Canadiens Hutson Contract Extension A Crucial Step Forward

With an eight-year contract extension for Lane Hutson on the books, the situation for the Montreal Canadiens continues to evoke a strong sense of hope from the players and fans alike.

Hutson, 21, signed a team-friendly deal that carries an average annual value (AAV) of just $8.85 million, considerably less than most assumed he’d command after a dominant rookie season that saw him score six goals and 60 assists, one of the best results from a rookie defenceman in the history of the NHL.

He was quick to confirm his short, but fruitful tenure in Montreal has instilled a solid belief in the team’s ability to fulfil its long-term aspirations.

“It is special whether it’s practice, games, preseason, playoffs,” he said.  “It means so much to me, and it’s pretty special I get to do it for a while now. I have a belief we’re not far off from being a team that can be a Stanley Cup championship team.

“And not just once,” added Hutson.

It’s this type of attitude that has helped the Canadiens escape the basement of the NHL standings, not to mention qualify for the playoffs last season, despite beginning their reconstruction in 2021.

Simply put, Hutson represents more than just a highly-talented defenceman who can create offensive opportunities out of thin air.

He’s a throwback to an era when the Montreal Canadiens roster was populated with some of the best players in the league, and while there’s still a lot of work to be done before the city can celebrate a 25th Stanley Cup, there’s a legitimate reason to believe that a return to greatness is possible for a franchise that struggled to bridge the gap between dominant hockey dynasties and the much-more complex modern sports landscape.

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With the salary cap set to increase significantly in the next few years, his $8.85 AAV also connotes that the team will have the ability to navigate the salary cap situation with much more financial flexibility than previously expected. It’s an important, if not crucial factor in building a winning lineup, especially when we consider players such as Ivan Demidov will need a raise in the near future.

“We’re building a culture here, where guys are not trying to break the bank,” explained captain Nick Suzuki. “All Lane wants to do is win, and I think he’s definitely set us up for that possibility moving into the future”

Hutson joins Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky, Cole Caufield, Kaiden Guhle and Noah Dobson as part of the team’s long-term core, which has been granted a certain level of stability that few franchises enjoy, but all would envy. Suzuki’s deal in the first to expire among the core six, and that’s a situation that will not need to be addressed until 2030.

In other words, general manager Kent Hughes has quickly and efficiently collected a group of highly-invested players who not only want to win tomorrow, they want to grow together and build something special for the foreseeable future.

Montreal Canadiens salary cap information via Cap Wages.