Until the Montreal Canadiens manage to put pen to paper on a significant extension with Lane Hutson, you can expect a lot of articles and podcasts to discuss the matter. On Friday’s episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast, Elliotte Friedman discusses the issue, and he doesn’t believe that the Anaheim Ducks’ contract with Jackson Lacombe hurts the Canadiens that much.

Both Luke Hughes and Jackson Lacombe have signed eight-year contracts with a $9M AAV, and Friedman believes the Habs and Hutson are negotiating around that number. The Sportsnet insider believes Hutson should also get $9 million on an eight-year deal. He thinks the Canadiens are shooting a little lower than that, and the player is aiming for a bit more. While he doesn’t think the two sides are too far apart, he adds that getting to the finish line won’t be that easy.

Canadiens Take 14th Place In NHL.com Power Rankings
Canadiens: Hutson Clan Must Have Taken Notice
Former Montreal Canadiens Forward Placed On Waivers

Meanwhile, Marco D’Amico from Research Ground also published an article today in which he underlines ways that could help Kent Hughes sign Hutson. Before the new collective bargaining agreement takes effect next September, the Canadiens can still offer Hutson a significant portion of his salary in a signing bonus, which would result in lower taxes for the youngsters. But once it kicks in, they’ll only be able to give him 60% of the total value of the deal in a signing bonus.

Another creative avenue that Hughes could utilize is the Retirement Compensation Agreement. In a nutshell, when this provision is included in a contract, it allows a player to defer paying taxes on a portion of the money earned until retirement. When they retire, presumably in the United States and in a state with lower tax rates than Quebec, it’s that tax rate they pay on the money that was protected that way. Of course, that would leave Hutson with less disposable income in the short term, but with a lot more money in the end.

As d’Amico rightfully points out, there is no actual rush to sign Hutson since he cannot be offered a sheet next offseason. Still, one has to think the Canadiens really want to sign their star blueliner for as long as possible, and for now, that’s eight years, but when the new CBA comes into force, it will only be seven years.

The Habs are always discreet about contract negotiations, and it’s not because nothing is leaking from the team that nothing’s happening. I agree with Friedman that the two sides are probably hard at work as we speak, but I still think the final number is likely to be close to $10 million AAV; time will tell.

Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.

Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.

Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable on The Hockey News.