These are great times to be a Montreal Canadiens fan.
While they might not exactly be Stanley Cup contenders at this point, they are, as all hockey fans know, a team full of great young talent, such as forwards Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Ivan Demidov, Juraj Slafkovsky, and defenseman Lane Hutson, to name just a few.
On Monday, October 13th, Montreal fans had even more reason to be excited about their team’s future after they signed their prized 21-year-old defenseman in Hutson, to an eight-year contract extension worth $70.8 million, which works out to an average annual value of $8.85 million.
“Nice to get a a good bit of business done,” Hutson said. “For me, it’s back to work and building my game. I think it’s good for both sides. I’m just happy to be here for a long time.”
Hutson, who was drafted in 2022, 62nd overall by the Canadiens, has seen his stock soar after scoring six goals along with 66 points and 34 penalty minutes last year in becoming the latest Montreal player since the late goalie Ken Dryden in the 1971-72 season, to win the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year.
In what was truly a historical 2024-25 season, Hutson made franchise history in passing Hall of Famer Chris Chelios for most points by a Canadiens rookie defenseman. This officially occurred on April 14, 2025, when Hutson assisted at the Bell Centre on Slafkovsky’s third-period goal for his 65th point, which came during a 4-3 SO loss against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Signing that eight-year extension was something that excited Hutson as he talked about what an honour it is to play for the Canadiens.
“I think every time you get to throw on this jersey, it’s special, whether it’s practice, games, pre-season, playoffs,” Hutson said. “It always means so much to me, and it’s pretty special. I get to do it for a while now. I have belief that we aren’t far off from being a team that can be a Stanley Cup championship team, and not just once. Hopefully, we continue to do it, but the belief I have in this group, the staff, coaches, everything we have in place. I think we’re heading a a great direction.”
Habs Defenseman Lane Hutson Signs 8-year Contract Extension
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Hutson Left Off Team USA List of Players Invited to Olympic Camp Orientation
Last summer, in a controversial move, Team USA didn’t have Hutson’s name on the list of players invited to the Team USA Olympic Camp Orientation, which was held last summer on August 26-27 in Plymouth, Michigan.
While it’s true that Hutson only completed his first NHL season, it can’t be ignored that this up-and-coming star has experience playing for Team USA, and this includes perhaps his finest moment, which came in 2024 when he helped them strike gold at the World Junior Championships.
A reason why Hutson wasn’t invited is perhaps because Team USA has in the past gone with a similar type of freewheeling defenseman in 25-year-old Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes. Hughes, who is from Orlando, Florida, has already played in 433 career games and produced 59 goals along with 409 points and 175 penalty minutes.
According to a source close to RG Media, a big reason for Hutson being snubbed was,
“He didn’t go to the World Championships; that’s the first part and that matters,” the source told RG. “I know that for both Canada and the United States, that weighs heavily on the decision-making because they have such deep talent pools. One could argue that they both put together two squads and still compete for gold.”
Naturally, if Hutson plays well this year, then come February, he could find himself representing Team USA at the XXV Olympic Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Hutson Gets A Warm Congratulations From Teammates After Signing Extension
Shortly after signing that lucrative long-term contract extension, Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis, at the conclusion of practice, singled out Hutson to skate an extra lap.
While this might sound like a coach punishing a player, that wasn’t the case at all. As Hutson was skating out of earshot, St. Louis informed the team about Hutson’s new contract extension, and the reaction showed just how loved this young defenseman is by his teammates.
Caufield led the charge as Hutson’s teammates enthusiastically swarmed the young defenseman and congratulated him on the new contract.
“That was a pretty cool and special moment,” Hutson said. “That’s just the group we have, pretty tight-knit.”
Hutson’s signing brings more excitement to what should be a real breakthrough season for this young, talented team which has the potential to exceed expectations this year.
Main Image: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
