300 Assists for Hughes: More than 50 Years of Canucks Defence in the Making

Quinn Hughes earned his place in a part of NHL history last night in the Orange County. Hearing that Quinn Hughes achieved something only two other players at his position had ever done as fast as him is not exactly something Vancouver fans are too surprised about anymore. However, every time it happens, fans are definitely in awe. It was not too long ago that it seemed like the Canucks were destined for an eternity of quality, but not league-defining defenders to patrol their backend.

For decades fans of the Vancouver Canucks yearned for a star defencemen. While the team has had the Russian Rocket, a set of incredible identical twins, some star netminders, and more, it took 50 years for a generational blueliner to grace the Canucks roster. Before the league ever crowned a Norris Trophy winner on British Columbia’s West Coast, there was always someone who each generation of Vancouverite has looked to lead the backend.

The 1970 NHL Entry Draft appeared to set the team up for success on defence when they selected Dale Tallon second overall with their inaugural draft pick. Right off the start, Tallon scored 56 points in the franchise first season as a 20-year-old – leading the team in assists (42). His impact would be short-lived however, as he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks after just three seasons. He never replicated his rookie campaign in Vancouver and there would only be three Canucks’ defender to surpass Tallon’s mark over the next 18 years; Dennis Kearns in 1976-77 (60 points), Rick Lanz in 1983-84 (57 points), and Doug Lidster in 1986-87 (63 points).

Then in 1988, an injury-riddled Paul Reinhart left his mark in Vancouver. In the only two seasons he played as a member of the Canucks, Reinhart became only the third Canucks’ defender to put up multiple 50-point seasons (Kearns and Lanz). While he did not set franchise records, he brought a pedigree that was unfamiliar to the market. Remember, this all came at a time when Paul Coffey was surpassing the 100-point marker on multiple occasions (5 times), almost doubling Reinhart in the ’88-89 season with 113 points as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Retiring at the age of 30, Paul Reinhart’s two seasons in Vancouver would be enough to see him still 25th in all-time scoring for Canucks’ defencemen.

The 1990’s in Vancouver saw another talented defencemen at the Pacific Coliseum, Jyrki Lumme. Paired with the aforementioned Reinhart during their respective first and last seasons with the team, Lumme would find great success as a member of the Canucks.  In nine seasons with the club, Lumme would record more than 30 points in a season on seven different occasions. This consistency over nine seasons with Vancouver led to Lumme tying Dennis Kearn’s franchise record at the time for career points by a defender (321). The pair would share the record from 1998 until 2009. However, in the eyes of Vancouver fans, this was a franchise record that superstars around the league such as Bobby Orr or Ray Bourque could break in a mere three to four seasons.

At the turn of the millennium, the Canucks saw a changing of the guard on the backend. Lumme signed in Phoenix, leaving the club as the leading goal scorer and shared points leader for defencemen. Next on the scene would be Matthias Ohlund, a 6’4” defender from Sweden who would go on to pass Kearns and Lumme, setting his own record at 325. To Ohlund’s credit, he managed to surpass the franchise record despite the low-scoring trends of 2000’s. Fellow countryman Nicklas Lidstrom’s 2005-06 total of 80 points would be the highest of the decade and falls in as the 64th best season by a defencemen in NHL history. Ohlund was a valuable leader for the Canucks as they entered a new generation. While sharing the ice with the West Coast Express and the Sedin Twins, he would become the figurehead for Canucks defencemen in the 21st century.

It would be another Swede that fans came to see as the Canucks’ best defencemen following the departure of Matthias Ohlund, who like his predecessor, left as the defender with most goals and points in franchise history. Alex Edler would once again set the model for consistency in Vancouver. Making the team at age 20, Edler would go onto to play 15 seasons with the team. Over that span, he would record eight 30-point seasons and prove to be a valuable member of two different eras in Canucks history. To start his career, he was part of a deep Canucks blueline that led to years of playoff success including the 2010-11 season which saw the team come one game short of lifting the Stanley Cup. That year, Edler led this deep d-core in ice-time (24:17), and was one of nine defenders to play 25 games for the team, including a young Christopher Tanev and injured Sami Salo who only played the 8th and 9th most games respectively. Following the cup run, and the eventual decline of the team, Alex Edler would be cast to mentor a new era of Canucks stars to begin their careers. Retiring with Vancouver for a day, after playing all but two seasons with the club (2021-23 spent with LA), Alex Edler set the franchise mark for games played, goals, assists, and points all for a defencemen. It was just this past month where the organization would honour Edler for his time spent with the team, which included many remarks from the current core regarding what he meant to them and their careers.

One of those young players would be none other than Quinn Hughes. The current Canucks captain, reigning Norris Trophy winner, and Calder Trophy runner-up has shattered all expectations since arriving on a full-time basis in the Canucks’ 50th season. Fans and critiques alike have witnessed the game-changing style of play that Hughes brings to the ice each and every night. Hughes consistently demonstrates abilities and awareness that no other defencemen has in the five decades of Canucks history. What has been even more impressive than the performance of Hughes on the ice, has been his ability to improve his game. Entering his seventh season in the NHL has seen the Canucks star add a dangerous slapshot to his arsenal – something that many had criticized he was lacking. Each and every time Hughes has received poor reviews, he returns stronger. Whether it was his defensive traits, his goal-scoring, or the power of his shot, he has proven he is in a class of his own when it comes to hard work, talent and league dominance.

Last night’s 3-point performance against the Anaheim Ducks was further proof of this for multiple reasons. Hughes recorded assists on three of the Canucks’ five goals scored on route to beating the Duck 5-1. Contributing to Elias Pettersson’s goal (2) in the second period meant that Tuesday’s game was now Hughes’ 86th career multi-point game – advancing a record he already held for Canucks defencemen. Then, on Jake Debrusk’s third period marker, Quinn Hughes made history becoming the third fastest defencemen to reach 300 career assists (376 games). Only Hall of Fame players Bobby Orr (346 games) and Brian Leetch (368 games) were able to do so in fewer games played.

Hearing Hughes’ named mentioned alongside a Mt. Rushmore worthy group of NHL defenders has been leaving Canucks fan in shock. Over the past seven years, it had become obvious he was special, but to finally have that generational player on the blue line is something fans have been waiting for their entire lives. If being named defender of the year last season was not enough to solidify this, being compared to such high-quality players is certainly convincing. While it certainly quite early to say, it is pretty clear that Quinn Hughes could go on to become not just the greatest defencemen, but greatest Canuck of all time. He only trails Alex Edler by 64 points, a feat he can reasonably look to accomplish before the end of this season (72 games remaining). At last, Vancouver has the defencemen they have been looking for since 1970.