Montreal Canadiens Role Profiles: Lane Hutson

As we get into the dog days of summer and until training camp, thesickpodcast.com will profile Montreal Canadiens players based on their expected role for the 2026-27 NHL season.

Montreal Canadiens superstar Lane Hutson will be entering his third year in the NHL during the 2026-27 season, and we’ve yet to see the best of the 22-year-old defenseman. 

He will be starting the first year of his eight-year extension paying him $8.85 million a year, which has been said to be the best contract in the league by The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn. The 2026-27 campaign could be the season that Hutson cements himself as the Canadiens’ most impactful player. 

In just two years in the NHL, Hutson has taken the league by storm despite his small 5-foot-10, 165-pound stature. In his first season, he tied the record for most assists by a rookie defenseman, tying Larry Murphy‘s 60 assists that was set during the 1980-81 season, which was a much higher-scoring era. With that being said, Hutson getting 60 assists as a rookie in today’s NHL is more impressive than Murphy’s feat. Hutson’s 60 assists and 66 points were enough to unanimously win the Calder Trophy as the league’s Rookie of the Year during the 2024-25 season. 

This past season was even better, as he ended up tying the Montreal Canadiens defenseman assist record held by Larry Robinson by registering 66 assists in just his second year in the NHL. Given how great a playmaker that he is, it is no surprise he tied the record, but nobody would have thought he could do it in just his second season. Hutson will likely break that record someday as he continues to only get better as a player. The perfect example of that is looking at how he doubled his goal total from his rookie season. He went from six goals in his rookie season to 12 in the 2025-26 season to finish with 78 points in 82 games, nearly hitting a point per game. Hutson will eventually eclipse that mark; it is only a matter of time, as he only enters his prime in three or four years. 

A huge reason why he doubled in goals is that he is one of the hardest workers on the team and always has the drive to get better. His first year in the league, it was very clear that his shot was a weak point in his game, so he worked on it in the summer and made it a strength. Now, he’s become a shooting option on the power play as well as the quarterback who sets up all the offence that is created on the man advantage. 

His shot especially came up clutch in the post-season, where he scored three goals, including an incredible overtime winner against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Hutson finished the postseason leading the Montreal Canadiens in assists (13) and was tied with captain Nick Suzuki for most points with 16 in 19 postseason games. In fact, during the playoffs, Hutson managed to play some of the best hockey he ever played throughout the first two rounds and played a huge factor in why the Canadiens made the Eastern Conference Finals.

While his offensive game gets almost all the praise, Hutson’s defensive play is very underrated around the league. He may not be the most physical defenseman, but he has still managed to win many battles along the boards against much bigger players. What he does to make up for his size is he uses his lower centre of gravity to his advantage in order to gain strength to knock opposing players off the puck. 

Everything that Hutson does on the ice can be attributed to his exceptional work ethic and beyond-elite hockey IQ, which maximizes his incredible stick handling. Hutson is always two or three steps ahead of everyone on the ice and can make passes that nobody else can from the back end. This upcoming season, Hutson should only improve on his point totals and his overall defensive game as he continues to learn what works best for him and applies it flawlessly to his game.

If all goes well, Hutson should officially become the most impactful player on the Montreal Canadiens roster as he becomes a two-way defenseman that can be trusted in defensive situations nearly as much as he is in offensive situations. That doesn’t mean Hutson needs to be a big part of the penalty kill, but rather that he can be trusted to play in defensive situations to prevent the team from getting scored on. Hutson’s defensive game may never be as good as his play on the offensive side of the puck, but it should still be reliable enough for the 22-year-old to play 25 minutes a night. 

With an improved defensive game alongside his elite offensive game, Hutson could easily be a top-three finalist for the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman as soon as this upcoming season. 

He should eventually win the Norris Trophy at some point in his career with the Montreal Canadiens, but this upcoming season should be about him establishing himself as a true finalist for the award by continuing to develop his two-way game. 

How long is the #GoHabsGo contention window?@MatthewOhayon: “As long as Lane Hutson remains a Montreal Canadien, they have a chance at winning the Stanley Cup”#thesickpodcast @GaumondShayne pic.twitter.com/M7FiqgK6Gq

— The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (@thesickpodcasts) August 7, 2026

The Canadiens as a whole are progressing into a true Stanley Cup contender, and with everyone around him also improving, it shouldn’t be surprising if Hutson records around a point per game as a result. If they do ever win a Stanley Cup with this core, Hutson will be one of the biggest reasons they do with how impactful that he has shown he can be when it matters most.

Hutson should also lead all Montreal Canadiens skaters in ice time for the first time in his career during the 2026-27 season, as he finally seemed to have taken those reins from Mike Matheson during the playoffs.

What are your expectations for Hutson this upcoming season?

In case you missed it, read about Jayden Struble‘s role for the 2026-27 season.