Norris Trophy: Lane Hutson is a pick by a writer at The Athletic

Félix Forget
Norris Trophy: Lane Hutson is a pick by a writer at The Athletic
Credit: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

Lane Hutson had another standout season. In his second year in the Bettman League, the defenseman tallied 12 goals and 78 points in 82 games, finishing the season with a +36 plus/minus rating.

He was really, really good.

But in reality, his name isn't being mentioned much in Norris Trophy discussions despite all that. We know the field is (very) strong this year, but it's still surprising to see Hutson rarely mentioned among the names making the rounds.

However, there is someone who wanted to put his name in the conversation: in a poll conducted by The Athletic among its writers, we see that one of the 30 writers surveyed named Hutson in response to the question about the Norris.

It's worth noting that only Zach Werenski (22 votes) and Cale Makar (six votes) received more votes than Hutson, placing him in third place (and in a better position than the NHL's rankings, hehe).

It's worth noting that several journalists from The Athletic are among those who will be voting for various individual awards. We don't know if the person in question (who remains anonymous) is among those voting for the Norris, but it's still an interesting point to note.

We expect Werenski to win… but perhaps Hutson could make it into the finalists and/or receive one or more first-place votes.

It's worth noting that in addition to Hutson, Rasmus Dahlin also received a vote. Evan Bouchard and Quinn Hughes are among those who didn't receive a single vote in The Athletic's poll.

This race is going to be very interesting to watch… and we'll see if Hutson can come out on top.


In a nutshell

– Speaking of the Wolf.

– Indeed.

– Good point.

– I like that.

– Hehe.

facebook icon Share twitter icon Tweet linkedin icon Share
Copied!