Vancouver Canucks Quinn Hughes Breaks NHL Record; Formerly Held By Brian Leetch

Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes has been making headlines recently with some impressive career milestones.

During Saturday's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Rogers Arena, Hughes reached 200 assists in his NHL career, breaking Brian Leetch's long-standing record for the fewest games required to accumulate 200 assists in the NHL. 

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

It took Leetch 264 games to reach the milestone with the New York Rangers, while Hughes managed to achieve it in just 263 games with the Canucks, who drafted him with the No. 7 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. 

No defenseman in NHL history has accumulated 200 🍎s in fewer games than Quinn Hughes of the @Canucks.#NHLStats: https://t.co/gLoRa3pvfh pic.twitter.com/IQEDvB0fxV

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 5, 2023

But that's not all - Hughes has also become the first defenseman in Canucks history to have back-to-back 50-assist seasons, reaching 50 assists in just 56 games during a game against the Dallas Stars last Monday. He has also tied Doug Lidster and Paul Reinhart for the most multi-point games (16) by a Canucks defenseman in a single season. 

Hughes has been compared endlessly to Colorado Avalanche's Cale Makar since they both entered the league in 2019-20. Makar now needs 32 assists in his next 38 games to tie Hughes' new record. Photo Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports