If Lane Hutson had a slow start to the season when his contract negotiations with the Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] were making the headlines, he’s now firing on all cylinders. In Thursday night’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks], the offensive defenseman put up three assists and became the first Habs defenseman to gather 60 helpers in a calendar year when he took part in Montreal’s first goal of the game. In four of his last five games, the 21-year-old put up multipoint efforts and in 34 games this season, he has 31 points, including five goals. He’s only one goal short of the final tally of his rookie season, and he’s on pace for 75 points in a full 82-game season. That would represent a ninth-point progression and tie the fourth-highest point total for a defenseman in Canadiens history. Larry Robinson has had the two most prolific campaigns with 85 and 82 points, while Guy Lapointe got the third-highest total with 76. The latter also had the fourth-most productive season. Canadiens: Bolduc Breaks The Ice At Home [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-bolduc-breaks-the-ice-at-home] Canadiens' First-Round Pick Impresses For Team Canada [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-first-round-pick-impresses-for-team-canada] Canadiens' Robidas: They Need Some Reps [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-robidas-they-need-some-reps] The fact that Hutson, in his sophomore season, is already on pace to tie marks established by some of the best Canadiens defensemen in history is an incredible feat. If some believe that he would have a tougher time this season now that the league has had time to study the young defenseman, they’ve been proven wrong. Hutson has a high hockey IQ, and no matter how much you watch him, you can’t predict what he’s going to do in any given situation because he reads the game so well that he adapts to the different situations like a fish takes to water. He’s been working hard on his shot this season, and it shows. He takes more shots than he did last season, and his shooting percentage has gone up as well (from 6.6% to 8.6%). Last year, he took 91 shots in 82 games, and this season he’s already taken 58 and is on pace for 140. In the 2024-25 campaign, Mike Matheson was the shots leader among Habs defensemen, taking 149. Whichever way you look at it, the young defenseman is improving, and the Canadiens have yet to discover what his ceiling will be. With Matheson sidelined right now, he’s been playing even more minutes, seeing some action on the penalty kill as well. When questioned about his use of the PK, coach Martin St-Louis said he always knew the youngster could play down a man but never used him to manage his ice time. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and he’s been doing it in the last two games. For Hutson, it’s just another type of mission, which he admits to loving, because the aim is to frustrate the other team’s power play. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow Karine on X @KarineHains [https://x.com/KarineHains] Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/karinehains.bsky.social] and Threads @karinehains [https://www.threads.net/@karinehains]. Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/] for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens. Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] on The Hockey News. Image [https://cdn.ramp-assets.playwire.com/1025444/76033/house_ads/file-1762367418209.jpg] Subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I].
