Despite the miserable season the Vancouver Canucks have had this season, there was a big takeaway from the team’s 4-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night. The team’s All-Star defencemen set a new NHL record of becoming the fastest defencemen to record 200 assists in the history of the game.
With two assists tonight, Quinn Hughes became the fastest defenceman in NHL history to reach 200 career assists in 263 games played, beating Brian Leetch who reached the milestone in 264 games played. pic.twitter.com/oJFl4YATVC
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) March 5, 2023
Yes… the entire NHL history. Every legendary defenceman that you can think of? Hughes got 200 assists faster than they did. The record was previously held by Hall of Famer, Brian Leetch, who recorded 200 assists in 264 games. Hughes beat this record by 1 game. But let’s not excluded many of the other Hall of Fame defenders that Hughes beat. He beat the likes of Bobby Orr, Gary Suter, Sergei Zubov, and… well… literally every other defender!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CpamF_CMFlT/?hl=en
What makes this new record even more impressive is the fact that he plays for the Vancouver Canucks. Now we all know how bad of a season the Canucks have had, no one needs any more reminders, but that’s why this record is even more impressive and shows the immense amount of talent that Hughes has. He was able to record 200 assists in 263 games on a Canucks team that has never really been all that competitive since he joined the team.
If he was the top offensive defencemen on a top NHL team, like say the Boston Bruins, it would still be impressive that he set a new NHL record, but the fact he’s been basically the only good defender on the Canucks for the past few years, so how he’s carrying the defense core on his back.
Hughes making history.
Congrats to our guy, Quinn Hughes, on becoming the fastest defenceman in @NHL history to 2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ career assists. pic.twitter.com/lFc034sHgE
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) March 5, 2023
Despite achieving this impressive record, Hughes hasn’t spoken to the media about him breaking the record. He didn’t talk to the media after the team’s 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs or after today’s morning practice in preparation for their matchup against the Nashville Predators. Just goes to show that Hughes isn’t phased by setting records. He just wants to come to the rink every day, give it his all, and fight for wins. The Canucks have a great defenceman in their hands, potentially the best defender to ever play for their franchise. Let’s just hope they can keep him around…