To be honest, it’s a real mystery why Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard wasn’t voted as a Norris Trophy finalist.
Surprisingly, Oilers Evan Bouchard Not a Finalist for Norris Trophy Voting
Bouchard, who was playing in his fifth full NHL season, might have struggled defensively back in the fall, but the 25-year-old more than bounced back as he ended up leading all defenseman with 95 points.
During his career, Bouchard has often been criticized for making costly mistakes in his own zone which have led to goals, but this year he showed that his defensive play has come a long was by finishing 28th among skaters with an impressive plus/minus of +25.
This past season, Bouchard played all 82 regular-season games, during which the Oilers’ number-one defenseman scored 21 goals and finished 11th in league scoring.
Quite an improvement over last year when he scored 14 goals, 67 points and a had a plus/minus of +14 also in 82 regular season games played.
Back on Thursday, May 7th, you can bet that some eyebrows were raised in confusement among Oilers fans when the NHL announced three incredibly talented and worthy candidates in Buffalo Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin, (74 points, +18 for season), Colorado Avalanche Cale Makar (79 points +32 for season) and last but certainly not least, Columbus Blue Jackets leading scorer Zach Werenski (81 points, +7 for season) were this year’s finalist for the Norris Trophy as the best defenseman.
Once again, these are three great talents, but if you look closely at the statistics, it’s not hard to see that Bouchard’s numbers stack up with these three great nominated players.
“I’m not gonna run around, be the big heavy, hard defenseman that are usually tough to play against,” Bouchard said about his playing style. “It’s a lot of game film. You watch yourself play, and you can see little things.”
This season saw Bouchard average a career best 24:41 of ice time per game while joining an exclusive group in becoming only the ninth blue liner to score 20 plus goals in a season along with 95 points. Unfortunately, Bouchard’s defensive struggle back in October, where he posted a plus/minus of -9 and a slow offensive start which saw the 26 year-old score only seven points (one goal, six assists) for the month, which resulted in his stock falling and not making Team Canada, which at the 2026 Winter Olympics won men’s hockey silver.
Bouchard Wasn’t Chosen To Represent Canada At 2025 4 Nations Face-OffÂ
During the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off, which was played from February 12-20, 2025, Team Canada had a stacked lineup including on the backend, Makar, Travis Sanheim, Devon Toews, Shea Theodore, Josh Morrissey, Thomas Harley, Colton Parayko and veteran Drew Doughty.
While Bouchard might have that reputation for having a habit of committing defensive lapses, truth be told that in Edmonton, playing with partner Mattias Ekholm they formed last year a top two duo at suppressing shots and shot attempts.
In 2024-25 with Bouchard on the ice during full strength play, Edmonton generated 59.82 of scoring chances. Though his reputation for weak defensive play might be hard to shake, the truth is, those were exceptional defenseman selected for Team Canada, and though an argument could be made for Bouchard, a strong convincing debate could be made about how this wasn’t a major snub.
Despite Career season, Bouchard Wasn’t On Team Canada at 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games
According to social media, Bouchard was last summer strongly being considered to play for Team Canada’s Men’s Olympic Hockey Team at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games.
Unfortunately, Bouchard’s defensive struggle in October, where he posted a plus/minus of -9 and his slow offensive start (7 points: 1 goal, 6 assists) for the month, saw this 26 year-old’s stock take a drastic fall on the depth chart to the point where he didn’t make the Team Canada which ended up to win 2026 Olympic Silver.
Last season, Bouchard finished 11th in Norris Trophy voting.
Bouchard didn’t hide his true feelings about not being a Norris Trophy finalist.
“It stings a little bit, but you know what, you get back at it, you forget about it. And like you said, there’s a lot of great defensemen in the league, so it’s kind of hard to pick between three of them.”
Chances are that in the not to distant future, Bouchard who is just entering his prime, will be a mainstay as a Norris Trophy finalist for years to come.
Main Image: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
