For a team that is 55 years old soon, is there a worse list of defenseman?

[Voight]

They’ve had good defensemen but not franchise defensemen.

Perfect way to put it IMO. People forget how good Hamhuis was for example; he made the 2014 Olympic team and was a top 20 defensemen for a couple of years.

Jovocop had Norris record of 6,6,15,16 in Vancouver.

 

[ManofSteel55]

Jeff Brown had solid eyebrows

I remember he smashed the glass with a shot once too. I don't think he was on the Canucks then though.


To the OP, I think Vancouver has had some good defensemen. Their early 2000s defense core was an important piece of that team, and they were dominant at times. They don't have much in terms of name value of superstar defensemen, but as EpochLink said above, they just haven't had any franchise level defensemen before Hughes.

Jovanovski was a beast in his prime. He absolutely was a number 1 defensemen.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

ohlund slander

 

[ManofSteel55]

Hughes is the first legit #1 tbh

Definitely worth pointing out for a team with a 50+ year history

First franchise player to be a defenseman maybe. Jovanovski was absolutely a #1. You could argue Edler, Ohlund and Lumme as well, although I'm not sure if I would back that argument or not without evaluating it more closely.

I also think it is absolutely fair for the Canuck fans to be really excited about Quinn Hughes. He's a star player, they should be excited about him.

 

[tanti9]

Did not read everything but, Jovocop to me was a monster and a #1 on the Canucks and probably others. He may taken himself out of the play at times but boy could he hit.

 

[benfranklin]

I’m pretty sure the list of teams that haven’t had a Norris winner is pretty long

Challenge accepted.

Ducks
Coyotes
Sabres
Hurricanes
Blue Jackets
Stars
Wild
Flyers
Kraken
Leafs
Knights
Jets

Can argue some of these are worse. The older ones Sabres (Housley/Dahlin), Flyers (Howe, Pronger, Desjardins, Timonen), and Leafs (Borje, Kaberle, Rielly) are pretty sad too.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

This is next level pettiness, diggin into the dirt that hurts sorta pettiness.

 

[thecupismine]

The Canucks had solid blue lines from 1994-2012, then things fell off once the Benning era began.

We’ve never had an elite, number one guy, but the majority of those good teams did a really good job at doing the whole defense by committee thing with 4+ legit, top 4 dmen.

It’s been great seeing Hughes come through and how he can single handedly turn the tide of a game, but I’d hardly call any of the 2011 defensive group “trash” for example (except for maybe Ballard, who fell off as soon as he got here).

 

[jigglysquishy]

Leafs (Borje, Kaberle, Rielly) are pretty sad too.

King Clancy and Tim Horton are the best Maple Leaf defenseman.

 

[ManofSteel55]

Challenge accepted.

Ducks
Coyotes
Sabres
Hurricanes
Blue Jackets
Stars
Wild
Flyers
Kraken
Leafs
Knights
Jets

Can argue some of these are worse. The older ones Sabres (Housley/Dahlin), Flyers (Howe, Pronger, Desjardins, Timonen), and Leafs (Borje, Kaberle, Rielly) are pretty sad too.

To me, its pretty crazy that the Ducks didn't see either Pronger or Niedermayer get a Norris while they were together. Also, LOL Toronto. The only original sixer with no Norris. They could have had one from Tim Horton I guess if the Norris was a thing when he was playing. But still, LOL.

 

[Reality Czech]

I understand you may not watch the Canucks, and just watch stat sheets instead, but Vancouver has had plenty of good defencemen in their time.

OP is a Vegas fan so probably just started watching hockey a few years ago. He'll learn.

 

[Fripp]

Some legendary moustaches in that list.

 

[Albatros]

First franchise player to be a defenseman maybe. Jovanovski was absolutely a #1. You could argue Edler, Ohlund and Lumme as well, although I'm not sure if I would back that argument or not without evaluating it more closely.

I also think it is absolutely fair for the Canuck fans to be really excited about Quinn Hughes. He's a star player, they should be excited about him.

Salo was briefly before the Sedins, he just couldn't keep healthy.

 

[Rowlet]

To me, its pretty crazy that the Ducks didn't see either Pronger or Niedermayer get a Norris while they were together. Also, LOL Toronto. The only original sixer with no Norris. They could have had one from Tim Horton I guess if the Norris was a thing when he was playing. But still, LOL.

That was right when Lidstrom won 3 in a row.

05-06 Neidermayer came 2nd
06-07 Neidermayer came 2nd and Pronger came 3rd
07-08 they were nowhere close, and 2nd place was Dion Phaneuf with only 2 first place votes, Lidstrom cleared this one almost unanimously

 

[kugelbahn]

Similar forwards list is underwhelming as well.
Just the Sedins on top, Bure mistreated and traded...

 

[Jerzey Devil]

Don’t judge other fanbases by their own standards.

 

[57special]

Harold Snepsts had an elite moustache.

 

[JianYang]

Similar forwards list is underwhelming as well.
Just the Sedins on top, Bure mistreated and traded...

I disagree. Their list of forwards has more star power compared to their defense.

It wasn't just the sedins and Bure. Naslund and bertuzzi were not only top guys but also pretty big stars in the early 2000s as well.

 

[Byron Bitz]

respect your Edlers

 

[ManofSteel55]

That was right when Lidstrom won 3 in a row.

05-06 Neidermayer came 2nd
06-07 Neidermayer came 2nd and Pronger came 3rd
07-08 they were nowhere close, and 2nd place was Dion Phaneuf with only 2 first place votes, Lidstrom cleared this one almost unanimously

Oh, I get it, I just am surprised about it when I think about it.

 

[sr edler]

Öhlund without the eye-injury and concussion issues could have been borderline elite.

Edler just never put offence and defence together in a symbiotic enough package to become elite.

 

[Shane Diesel]

This is next level pettiness, diggin into the dirt that hurts sorta pettiness.

Nah, we hear constantly how the NHL would be better off without the American teams and they're just a drag on the great Canadian sport. This is slander that is necessary and refreshing.

 

[benfranklin]

OP is a Vegas fan so probably just started watching hockey a few years ago. He'll learn.

Fake news. Dont judge an avatar to be fan allegiance.

 

[Rowlet]

Oh, I get it, I just am surprised about it when I think about it.

For year 2, there was some overlap though, it's very likely that the two of them split the vote to some degree.

 

[Sykur]

As others have noted, this is merely a testament to the kind of elite player Hughes is.

To use a Tier List analogy, Canucks have had a lot of B Tier d-men. You could even argue that some of them were A Tier for some seasons (but not their whole careers). And they've been flat-out unlucky in a lot of cases (Ohlund, Salo, Reinhart plagued by injuries, Bourdon fatal accident, etc).

But Hughes is S Tier. A tier so special, rare, and unique that the only d-men in it are HoF/Norris winners. And he's an offensive d-man which is even more rare. He's putting up some gaudy numbers. The kind of numbers we haven't seen from d-men since the 80s. He's on pace for a 100-pt season, a feat so rare only six guys have done it (Orr (6), Coffey (5), Potvin, MacInnis, Leetch, Karlsson).

And we are blessed to be living in an age where Hughes isn't the only offensive d-man. Makar, Josi, Hedman, Fox, Dahlin, are all ppg d-men, knocking on the door of elite status.

But we all know the true measure of greatness isn't one elite season. It's having a whole career of elite seasons.