Canucks' Quinn Hughes sets career-high goal target for next year's Norris Trophy contention

Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes is setting his sights on an even bigger goal next season as he looks to contend for back-to-back Norris Trophy wins.

After scoring a career-high 17 goals en route winning the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman this past season, Hughes believes he can take his goal scoring to an even higher level in 2024-25.

"I felt like I missed a lot of scoring opportunities last year. And even though my goal-scoring spiked, I think it can spike again.” Hughes told Sportsnet's Iain MacIntyre.

To address his goalscoring, Hughes has dedicated his off-season training to hone his shooting skills from various positions on the ice.

Hughes stayed realistic regarding the chance of hitting the 100 point mark, a milestone accomplished by defenseman Erik Karlsson (2022–2023 season) in the last thirty years.

"As far as the other thing (100 points), I'm not sure," Hughes said. "For me, I'm going to try to be aggressive every single night and push the pace, push my game, and then wherever that takes me, it takes me."

After recording 92 points (17 goals, 75 assists) last season, the most among NHL defensemen, Hughes believes he can find yet another level in the upcoming season.

"Winning the Norris, it obviously does change your perspective on yourself a little bit," Hughes said.

"But right now, it's like I didn't win the Norris because it's a new year. It's next year. It's always next year. I think that there's more I can get through.”

Hughes is confident that regardless of his point total, his overall game will see improvement in the coming year.

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Quinn Hughes on honoring Johnny Gaudreau

Quinn Hughes, teammate of Johnny Gaudreau on Team USA, was devastated to hear of the death of Gaudreau and his brother Matthew in a suspected drunk driving incident last week.

Not able to believe what happened to Gaudreau, Quinn Hughes said:

"It's just crazy because a guy like John, he was just so, he was so energetic. You know, he just had this vibe, where, like, everyone in the room could feel it. It just doesn't seem real that this could happen."

The NHL community is discussing ways to commemorate Gaudreau's legacy, with one proposal suggesting renaming the Lady Byng Trophy in his honor. Hughes wholeheartedly supports this idea, emphasizing the need to keep Gaudreau's memory alive in the sport he loved so dearly.