It was a snub, pure and simple.
But leaving Evan Bouchard off the top of the Norris Trophy ballot after a season in which he scored 1021 points (regular season and playoffs) requires a little more finesse to assess than we probably feel like granting.
That and more in this edition of…
9 Things
9. In GM Stan Bowman’s season end avail, he said “I don’t know if we’re going to have a dramatically different roster next year”. I agree that most of his guys have the ability play better. And that too much changeover can be a bad thing (which we’ve seen here, recently). But given that ticking sound coming from Connor McDavid’s locker…
8. Did you see the “goodbye” post that Calvin Pickard posted this week? It was a “thank you Edmonton” message on Instagram alongside a clutch of photos with him in Oilers silks. This is a guy signed as an AHL veteran who saved the club’s bacon in successive playoff years including a 7-1 run in 2025. If anyone ever outperformed their contract it was him. Best of luck.
7. I have respect for Kris Knoblauch, and I hope he returns as Oilers Head Coach. But along with most of the team this season, Knoblauch’s performance regressed as well. There is an old saying in my business that “you don’t know what you don’t know”. My perception is that Kris Knoblauch was a much more stubborn, set-in-his-ways coach this season than last. That did not do him many favours. Might be worth reflecting on.
6. I have read a few articles projecting what the Oilers’ pending UFAs may earn from their new contracts going forward. I would say two things: One, most people are forgetting how much the cap is going up (8.9%). With the extra cash floating around the league, those estimates are likely low. Two, since most everyone’s price will also be going up…what may look pricey to you in relative terms probably is not. Inflation, in hockey as in life, costs everybody more.
5. A good example of the previous is Jason Dickinson, obtained from Chicago at the deadline. I keep seeing people thinking the Oilers should sign him for $3m a season or let him walk. Dickinson is the closest thing this town has seen to a proper 3C in how many years, and you want to sign him for less than the $4.25m Chicago previously signed him for? I can agree that there is an upper limit you can pay a guy like him, but…get real. Dickinson is worth returning, as is Connor Murphy.
4. A number of Edmonton Oilers are headed overseas to play at the World Hockey Championships. I mentioned Evan Bouchard and Darnell Nurse in this space last week, for Team Canada. Since then, Mattias Ekholm joined Team Sweden, Josh Samanski is with Team Germany and Ike Howard Team USA. Some people mumbled about wear and tear on those players. My Take: These guys are competitive and playing for their country matters. Taking that away from them would be taking away a piece of them. If you have never played, maybe it is harder to understand.
3. As you surely know by now, Connor McDavid is a finalist for the Hart Trophy as the league’s Most Valuable Player. His two very worthy fellow-nominees are Nathan MacKinnon and Nikita Kucherov. I have never attempted to hide the fact that I am an Edmonton Oilers fan and so I hope McDavid wins. But he is certainly keeping top-drawer company with those other two guys. The fact that the Oilers succeeded to the extent that they did down the stretch had a whole hell of a lot to do with Connor, which probably earned him some late votes. Yet, it is also a commentary on how just how much better this roster needs to be: That on a team with Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard, McDavid is still that critical in the eyes of the critics.
2. It just so happens that this 9 Things column publishes on Mother’s Day. I am lucky that my mom is still living at the spry age of 90. Like many (most?) people who have grown up playing the game, my mom played an important part in my career path. Mom understood the game extremely well and was a firm believer in hard work. As a result her boys were never cut much slack. Yet she was as proud as can be of whatever we did achieve. And she and Dad travelled a mind-numbing number of miles to watch their kids play. In fact, I could count on one hand how many games of mine she missed, and I must have been in well over 1,500. Just two weeks ago, when I was back at the homestead, she and I say down to watch an Oilers game together. Even at 90, Mom knows all the players, yes she has an opinion of whether Connor should play with Leon, and she was miffed when they lost in overtime. Happy Mother’s Day Mom, and to all mothers on a on the special day that you deserve so much.
1.Maybe I should have seen it coming. No, I definitely should have seen it coming. But still I was dismayed when Evan Bouchard failed to be named as a finalist for the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenceman. I have consistently stated for several months now: I did not think Bouchard was an automatic lock to win the Norris. In fact, if I had a vote, Bouchard probably would have been second to Zach Werenski in Columbus. He also had a fabulous season. But that a guy who had one of the best scoring seasons as a defenceman in NHL history was fourth or worse on some ballots just floors me. I believe it could be gross negligence on the part of any writers who left him out of their top three.
Now, I want to be careful not to tar everyone with the same brush. I know a lot of writers who take this task very seriously. They put in a lot of time and work breaking down numbers and tape in addition to the games that they watched over the course of the regular season. And hey…after all that if they still omitted Bouchard, I can disagree but respect that. It merely becomes a difference of opinion.
What I am fascinated to learn, though, is just how many of the members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association DO put in that kind of effort. Last year, I understood that around 190 people voted. I do not yet know how many there will be in 2026 but one assumes it is likely to be in that neighbourhood again. And I like that it is a broad panel as opposed to one of two kingpins.
But what is the ratio of people like (say) Mark Spector, who travels with the Oilers and as a result sees practically every NHL squad in person, to those that do not. Mark may not be your particular brand of vodka. But I have always admired for him for putting in the work and for calling a spade a spade. And Spector has already revealed that he ranked Bouchard second on his ballot.
I have never made Evan Bouchard out to be the perfect NHL player. At times I get exasperated with him, too. But I have also been around this game enough and watch an ample number of games across the league to know that Bouchard’s mistakes are not unique to him. And that other guys on the same Norris ballot had inferior numbers, fewer penalty kill minutes, etc.
I hope that every member of the PHWA has a high set of standards and did not just pick their favourites. Their published ballots should help reveal that…
…along with any possible bias that resulted in one of the best D-man of his era denied an honour he earned serious consideration for.
This article is not AI generated.
Leavins Cult of Hockey
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Bruce McCurdy, 1955-2025.
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