By the time the season is over, Montreal Canadiens' blueliner will have inked his name in the record books for a few different reasons, and here's a big one.
During Saturday night’s tilt against the Nashville Predators, Lane Hutson recorded his 60th assist of the season on Oliver Kapanen’s goal in the second frame, and he became just the third defenseman in NHL history and the first in Montreal Canadiens history to record multiple 60-assist seasons before his 23rd birthday.
The other two blueliners to accomplish the feat were Paul Coffey, who did it three times in 1981-82 (60 assists and 89 points), 1982-83 (67 assists and 96 points), and 1983-84 (86 assists and 126 points) with the Edmonton Oilers and Bobby Orr, who did it twice with the Boston Bruins in 1969-70 (87 assists and 120 points) and in 1970-71 (102 assists and 139 points). Interestingly, neither managed to do it in their rookie season, although they did start their NHL careers at a very young age. Orr was just 18, while Coffey was 19 in their rookie season.
Hutson will turn 23 on February 14, 2027, so unless he can record 60 assists before then in the next campaign, he won’t be able to accomplish the feat a third time, but he will remain the only one to do it in his first two seasons. Rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer is battling for the rookie scoring race with Beckett Sennecke and Ivan Demidov, but he only has 34 assists so far, and with only eight games to play, he won’t get there.
With 10 games left in the season, Hutson has 60 assists, 11 goals and 71 points, on pace for 81 points and 68 assists on the year. If the youngster keeps producing as he has been, the Canadiens will get more than their money’s worth with the former 62nd overall pick at the 2022 draft. Earlier this season, the blueliner put pen to paper on an eight-year deal with an $8.85 million cap hit.
Right now, he’s the fifth-highest scorer amongst defenseman behind Evan Bouchard (86 points and a $10.5 million cap hit), Zach Werenski (77 points and a $9.583 million cap hit), Cale Makar (72 points and a $9 million cap hit for one more season before becoming a UFA) and Quinn Hughes (72 points and a $7.85 million cap hit for one more season before becoming a UFA). Chances are, Makar and Hughes will break the bank, making Hutson’s cap hit look like even more of a deal in July 2027.
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