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Evan Bouchard scored 95 points for the Edmonton Oilers but did not make the Norris Trophy finalist list. The finalists include Rasmus Dahlin, Cale Makar, and Zach Werenski.

Why Evan Bouchard isn't a finalist for Norris Trophy despite 95 points for Oilers originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Evan Bouchard is by no means a perfect defenseman.
By the same token, though, it would've been hard for him to have a much better season for the Edmonton Oilers. Despite that, he wasn't named one of the three finalists for the Norris Trophy that's given to the top defenseman in the NHL.
The finalists were announced Thursday, and they are Buffalo's Rasmus Dahlin, Colorado's Cale Makar and Columbus' Zach Werenski.
Bouchard misses out despite having 95 points this season -- 21 goals and 74 assists.
He played all 82 games and averaged 24 minutes and 41 seconds of ice time, a career high.
Bouchard was also a plus-25 on the season.
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Evan Bouchard had a strong season but was not considered a finalist for the Norris Trophy, which recognizes the top defenseman in the NHL.
The finalists for the Norris Trophy are Rasmus Dahlin from Buffalo, Cale Makar from Colorado, and Zach Werenski from Columbus.
Finalists for the Norris Trophy are typically selected based on their overall performance, including points, defensive skills, and contributions to their team's success.
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Bouchard isn't regarded as being a quality defender as a defenseman.
Some voters must've considered that the biggest negative to Bouchard, who many see as having more of a forward's mentality while playing on the back end.
It's a bit of a flawed train of thought, though. He actually played more minutes on the penalty kill this season than all three finalists for the Norris.
There's also just an overall reality here that a player with 95 points and a plus-25 definitely had a positive impact on his team winning hockey games. So it becomes a matter of what the Norris is meant to be -- and evidently the voters felt it wasn't necessarily just the most productive player who plays in defense, but actually factored in some level of defensive value specifically to their votes. Even that is subjective, but it appears to be what happened here.