Canucks: Quinn Hughes finishes behind Werenski and Makar in 2024-25 Norris Trophy race

Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes won’t join the shortlist of NHL defencemen to capture the Norris Trophy in back-to-back seasons. Not yet, at least.

On Wednesday morning, the league announced Colorado Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar as the winner of the 2024-25 James Norris Trophy, awarded to the league’s “best all around defenceman.” Hughes finished behind both Makar and Columbus Blue Jackets defenceman Zach Werenski.

Hughes picked up just two first place votes out of the 191 ballots counted, while Makar and Werenski earned 176 and 13, respectively. The majority of votes cast for the Canucks’ captain were third place votes, as 110 voters had Hughes in that slot on their ballots.

39 voters had Hughes second, 21 had him at fourth, and 12 had him at fifth. Seven voters left Hughes off their ballot entirely. You can view the full list of ballots and breakdowns by clicking here.

Hughes captured the award for the first time in his career last season after putting up 92 points through 82 games and leading the Canucks to the playoffs in his first season as captain. Hughes was even better than he was in 2023-24 for most of this past season, but injuries leading to 14 missed games and disappointing play from his teammates made it difficult for Hughes to earn back-to-back Norris wins.

Not to mention the phenomenal season Cale Makar put up. The Avalanche defenceman finished the campaign with 30 goals and added 62 assists, good for 92 points through 80 games played.

It was a great season for Zach Werenski as well, as the Blue Jackets defenceman was a big reason for the turnaround we saw this season in Columbus. Werenski finished with 82 points through 81 games played, and put himself firmly on the map as one of the league’s top blueliners.

We broke down the Norris race earlier this week, and you can read that by clicking here.