Canucks' Hughes could become seventh D-man ever to score 100 points

Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes has reached too many impressive milestones this season to count. It seems like every week, he reaches a new plateau that’s only been accomplished by Bobby Orr, Ray Bourque, or Paul Coffey.

With three games left in the season, he has an outside chance of adding his name to another impressive list. The 24-year-old has 91 points, which means he’s just nine away from reaching the 100 mark.

There are only six defencemen that have ever scored 100 points in a season. The entire list is Orr (six times), Coffey (five times), Denis Potvin, Al MacInnis, Brian Leetch, and Erik Karlsson (last season). That’s some pretty amazing company.

Hughes has scored nine points in one three-game stretch this season. He scored five points against the San Jose Sharks on November 2, was held scoreless against the Dallas Stars on November 4, and scored four points against the Edmonton Oilers on November 6.

There have been just eight total seasons with at least 100 points in Canucks history. Those belong to Henrik Sedin, Pavel Bure (two times), Alexander Mogilny, Markus Naslund, Daniel Sedin, Elias Pettersson, and J.T. Miller (this season). Hughes would be the first defenceman on the list.

Hughes has blown away his previous career high of 76 points set last season. Part of the reason for his improvement has been a sharp increase in his goals. Hughes worked on his shot last summer, and the results are obvious. His 17 goals this season are more than he scored in the two previous seasons combined and nearly half of the 43 he’s scored in his career.

The American-born player is the leading candidate to capture the first Norris Trophy in Canucks history. He’s been the quarterback behind one of the NHL’s best teams and has helped orchestrate a massive turnaround that has the Canucks headed to the playoffs.