Evan Bouchard is hockey’s Rorschach test. Show his play to 10 different people, and you’ll get 10 different responses. One might say he’s a special offensive talent. One might say he’s a power play merchant. One will tell you he’s only good because of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
It’s true that Bouchard’s game can fluctuate between good and bad, sure. But this season he’s established himself as a cut above the rest. The winner of the 2025–26 James Norris Memorial Trophy should be Evan Bouchard, and here’s why.
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The stats prove it
Let’s start with some easy stats for Bouchard. In 74 games so far this season, he has 20 goals and 66 assists for 86 points. That’s the third highest point total on the Oilers. In fact, he’s only one of four defencemen ever to score 20 goals in a single season in Oilers history. Among defencemen, Bouchard is tied for fourth in goals, and tied for first in assists, while leading all defencemen in total points. Zach Werenski, second in total points, has nine less points than Bouchard. On the season, the Oilers goal differential as a team currently a +7. Bouchard is a +22 by himself. Only Mattias Ekholm has a higher plus-minus among Oilers at 29. Bouchard also leads the Oilers in TOI this season with an average of 24:44. That’s 10th among defencemen in the league.
When it comes to the fancy stats, Bouchard’s numbers are even more impressive. Per Natural Stat Trick, He’s played 1320 minutes at 5v5 this season. His CF (Chances For%) is 55.33. His GF (Goals For%) is 55.10. His xGF (Expected Goals For%) is 55.95. His SCF and HDCF (Scoring Chances For), (High Danger Chances For) are 56.30 and 57.19 respectively. These all rank as either leading, or second among all Oilers defencemen. Bouchard is having a season for the ages not just in the counting stats, but in the fancy categories that we don’t always see as well.
Bouchard’s reputation
Despite all of this, it seems that mainstream hockey media, particularly Eastern hockey media hasn’t taken Bouchard seriously as a contender for the Norris.
Despite leading the league in points among defencemen and consistently showing an elite level of play, many still decry Bouchard as a defensive liability who can’t play both sides of the ice. There are a couple of reasons for this. One is plainly because not everyone stays up to watch the Oilers. Edmonton plays a lot of their games in the Mountain and Pacific timezones, and it’s hard to stay up and watch every game. This leads to consuming games through highlights, which never tell the true story of the game. Detractors in specific will mention Bouchard’s propensity for turnovers, which often appear on these highlights reels, as sometimes they come in high-pressure areas of the ice.
Before Edmonton’s game against Vegas last Thursday, NHL Network’s Mike Kelly did a segment discussing Bouchard’s case for the Norris. In it, he actually highlighted many misconceptions about the player, one of which is the fact that Bouchard’s turnovers relative to his possessions actually sit around league average. Bouchard is one of the league’s premier puck-possession defencemen. It stands to reason then that if he possess the puck a lot, of course he will turn it over. It’s just a fact of hockey.
Kelly also dispelled the notion that Bouchard’s turnovers always seem to lead to goals against, pointing out that among his 56 turnovers that led to scoring chances against this season, only 11 led to goals. Bouchard’s turnover rate of 11.4% is just above Cale Makar’s 11.2%, and both players have a lower rate than the other Norris favourite this season in Werenski, who has a 12.8% turnover rate.
Is there an anti-Bouchard bias?
The Oilers are a very good team that’s been contending for a few seasons now. It’s part of sports that some people have grown to dislike them.
However, it seems that Bouchard has developed a reputation for extra amounts of criticism. Every miscue is hyper-analyzed, and every success is hand-waved away as being a “product of McDavid” or a “power play merchant.” It’s incredibly unfair to categorize Bouchard in such a way. He’s a very unique defenceman to watch. Not only is he an elite puck-mover, consistently breaking the Oilers out of their zone and into the attack, he has a thunderous point-shot that can be used as a weapon, or as a fakeout to setup other scoring chances. He is the best Oilers defenceman since Paul Coffey, if we’re not counting the one year of Chris Pronger.
This blind Bouchard hate is even more ridiculous when you consider the playoff stats. From 2022–23 to 2025–26, Bouchard leads all defencemen in playoff points with 72. The next closest point total belong to Miro Heiskanen, with 32. That’s a forty point difference.
In the history of the NHL, the highest point-per-game total among defencemen in the playoffs belongs to Bobby Orr, with 1.243 PPG. Bouchard is second all-time, with 1.080. Bouchard also holds the record for most assists in a single playoff run by a defenceman, with 26 in 2023–24. He consistently elevates his already impressive game to an entirely different level when the games matter most. He’s scored two game tying goals in the final minute of playoff games, against the Vancouver Canucks in Game 4 of the 2024 Western Semifiinal, and in Game 4 of last year’s series against the Los Angeles Kings. Bouchard’s ability to go up a level in the playoffs should be a major part of his reputation.
The Oilers would not have gotten close to the level of success they’ve had over the last two seasons without Evan Bouchard. He’s the best defenceman the team has had in nearly 40 years—he consistently performs when they need him most, he’s improved the weaker areas of his game, and makes every player who plays alongside him better.
He’s having the best season of his career, and he deserves to win the Norris this season. If the Norris isn’t just a reputation award for Makar and Hughes, then Bouchard will win it. If he doesn’t, I think it will be looked back on as one of the great NHL awards robberies of the modern era.
What more would Bouchard have to do to make himself eligible? He’s already leading the league in points, he already has some of the best advanced stats in the league. Evan Bouchard should win the Norris Trophy this season. If you think otherwise, you’re mistaken.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
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