Former Michigan defender wins Norris Trophy as NHL’s best defender

Quinn Hughes made history.

The Vancouver Canucks defenseman was the first former Michigan Wolverine to win the Norris Trophy, which is awarded annually to the NHL’s best defenseman. Hughes received 172 of 194 first-place votes, beating fellow finalists Roman Josi of the Nashville Predators and Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche. The Norris has been awarded every year since 1954.

Hughes had a stellar 2023-24 season, leading all defensemen in scoring with 92 points. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound player, who was named captain before last season, scored a career-high 17 goals and averaged 24 minutes, 41 seconds on ice, which ranked him 11th in the league.

Thanks to Hughes’ career year, the Canucks won the Pacific Division with a record of 50-23-9 and reached the playoffs for the first time since 2020.

Selected seventh overall by Vancouver in 2018 – three picks after the Detroit Red Wings signed forward Filip Zadina – Hughes has scored 43 goals and 290 assists in 365 career games and is already second on the Canucks’ all-time scoring list among defensemen.

At Michigan, Hughes was a finalist for the 2019 Hobey Baker Award. He totaled 62 points in 69 games before turning pro after his sophomore season.