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Stop disrespecting Lane Hutson; you look bad.

 Maxime Truman
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Stop disrespecting Lane Hutson; you look bad.
Credit: Getty Images

Last Thursday, I dedicated almost my entire column to the show Laraque & Gonzalez featuring Lane Hutson.

Let’s just say that his three-point match and first star in Salt Lake City has only added weight to his exceptional resume since arriving in the NHL.

I still pinch myself every time I see Lane Hutson dance on the ice…

Incredible statistics
Hutson is the Canadiens’ best defenseman in 45 years…

He is the MVP of the first half of the CH season…

He is one of the biggest surprises in the entire NHL since the start of the season…

He is the third-highest scorer on the CH this season, after Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield…

He is the club’s leading passer so far in 2024-25…

Only Juraj Slafkovsky and Logan Cooley have more points than Hutson among the 2022 draft class, and Hutson is just three little points behind Cooley… in 80 fewer games! Not bad for a guy drafted at the end of the second round…

He was named the rookie of the month for December in the NHL and is on track to win this title again in January…

He is the top scorer among rookies this season, four points ahead of Michkov and Celebrini…

He has had nine games with more than one point already this year…

He is the sixth-highest scorer among all defensemen in the Bettman circuit, ahead of Victor Hedman, Adam Fox, Evan Bouchard, Erik Karlsson, Rasmus Dahlin, Roman Josi, Mikhail Sergachev, John Carlson, Moritz Seider, Mike Matheson, and many more…

He has recorded at least one point in each of his last five games. This is the third time this season he has gone on such a streak…

He is capable of playing simply, but also in more complicated ways. The fact that he is equally capable of collecting secondary assists on the power play, as well as a good number of spectacular primary assists five-on-five, proves it.

There was a game this year where Hutson had the puck on his stick for over four minutes. Michel Pezzetta doesn’t even play that long, four minutes, in a game…

He holds his own physically, in fact, he seems to be at his best when it gets rough…

He has more points this season than the combined total of the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh best rookie defensemen. Wow!

We thought he would only be a power play specialist, but he is very good defensively and also produces at even strength…

Want more?
Lane Hutson was good last year, in his two matches against the Red Wings. He also performed very well during the first 23 games of the current season (13 assists).

But the little American defenseman has truly reached a whole new cruising speed since November 27.

In 22 games, Hutson has recorded no less than three goals and 21 assists, giving him a production rate of over one point per game. All this while maintaining a plus-9 differential during this period!

Only Mike Matheson (24:35) spends more time on the ice on average per game than Hutson (22:43). But Matheson is a veteran, and the fact that he ceded his spot on the team’s first power play unit to Hutson may lower his average ice time (and increase Hutson’s).

Hutson’s rapid emergence has caused everyone to reassess their positions, especially Mike Matheson.

Trophies to be won
Many believe that Lane Hutson will win the Calder Trophy this year, especially those who have watched his last 22 games.

“Many people”, however, does not include Kevin Weekes and Adnan Virk from the NHL Network.

Darren Dreger sees Hutson as a superstar in the making.

Both P.K. Subban and Renaud Lavoie predict not just a probable Calder Trophy for Hutson; they even go so far as to predict him a Norris Trophy. Do I need to remind you that such a trophy is awarded to the best defenseman in the entire NHL?

The disrespect towards Hutson
Some commentators continue to show disrespect towards the young Canadiens defenseman.

The latest? Corey Pronman, who suggested yesterday that Lane Hutson might one day become a top four defenseman in the NHL.

Cr*ss! He is already top two in Montreal… and top 10 in the NHL!

Corey, when you miss the mark as much as that, you do your mea culpa; you admit your mistake. Like The Snake dared to do this week in Processus…

Especially since you claim to be an expert on young players (as does The Snake and Pronman).

We are lucky to have him
Let’s take a few minutes on this day off for the Canadiens to appreciate how lucky we are to have a young player like Lane Hutson. With Hutsons, we are used to dreaming about them and watching them bloom elsewhere while thinking: “We never have players like that in Montreal.”

Or we trade them too early!

Man, he’s going to break the bank with his next contract, little Lane. If Slafkovsky was able to get nearly as much money as Nick Suzuki, Hutson will surpass the captain.

I expect an eight-season contract with an annual average salary between eight and nine million dollars.

Don’t forget that the salary cap will rise significantly over the next few years…

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