Lane Hutson is nicknamed “Wayne Hutson” in the Habs dressing room
Credit: Getty Images

At just 21, Lane Hutson is one of the best hockey players on the planet.

He's one of the NHL's elite offensive defensemen, and he's really starting to be more responsible defensively too.

It's not for nothing that he's the 12th most effective defenseman in the league when it comes to battles won for the puck:

The kid's got talent, and the Canadiens players know it in the bedroom, too.

In fact… the guys in the dressing room know it so well that they nickname him “Wayne Hutson”, referring to Wayne Gretzky. Renaud Lavoie talked about it this morning on BPM Sports.

With Little Bro (Slaf), Medium Bro (Caufield) and Big Bro (Suzuki), we now have the nicknames of four Habs stars.

The players have fun together.

There's a great sense of complicity within the group, and you can tell when you hear the nicknames being attributed to the players in the dressing room. It really feels like a family… and I hear they like the fact that they can rub shoulders regularly too.

It's part of the team's new culture, after all.

We've changed the way things are done in Montreal, thanks in part to Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes. The philosophy has changed since their arrival in Montreal: Hughes and Gorton wanted to create a pleasant environment for everyone (players and staff alike).

It's different from the last few years, and it's great to see for the fans too. Because right now, it's hard not to love this club, and the players on the team too…


Overtime

– Logical.

– No worse.

– He's still just as good.

– Great news.

– Are you for or against the phantom rider in the playoffs?