28, 2026, 11:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 28, 2026, 12:08 EST
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Evan Bouchard’s early-season struggles are a distant memory. After going pointless in his first six games, he has since erupted for 56 points in 48 games and a plus-16 rating. With under 30 games remaining, he’s tied with Cale Makar for the NHL lead among defencemen in points.
Bouchard put an exclamation point on his fantastic run with a six-point game against the Capitals last weekend, turning heads across the hockey world. People are starting to recognize his recent brilliance, but could it be enough to propel him to a Norris Trophy?
His highest rank in Norris voting was fifth, which came in 2023-24, when he scored 18 goals and tallied 82 points. Since October 21st of this year, he’s on a 24-goal and 96-point pace and there’s a high probability that he shatters those previous career-highs.
What makes this recent run even more impressive is that Bouchard is posting his best numbers against higher-quality competition. According to Puck IQ, he is facing elite competition in 34.8 percent of his time on ice, up from 31.8 percent in 2023-24. If Bouchard keeps producing at this rate while handling the toughest minutes of his career, it becomes difficult to keep him outside of the Norris conversation.

Norris Trophy race: A direct comparison

Bouchard is playing some of his personal best hockey this season, but how does it compare to other top defencemen in the Norris Trophy race? Here is how the market currently ranks them on Bet365:
  1. Cale Makar -300
  2. Zach Werenski +275
  3. Lane Hutson +1600
  4. Quinn Hughes +2800
  5. Evan Bouchard +3300
  6. Moritz Seider +3300
Right now, it’s Makar’s trophy to lose, but the gap has been narrowing as of late. His production isn’t lapping the field like it was early in the season, and the Avalanche have come back to Earth recently, with losses in six of their last 10 games.
If Bouchard is going to make a real push, he’ll have to leapfrog some elite competition, but it’s not as unlikely as it may have seemed even a few weeks ago. Let’s compare the defencemen at the top of the betting market in some key statistical categories:
Makar, Werenski and Hutson best Bouchard from a five-on-five production standpoint, but it’s relatively close. On the power play, he is second to none right now. If he can increase his even-strength production, there’s a realistic path for him to lead the pack in points by the end of the season.
Naysayers might claim that Bouchard’s offensive numbers are inflated by playing a significant portion of his minutes with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but I don’t fully buy that narrative. It’s true that playing with elite forwards helps, but both McDavid and Draisaitl also produce far better with Bouchard than without.
It’s a symbiotic relationship, where Bouchard’s passing helps the forwards attack quickly in transition, and his smart offensive instincts read well off the star forwards during extended cycles. This isn’t a case of one player leeching points off another. Neither the data nor the eye test supports that idea.
Besides, it’s not like other Norris contenders don’t play with elite talent — just look at the embarrassment of riches in Colorado that Makar has to work with. I’ll give Hughes a ton of credit for producing on the worst team in the NHL before he was mercifully traded out of Vancouver, but I’ll never penalize players like Bouchard and Makar for producing with elite forwards and getting the best out of them.
Now let’s look at the defensive numbers:
Defensively, Seider leads the way. His elite two-way ability is what has put him in the Norris Trophy conversation this season. While his play has slipped a little bit recently from his red-hot start, Seider remains a contender if he can recapture that level down the stretch.
Hutson is the next-best Norris contender at driving defensive results at 5-on-5, with Bouchard not far behind. I would argue that Bouchard and Hutson have the worst defensive reputation amongst the general public of these players, but the results this season don’t reflect that. Instead, it’s Makar, Werenski, and Hughes, who have produced the most one-dimensional results. 
Sometimes players who don’t possess the traditional defensive toolkit will end up with a bad reputation for their defensive play, but it’s possible to keep the puck out of your own net in other ways.
Yes, some defencemen keep their opponents’ scoring chances low by winning battles, breaking up cycles in the defensive zone, and protecting the net front with their size and strength. Others do it by keeping the puck out of the defensive zone altogether. Bouchard fits into the latter category.
His efficient puck-moving facilitates zone exits, and his ability to extend Edmonton’s cycles and drive possession helps him prevent scoring chances because he simply doesn’t defend as often. That’s a valid way to do it. Every team needs players who can tilt the ice and fuel their transition game.
While it’s true that the giveaways are still as loud as ever when they happen, and boy, were they happening early on this season, Bouchard has cut down on them significantly. In October, he committed 4.9 giveaways per hour, but since then, he’s down to 3.6. 
He’s never going to be an elite two-way force, but he can still do a good job at suppressing the opposition’s offence by using his skill set. Despite the reputation he’s developed thanks to some of the chaotic sequences he’s put on tape, he’s been no worse defensively than other elite offensive D-men like Makar or Werenski this season.
Bouchard is at his offensive peak right now, and he’s contributing on both sides of the puck more than ever. All while facing the most difficult deployment of his career. There’s undoubtedly a growing case that he’s one of the top few defencemen in the league this season. The Norris Trophy may still be unlikely, but the gap between Bouchard and the league’s very best has never been smaller. Whether his name is called on award night or not, he’s earned the right to be in the conversation.

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