NHL Awards Rankings: New No. 1 in MVP race

5. Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks

The shine wore off the Vancouver Canucks over the last few weeks. They are no longer the NHL darlings and the chatter around their hot start cooled by a lot. He's still the highest-scoring defenseman with 36 points (tied with McDavid on the season). He showed his importance in the "Hughes Cup" against his brothers Jack and Luke Hughes. He had a late assist when the Canucks were doing their best to make a miraculous comeback (scoring three goals in the third period to tie the game).

However, Quinn Hughes fell down the rankings because the Canucks are struggling as of late. They have four regulation losses in their last 10 games. It's still a pretty good record, but it wasn't the torrid pace they had earlier this season.

Still, Quinn Hughes deserves his spot in this conversation. It's hard to decipher which Canucks player should be in the conversation (J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson are both in the top seven in points in the league). He's holding onto this spot for dear life. However, if he keeps the league lead in defensive points, he will at least have a spot in the conversation.

Hughes has great on-ice impacts. Only one player in the entire league has been on the ice for more goals at 5v5 than Quinn Hughes. Yet, while he's seen 32 goals scored, he's only been on the ice for 16 goals against. The counting numbers are still in Hughes' favor, and that's what the voters go by at the end of the season. He's up against Cale Makar, and he has the lead for just a moment. Tune in next week to see if the same thing happens.