Leo’s Hockey Report: Eight more years of Lane Huston in Montreal

Lane Hutson during his rookie season. He signed a eight-year contract with Montreal on Oct. 13, 2025. (Submitted: Victor Munhoz/NHL via Getty Images)

Lane Hutson is set to be a Montreal Canadien for the foreseeable future. The sophomore defenceman signed an eight-year deal with the team on Thanksgiving Monday.

His contract extension came with a value of $8.5 million per season and included a ten-team no-trade clause during the final two seasons.

Hutson is coming off a rookie season where he turned a lot of heads. He finished with 66 points (two goals, 60 assists) in 82 games last year. 

Those numbers helped him set a Montreal rookie record for most assists in a single season. He sits in third place all-time among Montreal rookies and first in points by a defencemen.

Hutson’s magical rookie campaign ended with him winning the Calder Memorial Trophy. By doing so, he became the first Montreal player to win the award since the late Ken Dryden in 1972.  

The Holland, Michigan-native has four assists to start the new season. 

"I tried not to let myself get distracted by the negotiations, but it was starting to weigh on me a little," Hutson told reporters. "It's a good thing for both sides to come to a deal. I'm just happy to be here for a long time."

"I think every time you get to throw on this jersey, it's special, whether it's practice, games, preseason, playoffs. It always means so much to me and it's pretty special that I get to do it for a while now." 

Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis found a fun way to announce the extension to the team. At practice last week, he asked Hutson to go for a skate, and while he was skating, St. Louis told everyone that Hutson would remain a Canadien for the next eight years.  

The news was received positively by his teammates. They started jumping and swarming Hutson along the end boards.  

“That was a pretty cool and special moment," Hutson told reporters. "That's just the group we have, pretty tight-knit." 

Hutson is part of Montreal’s young core of talent. This young core includes players like Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Kaiden Guhle and Juraj Slafkovsky. All four were part of Montreal’s farm system and have developed into quality players at the NHL level.  

Newly acquired Noah Dobson could be included in the team’s young core, as would rookie forward Ivan Demidov and goaltender Jakub Dobes. 

Montreal’s young talents are locked up until at least 2030. 

Samuel Choinière, centreback on the STU men’s soccer team, is also an avid Canadiens fan for as long as he can remember. His fandom for the Habs is something that “runs in the family.”  

When he heard that Hutson signed his long-term deal, Choinière said that he was “excited.” He believes that Hutson is a good offensive player that Montreal was able to re-sign and retain for a relatively cheap price.  

“[Hutson is] one of the players I'm most excited to watch every game. He's a natural talent and I’m pretty happy to have secured him. He's probably going to be our best defenceman for the years to come,” said Choinière. “I'm looking forward to seeing him and I think also he deserved it after winning the Calder [trophy] and breaking a bunch of records in Montreal.” 

Choinière has been impressed with Hutson’s play during the early days of his NHL career, especially the way he smoothly controls the puck. He believes that despite Hutson not being the biggest player on the ice, he makes up for it by moving his feet and his stick.  

“I don't know if I remember a player in Montreal that can move the puck as smooth as he can. This guy would handle the puck at the blue line in the defensive zone, passing over players,” he said. “The craziest part is how he is still young, so there's still room for improvement.” 

Fans caught a glimpse of this part of Hutson’s game on Oct. 16, when Montreal took on Nashville. Hutson blocked a game-saving shot in the third period to prevent the Preds from scoring. He then made a pass through the middle of the ice to spring Caufield, who tied the game. 

Montreal later defeated Nashville 3-2 in overtime. 

“I do think Montreal wants Hutson to focus on hockey … you have already seen what he can do. And I think [they] want Hutson to do even better. So, signing him would take [the] pressure off of Hutson and the organization,” he said. “He's a fan favourite. Everyone wants him to stay here.” 

Choinière is looking forward to watching the Canadiens young core turn into true NHL superstars. At the same time, he said the players, Hutson included, still need time to mature and grow, given how Montreal is still at the tail end of a rebuild.  

Having the plans and young players in place to become a future Stanley Cup Contender makes Choinière “excited to watch” every Canadiens game this season.  

“A couple of years ago, I was watching games. I was still excited to watch hockey, but we did not expect a lot from Montreal,” he said. "And now, I would not say we have high expectations … but every game gets a good performance from any of the young players.”

Hockey is set to be fun again in La Belle Province. Hutson agreeing to a long-term deal is only a small piece of the excitement.