Is Evan Bouchard the best defenseman in the NHL right now?
If you asked someone who the best defenseman in the NHL is, you would likely hear the usual suspects: the Colorado Avalanche’s Cale Makar, the Minnesota Wild’s Quinn Hughes or Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Some may point to Buffalo Sabres’ captain Rasmus Dahlin, or Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens. Even Matthew Schaefer of the New York Islanders has gotten some recognition after a Calder Trophy-winning rookie campaign.
But a little more than a week into the 2026-27 regular season, Edmonton Oilers’ defender Evan Bouchard has stood above the crowd. As of Friday morning, his 11 points through four games is second among all NHL skaters — behind only his teammate Connor McDavid — and is averaging 25:03 of ice time per game.
On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton are joined by former NHL defenseman and Morning Cuppa Hockey co-host Colby Cohen to discuss Bouchard’s start to the season and where he ranks among the league’s best.
Tyler Yaremchuk: We’re right in the middle of “overreaction season,” so here’s how we’re going to do it: I’m going to present you with an early-season overreaction, and you’re going to give it a number between one and 10 — 10 being “Tyler, shut up, that’s a dumb thing to say,” with one being “No, that’s not a small sample size, I really do believe that can stay true for the bulk of the season.”
Here’s the first one I got for you: Evan Bouchard has been on the ice for 69 five-on-five minutes, and with him on the ice, the Oilers are outscoring their opposition 11 to one.
Bouchard is the best defenseman in the NHL right now: Colby, one to 10, what do you give it?
Colby Cohen: I’d probably keep it at a five, right down the middle. I think that you can’t ignore what this guy is doing right now. There’s probably different versions or definitions of what is the best defenseman in the NHL even supposed to do, but the reality is we’ve moved the goalposts to a point where we celebrate points — and pretty much only points — for defenseman.
Carter Hutton: Right now, it’s really hard to deny how good he’s been. I think he takes a beating sometimes. When you look at those two opening games, with the way their goaltending went and the goals against, it’s hard to hide those ones. But if this continues at this pace … there’s no denying that he’s in the conversation.
It’s really hard to move past the Makars and Hughes and Werenskis and Dahlins in the world, but he’s in that list. If those guys are the top five, those are the guys that you’re debating all year.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…