Canucks: If NHL season is over, Quinn Hughes is the Calder favorite
The Vancouver Canucks’ blueliner, Quinn Hughes leads all rookies in scoring and he should be the Calder Trophy favourite if the 2019-20 season doesn’t return.
The hockey world and the Vancouver Canucks were absolutely rocked with some tough news on March 12th, 2020. With the coronavirus spreading like wildfire and the NBA deciding to suspend their entire season after two players from the Utah Jazz tested positive for Covid-19, the National Hockey League really had no choice but to follow suit. As hard as it is to stomach the shutdown, it’s the right move to be made.
With all future games postponed for the time being and no certainty on when things might fire back up for the NHL, it’s difficult to gauge if this is in fact, the regular season in its entirety, or if the league will actually find a way to get the 82-game schedule completed somewhere down the road. At this point, nobody knows the answer.
One thing is certain though. If the season ended today, Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks would not only be the third consecutive Canucks rookie nominated, but he would also be favoured as the rightful winner of the Calder Trophy. And with a three-point lead on his stiffest competition Cale Makar, I’m confident he would mirror Elias Pettersson and give the Canucks’ back-to-back rookie winners.
The kid from Orlando Florida has completely shattered all expectations put in front of him. His confidence in his game is very noticeable every time a microphone is shoved in his face. He believes in himself and it pushes him a long way. He has 53 points, (8 goals, 45 assists) through 68 games. Imagine where he would finish points-wise with a full season of games.
As hard as it is to not be watching sports this late in the season, a break might be what’s best for the overworked number one defender. His numbers have dipped a touch as the games pile on. With his college experience of 34 game seasons, it was wondered by many if an 82-game grind would eventually catch up to Hughes.
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There is also the idea that Hughes has been playing through an injury. He was a game-time decision not too long ago but could have been rushed back to the lineup due to a slip in the wild card race. Either way, Hughes and other Canucks could use a break. If the season is over, he’s accomplished more than anyone ever dreamed, and if we see more regular-season games down the line, Hughes will be back with the freshness – we know he loves making an entrance.