Quinn Hughes is the greatest player in Vancouver Canucks history.

Not just the best defender, no; the greatest player. Bigger than Pavel Bure, Markus Näslund and the Sedins. That may be a bold statement, but it’s one that will become increasingly easier to defend as his career continues.

Before Tuesday night’s game against the Anaheim Ducks, Hughes needed three assists to become the third-fastest defenseman in NHL history and reach 300 career assists. If he did, he would reach that milestone in his 376th game, a game quicker than Paul Coffey.

He did just that, contributing to the Canucks’ first, third and fourth goals in a 5-1 victory, although his second assist of the night was initially credited to Hughes as a goal before the NHL only decides that Elias Pettersson has tipped him in front. from the internet.

Once again, Hughes just beat Paul Coffey with 300 assists. That’s Paul Coffey, who is second all-time in assists and points by a defenseman behind Ray Bourque.

The only defensemen in NHL history to reach 300 assists faster than Hughes are Brian Leetch and Bobby Orr. This is not just elite business, but the upper echelon of the elite.

Let’s also keep in mind that the average NHL save percentage over the first five seasons of Coffey’s career was under .880. The average save percentage over the first five seasons of Leetch’s career was under .890. Goals, and by extension assists, were easier to come by in those days.

This makes Hughes’ achievement even more impressive. He’s a legend in the making and it’s a treat for Canucks fans to be able to see him.

“I feel very lucky,” Hughes said humbly after the match. “I’m fortunate to have had great teammates and it’s been a fun six years.”

Beyond the three assists, it was as dominant a performance from Hughes as we’ve seen all season. At 5-on-5, the Canucks outscored the Ducks 22-5 when Hughes was on the ice. He was a threat every time he stepped over the boards and there was nothing the Ducks could do to stop him.

Hughes now has a 64.3% Corsi on the season, second among all defensemen behind Shayne Gostisbehere, who has the unfair advantage of playing for the Carolina Hurricanes and their dominant puck possession system (all six defensemen of the Hurricanes this season are in the top ten in corsi).

The Canucks outscored their opponents 137-78 with Hughes on the ice at 5-on-5 and outscored them 13-4.

No one else in the NHL single-handedly tips the ice like Quinn Hughes. He’s putting together a season that should not only put him in the conversation to win the Norris in back-to-back years, but should also put him in contention for the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player.

It’s not just the numbers that work in his favor. Quinn Hughes could win the Hart this year if voters watch the games like I watched this game.

• Aatu Räty’s return to the lineup started off on the wrong foot: specifically, Brock McGinn’s foot, as Räty put his stick around McGinn’s foot and tripped him on his first shift . On the ensuing power play, Owen “Renée” Zellweger started things off with a bang as Roxie Hart and sent a long point shot through traffic that beat Kevin Lankinen just inside the far post.
  
• Räty adjusted well after that unfortunate start, finishing the game with a team-high five hits and a 7-for-9 mark in the faceoff circle, an impressive 78% winning percentage. . If he can lock down the fourth-line center position and allow Pius Suter to play on the wing, that makes the Canucks deeper than a Bo Burnham song at the front.
  
• “I thought as the match went on I liked his game,” Tocchet said of Räty. “He was tough on pucks. This line was actually pretty good – I thought Höglander was playing a really north-south game.
  
• The Canucks’ power play still looked a little underwhelming, but they were finally able to tie the game on their second chance of the night. It was simple and straightforward: JT Miller fed Quinn Hughes at that point while Brock Boeser settled into the bumper and made a beautiful deflection off Hughes’ pass, sending the puck over the glove of Lukas Dostal as if she had been. guest by Styx.
  
• The Canucks took the lead before the end of the first period with exactly the type of fast-paced offense Tocchet wanted to see since the start of training camp. It started with a great play along the wall from Danton Heinen to protect the puck from Zellweger’s pinch and start the run the other way. Erik Brännström joined the race on the right wing and played a perfect backhand into the path of Kiefer Sherwood, who unleashed a one-timer explosion that Dostal had no hope of stopping.
  
• “I thought Heinen played his climb out of the corner perfectly,” Tocchet said. “He was aggressive and got the puck, then we counter-attacked and got something in the race. We scored a few rushing goals tonight, which is nice to see.
  
• Early in the second period, the Canucks extended the lead to 3-1. Conor Garland nimbly gained the zone and created a chance in the slot for Elias Pettersson, whose shot was saved. Garland collected the rebound, fed Hughes at the point, and his slap shot was gently deflected by the screening Pettersson – so gently, in fact, that the NHL only just gave Pettersson the goal on the scoresheet before the end of the match. game to officially give Hughes 300 assists.
  
• Honestly, I wasn’t 100% convinced that Pettersson had tipped the scales until I started the super slow motion on the highlights. Indeed, Pettersson only gets a share.

• Sportsnet Plus continues to be the bane of Canucks fans. Earlier in the season, frequent errors kept fans from watching the game. On Tuesday night, Sportsnet Plus went to commercial mid-game in the second period, then remained in commercial for more than five minutes of the game. The “replay” of the game on the app is even worse, missing almost the entire second period and half of the third period. This follows Rogers’ announcement that the “service” will cost an additional $5 per month for subscribers. This is an absolute joke.

• It was a tough night for Carson Soucy, even though he wasn’t in possession of the puck this time, as the Canucks controlled 5-on-5 play all night, no matter who was on the ice. Instead, Soucy couldn’t stay on his feet and couldn’t stay out of the box. He repeatedly lost an advantage and fell several times in the first half, even briefly leaving the game after a tough spill in the boards. When he returned, he immediately received a double-checking penalty, then received another penalty in the third period. We need to find out who, exactly, placed a curse on Soucy and what needs to be done to lift it.
  
• To be fair to Soucy, he also took a penalty and was much more active jumping into the game. Perhaps this match was a turning point. Who knows?
  
• The Canucks continued to control the game in the third period and took a 4-1 lead thanks to Hughes’ 300th assist. Boeser rotated to the point while Hughes drew two Ducks defenders with his dangling, dipsy scribbles. Hughes put the puck in Boeser’s wheelhouse and he hammered a one-timer that Jake DeBrusk deftly deflected past Dostal for his second goal of the season.
  
• It didn’t really work, but I like the fact that Boeser tried to keep the puck in the offensive zone by heading the puck late in the third period. Brings back memories of Daniel Sedin directs the puck on a zone entrytrying to pass the puck with his head to Henrik, who for some reason skated the wrong way because he didn’t expect his brother to use his head – the only evidence we have that the Sedin twins are not mediums.

• The Canucks added one more goal late in the third to complete the victory. Teddy Blueger drove down the right wing and held onto the puck long enough for his teammates to catch up. He set up Sherwood for a shot that was blocked, but Sherwood recovered the puck and set up a wide open Danton Heinen for the easy 5-1 goal.
  
• Watching Robby Fabbri do nothing while Heinen set up at the top of the court less than five feet away from him, I now understand why the Ducks give up the most shots in the NHL. Lukas Dostal has one of the highest save percentages in the NHL and it doesn’t matter.
  
• Well done to Elias Pettersson, who had a game-high six shots on goal. This is hopefully a very positive sign that his confidence is growing, as the lack of shooting was the biggest concern with his game early in the year.
  
• Kevin Lankinen was as solid as ever, stopping 21 of 22 shots to improve to 6-0-2 this season with a .923 save percentage. It’s hard to overstate how crucial he’s been for the Canucks early in the season. It was good for his teammates to give him a night where he didn’t need to make a difference for once.
  
• “It’s not easy to miss a Vézina goalie. Demmer is not only fantastic and one of the best goalies in the league, but he is also a fantastic person and leader on this team,” Hughes said. “For Kevin to come here and step in and be a rock for us, it’s been awesome.”