Credit: Kyle Prudhomme
Lane Hutson's time in the NCAA appears to be nearing an end, as the NCAA playoffs are now upon us. It's not a question of if, but when, Hutson will join the Canadiens organization, and what he will be able to bring to either a bottom-feeding Habs team or a Laval team looking to make the playoffs.
Laval Route
Credit: Laval Rocket website
If the Canadiens opt to send Lane Hutson to Laval to close out the year, it would be smart for them to not sign him to a standard NHL contract, but an amateur tryout (or ATO), so that he is eligible to play for the team, and if they qualify, in the Calder Cup playoffs. This has been done with past Rocket players such as Jayden Struble and Lucas Condotta.
However, this would mean that he would sign and start his entry-level contract next season, which would bring him to the end of the 2026-27 season, which would be a valuable contract to have considering Montreal should be in contention by then, and could use cheaper contracts.
The left handed defenseman would be a valuable addition to the Laval D-corps in the present, with a projected lineup looking like:
William Trudeau - Logan Mailloux
Lane Hutson - David Reinbacher
Tobie Bisson - Justin Barron
(Olivier Galipeau)
And in the playoffs, Jayden Struble is likely to join the defensive corps, strengthening them and allowing more flexibility:
Jayden Struble - Logan Mailloux
William Trudeau - Justin Barron
Lane Hutson - David Reinbacher
(Tobie Bisson, Olivier Galipeau)
Montreal Route
Credit: David Kirouac - USA TODAY Sports
The other option, which is equally as likely, is to bring Hutson to Montreal immediately so that he gets some NHL experience. This would mean that his entry-level contract (ELC) would start this season, and a year would be burned off of it, meaning it would end at the end of the 2025-26 season. He wouldn't be helping for any sort of playoff run, but experience is invaluable.
However, him signing his contract right now also means that he's staying in Montreal for the rest of the season, and is not eligible to play in the Calder Cup playoffs. This isn't necessarily a bad thing considering the experience he'll receive being around veterans and playing NHL hockey is highly valuable.
There are two scenarios in which he can play in. One involves Jayden Struble sticking in Montreal to finish the season, the other involves him being sent to Laval to help them push for the playoffs.
With Struble, we could see something like:
Mike Matheson -- Jayden Struble
Arber Xhekaj -- David Savard
Lane Hutson -- Kaiden Guhle
(Jordan Harris, Johnathan Kovacevic)
Without Struble, we could see something like:
Mike Matheson -- Kaiden Guhle
Arber Xhekaj -- Jordan Harris
Lane Hutson -- David Savard
(Johnathan Kovacevic)
So what does he bring?
Whichever team gets Lane Hutson for the remainder of their 2023-24 season will get a solid, young defenseman who can quarterback a powerplay and performs in big moments, as we have seen during multiple WJCs and NCAA playoffs, which will help if he's sent to Laval. Otherwise, he'll likely quarterback the second (or first, if the Habs are truly impressed) power play unit in Montreal.
Comments