Habs Insider Projects Astounding Numbers For Lane Hutson Extension

According to just about any prognostications you can find in the hockey world, Lane Hutson is the frontrunner in the Calder Trophy race for the NHL's top rookie this season. But the Montreal Canadiens' tremendous first-year blueliner has more than an award for his mantlepiece to likely look forward to this summer.

The 21-year-old will be eligible for an extension, as his entry-level deal will expire after next season.

He's the first rookie (at any position) to hit the 50-point mark this year, and has even been referred to by teammate Patrik Laine as "the best quarterback on the power play that I've played with."

So what will Hutson's next contract look like in Montreal? GM Kent Hughes will undoubtedly try to wrap him up for the full eight-year term, and according to Habs insider Marc Dumont of Montreal Hockey Now, a Hutson extension will be worth an astounding "$11M - $12M" per annum.

I think Hutson gets $11-$12m per, regardless of what happens between now and July 1.

And it will be a bargain in no time.

He probably has a Calder bonus clause though. I haven't checked it out yet. https://t.co/KWeobvN3k1
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) March 13, 2025

Some of the recent comparables of excellent offensive D-men coming off their entry-level deal with a huge extension include Quinn Hughes, who, in 2021, signed a six-year, $7.85M AAV contract with the Vancouver Canucks; Adam Fox, who was rewarded in 2021 by the New York Rangers with a seven-year, $9.5M cap hit deal; Owen Power in 2023 signed a seven-year, $8.35M AAV deal with the Buffalo Sabres; and in 2024, Brock Faber earned an eight-year deal with the Minnesota Wild with an $8.5M cap hit.

So can Hutson blow that far past that group?

With the news this January that the salary cap will be soaring to new heights in the coming years, it makes sense that Hutson could surpass all of those names. Fox, at $9.5M is the highest one of the aforementioned ELC-to-massive extension list, but his deal was signed four years ago. That was a whole different time and place in the NHL compared to where we are with the cap and salaries today.

Hughes getting $8M coming out of his ELC (which brings him straight to UFA) will be about the same as Hutson getting $11M in a couple of years.

The cap is going up dramatically. Cap % matters, not the raw totals from a different financial era.

$8M yesterday is tomorrow's $11M. https://t.co/Vd0Gel23C7
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) March 13, 2025

According to Dumont, in fact, that $11M-$12M number for Hutson "will be a bargain in no time.

Every defenseman this season with more 5v5 controlled zone exits and controlled zone entries than Lane Hutson:

— Quinn Hughes
— Cale Makar
— Erik Karlsson
— Zach Werenski
— Evan Bouchard

That's the list. pic.twitter.com/te4f9mWfPQ
— Big Head Hockey (@BigHeadHcky) March 13, 2025

Hutson is tied for 3rd amongst all defensemen in the league with 47 assists (only Cale Makar and Zach Werenski have more), and he leads all NHL rookies in assists (47), points (51), power-play points (22), average ice time (22:21), takeaways (43) and blocked shots (95) in 65 games.

And he'll lead them all in AAV soon enough, if Dumont's projection is anywhere close to accurate.