NHL Network will be releasing its Top 20 Defensemen Right Now Rankings on Sunday, and one has to believe that Lane Hutson has done enough this season to improve on his 19th-place ranking last season.
After releasing its Top 20 Wingers Right Now Rankings last Sunday, NHL Network will release its Top 20 Defensemen Right Now Rankings on Sunday at 7:00 PM. Montreal Canadiens’ Cole Caufield was named the 9th-best winger in the last list, and one has to wonder where Lane Hutson will land on this new list.
In last year’s list, Hutson ranked 19th, which is already quite good for a rookie, but given the fantastic sophomore season he put together, he should be even higher this time around. In his rookie campaign, he tied a Larry Murphy record for most assists by a rookie defenseman with 60, a mark that had been set in 1980-81 and was tied for fourth-most points by a rookie defenseman with 66.
He followed that up with a 78-point sophomore season in which he recorded 66 assists and finished third in scoring on the Canadiens. He was fourth in points among defensemen in the league, behind Evan Bouchard (95 points), Zach Werenski (81 points), and Cale Makar (79 points).
Last season, Makar was ranked first (a spot he’s likely to keep this year), Quinn Hughes was second, Norris Trophy winner Werenski was third, followed by Miro Heiskanen and Victor Hedman to wrap up the top five. Josh Morrissey, Rasmus Dahlin, Jacob Slavin, Roman Josi and Bouchard completed the top 10. Charlie McAvoy, Gustav Forsling, Jake Sanderson, Thomas Harley, and Shead Theodore had spots 10 to 15. Adam Fox, Devon Toews, Mikhail Sergachev, Hutson, and Brock Faber completed the list.
Needless to say, Hutson should shoot up the ranking this season, not only because he was fourth in points in the league among defensemen, but also because of the critical role he plays for the Canadiens. When the Habs need a goal, Hutson is the man they give the puck to to engineer a lamplighter. In his second season in the league, he was much more confident, taking more shots and deferring less to his teammates. He was seventh in the league amongst blueliners for plus-minus, and while that stat doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story, it still means the 22-year-old was on the ice for a lot more Canadiens’ goals than opponents' goals.
In the playoffs, when the team struggled to find offense, Hutson was still there, and he finished the postseason tied with Nick Suzuki for the team lead with 16 points in 19 playoff games. There’s no denying that Hutson needs to go up the ranking, but the question is, how far? At this stage, a top 10 finish doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility, and he’s not even done improving.
It will be interesting to see how Calder Trophy winner defenseman Matthew Schaefer fares in those rankings as well; will he come in higher than Hutson’s 19th-place finish from last season?
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