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Lane Hutson should get $12 million a season, says JiC
Raphael Simard
Lane Hutson should get $12 million a season, says JiC
Credit: On July 1, the contracts of Christian Dvorak, Joel Armia, Emil Heineman, Jakub Dobes and Jayden Struble expire. In the case of the last three, they will become restricted free agents, unlike the other two. But Kent Hughes’ real contract work will begin on July 1, 2026. Kirby Dach, Mike Matheson and Patrik Laine will […]
On July 1, the contracts of Christian Dvorak, Joel Armia, Emil Heineman, Jakub Dobes and Jayden Struble expire.

In the case of the last three, they will become restricted free agents, unlike the other two. But Kent Hughes’ real contract work will begin on July 1, 2026. Kirby Dach, Mike Matheson and Patrik Laine will be out of contract.

But so will Lane Hutson, who will certainly be asking for the moon. Will Hughes do as he did with Juraj Slafkovsky and Kaiden Guhle and extend the contract before his entry-level contract expires? Perhaps. One thing’s for sure, JiC believes his agent will ask for $12 million per season. He ended his text by saying that he MUST earn that amount.

It’s a lot, but I have a feeling the defenseman won’t be getting that much.

I’m aware that the cap has gone up and will go up, but I don’t see him getting a much bigger contract than team captain, leader and number one center Nick Suzuki.

(Credit: CapWages)
If he signs this summer, I see him with a contract in the Suzuki range, maybe a million or two more than the captain, max.

But if Hutson and his agent decide to bet on the player and he has an even bigger season in 2025-2026, $12 million is a bit more of a possibility.

In any case, the TVA Sports journalist believes that $10 million for the defender is not enough.

But if Hutson’s advisors recommend that he sign an eight-year, $80 million deal, or $10 million per campaign, he should politely stand up, leave the room and fire his agents. – Jean-Charles Lajoie

In his text, Lajoie draws comparisons with Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes. Both stars signed deals in the summer of 2021 ($9 million for Makar and $7.85 million for Hughes). In his first season on the Bettman circuit, the Canadiens’ protégé’s statistics are very similar to those of the Avalanche and Canucks protégés.

12 million in 2026-2027, when the salary cap will be $104 million, that’s 11.54% of the team’s payroll. By comparison, Suzuki and Cole Caufield are at 8.9%.

Makar, at 10.2%, and Hughes, at 8.9% (as the Habs’ two best forwards). 11.54% is a lot.

I understand JiC’s point, but in my opinion, Hutson won’t sign a contract above $10.5M. If so, kudos to his agent for winning the negotiations against an excellent negotiator in Kent Hughes.


In Overtime

– A Cayden Lindstrom 2.0.

– Wow.

– Pictured.

– The Wildcats don’t seem headed for a sweep.

– Too bad.

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