It’s been a busy offseason for general manager Kent Hughes. The Montreal Canadiens GM stole the show at the NHL draft when he acquired Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders, before sending Cayden Primeau to the Carolina Hurricanes and Logan Mailloux to the St. Louis Blues for some much-needed help up front.
He also signed all of his RFAs and got some help on the free agency market in Samuel Blais, Joe Veleno, and Kaapo Kahkonen. When he put pen to paper with defenseman Jayden Struble, he signed the last contract he had to sign this offseason, but there’s one contract Canadiens’ fans would like to see sorted out in advance: Lane Hutson’s.
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Earlier this week, RG.org’s Marco D’Amico wrote that the negotiations are already ongoing between the two sides and that the relations are very cordial. He has that right now; the sticking point is to agree on the correct term and the right price tag, which makes sense. D’Amico also adds that the best comparables for Hutson shouldn’t be new teammate Dobson and his $9.5M cap hit, but young stud defensemen who signed the second deal of their career coming out of their ELC, like Ottawa Senators’ Jake Sanderson or Minnesota Wild's Brock Faber.
While that makes perfect sense from a business standpoint for Hughes and the Canadiens, one fact remains. Those young players signed their deal before the astronomical rise in the salary cap came into play and before the new CBA came into effect with its new limitation on contract terms.
If Hughes and the Canadiens want to be able to sign Hutson to an eight-year deal, which they can do until the new CBA comes into force on September 16, 2026, they will have to compensate Hutson handsomely. While the young blueliner has very little leverage right now, given the fact that he won’t be eligible for an offer sheet next season, he does have the possibility to delay his signing until the Habs can only ink him to a seven-year deal.
Considering the way the salary cap is rising and how significant a role Hutson has shown he can play for Montreal, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him get a deal that’s very close to Dobson’s. The young blueliner has superstar potential, and it’s never been as obvious that Hughes wants him to be part of his team’s scoring. Keeping him for an extra year is well worth an extra million a year.
When Hughes spoke to the media about Dobson’s contract, he made a point of saying the defenseman was in a different situation than Caufield and Slafkovsky when they signed theirs, since the rearguard wasn’t just coming out of his ELC. Still, Hutson’s body of work speaks for itself; he has set himself in a category of his own.
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