Colorado Avalanche

Former NHLer Still Not Buying Evan Bouchard as a Top Defenseman in the League

Is Evan Bouchard a top-three all-around defenseman in the NHL?

by
Jackson Weber
April 5, 2026

Despite leading the league in scoring among defensemen by 10 points and being on pace to finish with 94 on the season, not everyone is sold on Evan Bouchard as a favorite to win the Norris Trophy.

The oddsmakers still favor Zach Werenski by a decent margin, and former NHL player turned Sportsnet analyst Kevin Bieksa also believes not only that Bouchard remains behind Cale Makar, but that he’s still not in the class of being a top-three all-around defenseman in the world. He did, however, praise his ability to run the power play, unlike anyone else in hockey.

Bieksa said:

“I’m going to talk about Evan Bouchard because there is a lot of conversation about whether he’s in the Norris conversation. For me, he is not a top-three defenseman all around right now in the world. But for me, he is the number one defenseman on the power play—nobody in the world is better, in my opinion… He (Makar) is the best defenseman in the world right now. He impacts the game more than anybody else, even at the Olympic level, he impacts the game more than anyone else,”

The 26-year-old Bouchard has racked up 88 points (21 goals, 67 assists) through 77 games played this season. Werenski (78 points) and Makar (75 points) sit second and third behind him in the scoring race at the position.

It’s hard to argue against Makar being the best defenseman in the world, because that’s exactly what he’s been from almost the moment he stepped into the NHL. That said, his recent upper-body injury could allow Bouchard and Werenski to create even more separation in the Norris Trophy race, so it feels rather unlikely that he’ll win the award for a third time in 2025–26.

When it comes to Bouchard, he may not be a top-three all-around blueliner in the game, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t win the Norris. What he has done this season has been spectacular, and while Werenski deserves just as much recognition, Bouchard’s production should give him the edge. Whether that’s how the voters see it, though, is a whole other story.

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