Quinn Hughes third fastest defenseman to 300 assists

[HockeyWooot]

I'm a Canucks fan and honestly 2 years is a huge gap for early career. But yes the quality of teammates is not particularly close, especially this year and some of the earlier years of Hughes' career. So it is ridiculous when you think about it, to be in this category.

Leetch is a good comparison for Hughes as a player in general. Fast, smart, controlling the game.

I’ve always thought Hughes would top out as Leetch like dman good to see him meet his potential.

His overall game has levelled up from last year as well.

 

[Dust]

Yep. And Coffey was a huge cog in that team, and inflated their numbers the same way they inflated his.

You have to kind of chuckle when making the comparison because Vancouver had one of the top offenses last season and were not slouches, and then that early 80's team Coffey was on just has, what 6 or 7 HoF'ers on it? Hard to compare to that.

 

[Rowlet]

You have to kind of chuckle when making the comparison because Vancouver had one of the top offenses last season and were not slouches, and then that early 80's team Coffey was on just has, what 6 or 7 HoF'ers on it? Hard to compare to that.

The 23-24 Canucks had 7 All-Stars so it's basically the same

 

[Dust]

The 23-24 Canucks had 7 All-Stars so it's basically the same

Yeah but 6 of those were just JT Miller and Quinn Hughes and their dogs.

 

[Rowlet]

Yeah but 6 of those were just JT Miller and Quinn Hughes and their dogs.

8 if you include Michael Buble

 

[Brookbank]

Quinn Hughs is the fastest LHD to 300 assists in league history

 

[Rowlet]

I think it’s more indicative of how the avs depth has been decimated than it is on Makar’s skill

It's been bad going back to last year, Hughes' stats without the Miller or Pettersson line is still extremely elite, see other post.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Thats why I take Hughes over any dman in this league. His desire to be better every year and he does exactly that.

ryan “shot can’t break a pane of glass” kesler developed a 40 goal scoring wrist shot of doom. and the difference between prospect hughes’ shot and what he can do now is an even bigger gap than kesler’s transformation.

 

[mattydamon]

he's turned into an absolute beast of a player, so noticeable each and every game, almost always the best player on either team. I just wish ep40 would take notes, he's gone the opposite direction x,x

 

[Duodenum]

Crazy how elite he has become. Starting from midway 2 seasons ago, he's improved his reads, defense, and shot so much.

One of the best players in the league and easily the Canucks best player, so dominant.

 

[nergish]

I've never seen a player control a game like Q Hughes does. There is 0 doubt in my mind that he is the best Dman in the planet and just below Mcdavid for Best Player in the Planet.

I think Makar's offence is slightly better than Quinn's but everything else from Defence, possession etc and Makar is not on same level.

Offence:
Makar 9.5/10
Q Hughes 9/10

Defence
Makar 7.0/10
Q Hughes 9.0/10

The thing about Quinn is he actively listens to what is perceived to be the negative part of his game and then it fuels him to improve on it in the off-season. First it was his defense, then it was his fluffy shot, ...both of which he has improved at a jaw dropping level.

Its insane to think that he just turned 25 yrs old and continues to improve which begs the question...how high is his ceiling?

We are really seeing a Golden Age of Dmen from Hughes, Makar, Fox, Josi, Morrisey etc...

I really do think Quinn and Cale are neck-and-neck just because they have slightly different attributes, but I also pretty firmly believe what you've said to be true.

The Vancouver Canucks are Quinn's team the same way the Avalanche are MacKinnon's team. That's honestly the better comparison here.

You can see Rick Tocchet and the staff are just dumbfounded by Quinn's ability and acumen. Rick said a few weeks ago the captain is "chasing perfection". Up until like game 8-9 of the season, he hadn't even had a single poor shift.

He's the best Canucks player I've ever witnessed with my two eyes, and I had nightly viewings of the Sedin twins, Naslund, Bure, prime Luongo etc.

 

[jackjohnson]

ryan “shot can’t break a pane of glass” kesler developed a 40 goal scoring wrist shot of doom. and the difference between prospect hughes’ shot and what he can do now is an even bigger gap than kesler’s transformation.

Not sure what you are trying to prove...but ok

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Not sure what you are trying to prove...but ok

???

i’m just agreeing with you and providing another example dude

 

[jackjohnson]

???

i’m just agreeing with you and providing another example dude

You are right, i agree with you hehe.

 

[Refalanche]

Hughes: 376 GP 45 G 300 A 345 P +35
Makar: 328 GP 91 G 268 A 359 P +100

Makar just scores too many goals eh

 

[Three On Zero]

Hughes: 376 GP 45 G 300 A 345 P +35
Makar: 328 GP 91 G 268 A 359 P +100

Makar just scores too many goals eh

Makar is phenomenal and I still believe he’s the better out of the two, Hughes is just doing a good job of closing that gap.

 

[Chairman Maouth]

I, for one, am impressed at the level of discourse in this thread. Both Hughes and Makar are getting their due without much hyperbole and chest-thumping from members of their respective tribes. It wasn't always like this. Even last year, in Hughes' Norris winning season, his talent often went underappreciated. It seems like the tide has turned and it's basically a tossup when it comes to who's better. All I know is that I am amazed at Makar's offensive game and equally amazed at Hughe's all-around game.

 

[jackjohnson]

Hughes: 376 GP 45 G 300 A 345 P +35
Makar: 328 GP 91 G 268 A 359 P +100

Makar just scores too many goals eh

48 games to get 32 assists.

 

[Brookbank]

Just an insane once in a life time level of talent. The Canucks d-core is going to be filthy in a year or two.

Hughes - Willander
Pettersson - Hronek

Lets not get the jinx on. We have no idea what Willander will be.

 

[Horvat1C]

The Canucks had Makar ranked #1 in the 2017 draft. At the time Colorado needed a 2C and they picked right before the Canucks. A fun thought experiment would be thinking through the Avs taking Pettersson 4th and the Canucks taking Makar 5th. Since Makar played two years in the NCAA, the Canucks would still land Hughes in the next draft and they'd join the team at the same time. Each one would've had a perfect veteran to partner with:

Edler - Makar
Hughes - Tanev

That obviously transforms the Canucks' team identity.

 

[Raistlin]

MacKinnon, QH, Shesterkin.

These are the best at their positions right now. Each of them dictate the largest probability resulting in wins vs losses when they play.

 

[Bounces R Way]

That Vancouver blueline would be lottery level without him. With the way Pettersson and Miller have started and the Demko injury so ditto on the Canucks.

Is Demko ever coming back? Did they have to cryogenically freeze him or something? Would think with a goalie Hughes fully trusts he'd feel more comfortable to take risks and push the pace offensively.

 

[Oak]

His MacKinnonless stats have been bad for two years now!

Last year, his CF% was 46.19, his FF% was 46.48, his xGF% was 47.74.

His stats have been getting worse every year since 2022. Even if his stats are worse this year because his team is worse, they were still bad the year before. Hughes is the play driver on the Canucks, Makar is along for the ride.

Hughes, at 5v5 when Miller and Pettersson are BOTH off the ice this year has a CF% of 64.94, a FF% of 61.21%, and a xGF% of 69.90. Just with the Canucks 3rd and 4th lines, with Silovs who can't stop a beach ball and Lankinen, a goalie who has played well but only became a Canuck in training camp.

Well I can argue Hughes is not putting up the points he does without Miller or Boeser bc they are two of the main recipients of his passes that put it in the net. I have not bothered to track these dweeb stats that you guys do, but considering how much these two players alone help him rack up assists, I wouldnt be surprised if they are helping his defensive zone numbers as well. Especially with a player like Miller who does well in both sides of the ice.

 

[Favster]

I remember arguing with Habs fans about wanting him at 3. I'm here to say "told you so!".

Seriously though, congrats to him and Canucks fans, he's a special talent.

 

[Rowlet]

Well I can argue Hughes is not putting up the points he does without Miller or Boeser bc they are two of the main recipients of his passes that put it in the net. I have not bothered to track these dweeb stats that you guys do, but considering how much these two players alone help him rack up assists, I wouldnt be surprised if they are helping his defensive zone numbers as well. Especially with a player like Miller who does well in both sides of the ice.

You seem like an old school hockey guy, did you ever play? Did you ever have a coach or adult tell you that the process matters more than the results? Don Cherry types would call it "playing the right way" and as long as you did that, you'd do well?

We use advanced stats to see who's "playing the right way" while not just looking at how much they score, because sometimes playing the right way doesn't end up in a goal, and sometimes players play the wrong way but still get rewarded.

To put it simply, Makar isn't playing the right way when MacKinnon isn't out there too.

When Makar is on the ice and MacKinnon isn't, of every 100 shots taken, only 40 of them are from the Avalanche. When they're both on the ice that number jumps up to 61. This means the Avalanche fail to break out, get trapped in their own end, etc. when MacKinnon isn't there.

When Hughes is on the ice and Miller isn't, of every 100 shots taken, 62 of them are for the Canucks. When they're both out there, that number is 66. This means that Hughes is rarely trapped in his own end and is able to break out of the zone regardless of who his linemates are.

Additionally, when it's Miller out there alone the Canucks only take 31/100 shots. So in reality it's not true that Miller is defensively elite, he actually doesn't control play at all when Hughes isn't also out there. It's Hughes who is playing the right way.

We use a stat called expected Goals For (xGF%) to measure who's doing things that usually result in goals, it's like boiling down a play-the-right-way stat to a percentage.

When Makar is out there with MacKinnon, the on ice events that lead to goals is about 65% for the Avalanche, but Makar's expected goals drops all the way to 37% when you only look at his ice time away from MacKinnon.

If you look at Hughes, when Miller is off ice, of all the events happening that usually contribute to goals, 61% of them are happening for the Canucks. If you look at Hughes even with just the 3rd and 4th line, that number jumps up to 69% indicating that Hughes actually makes his whole team better while Makar struggles with anyone else not named MacKinnon on the ice.