EDMONTON — Evan Bouchard launched his Norris Trophy revenge tour in emphatic fashion Tuesday, recording a hat trick and two assists for five points even as the Edmonton Oilers fell 6-5 to the Vancouver Canucks. The 26-year-old became the first defenseman to score a hat trick in a season debut since Mark Howe in 1980, a historic opener overshadowed by the one-goal defeat.
The outburst follows a 2024-25 campaign in which Bouchard led all NHL defensemen with 95 points in 82 games yet was not a finalist for the Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman. He finished with just 12 first-place votes, one fewer than Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, which kept him from the finalist group and framed questions about whether voters overlooked his production.
Bouchard's ability to put points on the board overshadows his defending. He is not a shut-down expert and never will be. Norris voters have often rewarded elite offense even without elite defense, as when Erik Karlsson won the award with the San Jose Sharks in 2022-23 behind a 101-point season. Karlsson was not a black hole defensively, but his offensive prowess earned the trophy.
If Bouchard sustains this pace all season, it will be difficult for voters to continue ignoring him. A 100-point season is not out of the question, and few defensemen will get close to that total. He is not only one of the league's best offensive defensemen but one of its best offensive players outright, and he is Edmonton's most important blueliner.
There may still be voters unwilling to give him the award, and if the Oilers fail to meet lofty expectations again, that stumble will attach to Bouchard. The best revenge is winning, and if he generates at least as many points and Edmonton wins the Pacific Division, there will be no more excuses to look away. The five-point night came in Cotter's OT winner that lifted Vancouver past Edmonton 6-5 in the opener, but if Bouchard maintains this output alongside Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, opponents may contain one or two — not all three.