Habs Daily: Hutson Calder Talk, KHL Wants Demidov, Prospects

Here are the Montreal Canadiens news items, stories, and content you may have missed on Friday.

Montreal Canadiens News

The Calder Trophy is set to be awarded on June 12, and despite phenom Lane Hutson having the clear-cut best season among rookies this year, not to mention one of the most productive rookie seasons from a defenceman in NHL history, there are some concerns he may not win the award. It remains to be seen whether or not the voters got it right, but until then, we can speculate wildly about the potential outcome.

To add a little gasoline to the fire, an NHL executive suggested the Calder Trophy ceremony led to “a different reaction than we expected,” when they taped the segment.  [Canadiens Calder Trophy: The Strong Case For Lane Hutson]

According to Steve Mayer (NHL President of Content & Events), the reaction of the Calder Trophy winner was “different reaction than we expected or thought, and that was good.”

— Malyssa (@23MAlyssa) June 5, 2025

Igor Larionov is the new head coach of SKA Saint Petersburg, and one of his first comments drew a lot of attention, suggesting that he’d like to work with top Canadiens prospect Ivan Demidov for a season before returning him to the NHL.

To be perfectly fair, Larionov has shown a penchant for trusting young players with an abundance of ice time, which was the opposite situation to how Roman Rotenberg stumbled through his coaching duties, but the Demidov boat has sailed, and there are no return trips scheduled. [SKA Coach Wants Canadiens Forward Demidov Back In The KHL]

I haven’t had a chance to dig into their rankings, but it’s worth noting the Habs finished as the No.1 team in McKeen’s NHL prospect pool rankings.

McKeen’s Hockey has named the Habs #1 on their 2025 NHL Prospects Report rankings 🔥 https://t.co/GD92srXpKZ

— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) June 6, 2025

National Hockey Now Network

The Pittsburgh Penguins do not expect Russian forward Vasily Ponomarev back with the organization next season. [Pittsburgh Penguins]

It was just about this time last year that the Philadelphia Flyers were a team to watch as a possible trade destination for Carolina Hurricanes forward Martin Necas. [Philadelphia Flyers]

Between Mitch Marner hitting Free Agency and several high-profile players in trade rumours, it’s shaping up to be a summer unlike any we’ve ever seen. However, the Vegas Golden Knights have very few assets and limited salary cap space. [Vegas Golden Knights]