Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson became just the fourth blueliner in Habs history to reach the 70-point mark.
In the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night, Montreal Canadiens blueliner Lane Hutson picked up an assist on the first goal of the game, bringing his point total to 70 on the season. The 22-year-old becomes just the fourth defenseman in the Sainte-Flanelle’s history to reach that milestone and the youngest ever to do it.
Larry Robinson did it three times at age 25, 28, and 34, Guy Lapointe did it twice at age 26 and 28, and Chris Chelios only did it once, when he was 26. The latter would no doubt have done it a few more times had he not been traded by Serge Savard, who believed he would have a short career because of knee issues (he reached 70 points twice with the Chicago Blackhawks at 30 and 33 years old).
With his 70 points, Hutson already has the seventh most productive season by a Canadiens’ defenseman, and with 11 more games to go, he’s not done climbing up the rankings. He needs just four points to overtake Chelios, who’s in sixth place with 73 points, six to overtake both Robinson (75 points) and Lapointe (75 points) in fifth and fourth place respectively, and just seven more points to overtake Lapointe in third place with 76 points.
Robinson has the two top seasons with 85 points in 77 games in 1976-77 and 82 points in 78 games in 1985-86. While it would be surprising to see him break Big Bird’s record this season, he will likely break it eventually. It’s worth mentioning that when Robinson racked up 85 points, he was playing on the Canadiens’ powerhouse of the 70s with the likes of Guy Lafleur (who had 136 points on the season – the most ever by a Habs player) and Steve Shutt, who had 105 points that year.
Right now, the Canadiens are one of only three teams with three players who have more than 70 points; they join the Edmonton Oilers (Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard) and the Colorado Avalanche (Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, and Cale Makar). Hutson is fifth in defenseman scoring behind Bouchard (84 points), Zach Werenski (77 points), Makar (71 points), and Quinn Hughes (70 points in 67 games, which gives him the edge over Hutson for fourth place).
Amongst the top five, he’s second in plus/minus with a plus-28, behind Makar, who’s plus-31. Whichever way you look at it, sooner rather than later, the Canadiens’ rearguard will be entering the James Norris Trophy conversation and deservedly so. He will be a treat to watch for Canadiens fans for years to come, and right now, the sky seems to be the limit for the youngster.
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.
Subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here.