After being kept off the scoreboard in the Vancouver Canucks’ season and home opener on Thursday, Quinn Hughes recorded an assist against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday to finally become the Canucks’ all-time leader in points by a defenceman. With the helper, he now has 410 points in his career, one point ahead of Alex Edler, whom he tied on April 14 against the San Jose Sharks.
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Hughes had gone two games without a point, keeping him tied with Elder for 180 days. Before Hughes rapidly caught up to Edler, he had held the record since March 3, 2018, when he recorded two assists against the Nashville Predators. It took him 741 games to pass the former leader, Mattias Ohlund, at 325 points, while Hughes only required 435 games to pass Edler at 409. When Edler left the Canucks to sign with the Los Angeles Kings in 2022, he had 409 points in 925 games. He was also nearing retirement at 34 years old. Hughes is only a few days away from 26, eight years younger than him, and just entering his prime.
By the time Hughes reaches 34 years old, he could be closing in on 800 (or even more). Whether all those points will come in a Canucks uniform remains to be seen, considering the well-documented uncertainty about his future in Vancouver. But for now, he is the Canucks’ all-time leader in points by a defenceman, and likely will be for a long, long time. The only boxes he needs to check are all-time goals and games played, as he already holds the record for assists at 352, 42 more than Edler’s 310 in second place. The Canucks and their fans hope he can hit the games played category one day, because that means he was a career Canuck, something that’s very up in the air right now.
