I see a lot of conflicting posts on this forum about how good Quinn Hughes really is as a defenseman. Obviously, he has remarkable offensive output. He's a fantastic PP specialist capable of getting his shots through, gaining the zone and getting set up incredibly well. He's also a great ES transition guy with elite skating when the puck is on his stick.
However, defensively, he obviously falls short. Without a babysitter, he looks lost on what to do when the puck isn't on his stick. He's a net negative out there when you need to defend a lead, and it doesn't matter if he's a good possession player; he just plain sucks at defending. Maybe he bounces back, but you can't ignore a season, defensively, like the one he just had.
So, with this knowledge, what would you classify him as currently, in a vacuum? Taking into account both his offense and defense, of course.
However, defensively, he obviously falls short. Without a babysitter, he looks lost on what to do when the puck isn't on his stick. He's a net negative out there when you need to defend a lead, and it doesn't matter if he's a good possession player; he just plain sucks at defending. Maybe he bounces back, but you can't ignore a season, defensively, like the one he just had.
So, with this knowledge, what would you classify him as currently, in a vacuum? Taking into account both his offense and defense, of course.