Lane Hutson demonstrated yesterday that Corey Pronman was off base (and the latter added to it).
Charles-Alexis Brisebois
We say this obviously because Corey Pronman’s ranking placed Hutson 39th among his top players under 23, which has sparked quite a discussion in the city.
In fact, aside from the ranking (which is special in itself, but still), it’s mainly the fact that his puck skills were described as above average and that his competitive nature was labeled as “average” that caused such a notable reaction.
It wasn’t the analyst’s best take, let’s say.
He faces the best opposing players and he plays a lot, Hutson… in addition to racking up points.
Lane Hutson with the perfect feed and Kirby Dach makes it look too easy
pic.twitter.com/KQmZx2bvMJ
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 15, 2025
But I think the comment that triggered the most reaction was Pronman’s statement that if Lane Hutson continues on this path, he could be a top-4 player one day in his career.
I’m not saying he would be on the top pair of every team right now, but he is playing on the top-2 of the Habs. He faces big opponents and holds his own defensively while also producing when he has the puck.
He leads all rookies in points, and only five defensemen in the NHL have more than his 35 points: Werenski, Makar, Hughes, Morrissey, and Theodore. That’s not exactly a bunch of slouches…
We notice that there is a copy-paste of the segment on Hutson from yesterday (including the part about the top-4 and his competitiveness level) in a piece published this morning, right after the rookie’s excellent game yesterday. He doesn’t look any better this morning, Pronman.
Which under 23 NHL players and prospects trended up the most in the first half https://t.co/4JjHX9nfxb
— Corey Pronman (@coreypronman) January 15, 2025
However, he wasn’t the only player who helped the Habs win. What do I take away from yesterday’s game?
1. The best were the best. We’re talking about Hutson and his three assists, but Mike Matheson (two points, including a beautiful goal) and Alexandre Carrier (two assists) were also solid on the blue line.
On offense? Patrik Laine, Kirby Dach (twice), and Cole Caufield found the back of the net. They took advantage of an opponent who wasn’t at their best defensively.
But in the second period, it was much better. Especially in terms of penalties…
The Canadiens corrected their issues, and as Martin St-Louis said after the game, he didn’t need to intervene between the first two periods. This means the guys self-evaluated and corrected what needed to be corrected.
That’s a sign of maturity. And it reminds us that unlike many moments since the fall of 2021, the Canadiens are capable of regaining momentum and coming back in games.
#gohabsgo reset themselves on Tuesday. That’s what Martin St. Louis told reporters at Delta Center. He said he didn’t need intervene after their awful start.
It tells you this team has come very far over the last 6 weeks. The identity it’s formed can take it even further over the… https://t.co/HwK4QgwJEO— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) January 15, 2025
3. In his last nine games, Kirby Dach has six goals. We’re talking about a stretch of nine games since returning from the holidays… and that brings his total for the season to eight. Clearly, he is regaining his legs.
And that’s a good thing.
4. Emil Heineman is the only injured player for the Canadiens at the moment. That wasn’t the case for André Tourigny’s men, who currently have several injured players (6-7 guys, including Shea Weber).
Result? The Canadiens dressed Michael Pezzetta for the game. Clearly, recalling someone to bring him to Utah wasn’t realistic.
The longer this goes on, the clearer it becomes that Pezz, both for himself and for the Habs, needs to be put on waivers – for his own good. He either doesn’t play, or he doesn’t play… well.
We know what he can bring, but it’s tough to do so while playing so little (3:50 yesterday, less than an hour since the beginning of the season) and it’s hard to make an impact when taking bad penalties. Get him out of his misery, for his own good.
6. Seeing the Canadiens use the term “hit-and-run” on X made me laugh.
yes it would be to report a hit-and-run please
Math eight and left no crumbs#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/BCT0vtIUBF
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 15, 2025
overtime
Let’s remember that the Habs will play in Texas tomorrow before returning home for two games at the Bell Centre this weekend. The Maple Leafs and the Rangers are on the agenda.

As we can see, after tomorrow’s game against the Stars, it will mostly be at home for the rest of the month. Aside from a little trip to Detroit, the guys will mostly play at the Bell Centre from now on in January.
But don’t forget that the trip to California is coming up… #BeginningFebruary