The Montreal Canadiens dropped their fourth straight contest on Thursday, losing 6-4 to the Philadelphia Flyers in regulation. A late season losing streak is certainly not ideal for a team just holding onto the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference, but there was a lone bright spot amid a frustrating loss for the franchise.
Rookie defenseman Lane Hutson recorded his 50th assist of the season on the team’s lone first period goal, passing to David Savard who led Alex Newhook on a breakaway.
Hutson Joins Legendary Company with 50-Assist Milestone
The assist puts Hutson in elite company, joining just four other rookie defensemen to reach the 50-assist threshold. Stefan Persson, Gary Suter, and two members of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Larry Murphy and Chris Chelios are the only other players in history to achieve this feat.
The 21-year-old added a second assist on the night to bring his season total to 51, passing to Jayden Struble who found Cole Caufield open beside the net. With 11 games remaining on the season and on pace for 58 assists, Hutson has a chance to pass both Chelios and Murphy and stand alone with the most assists from a rookie defenseman in NHL history. Chelios recorded 55 in 1984-85 playing in just 74 games and Murphy holds the record at 60.
Hutson is also the only rookie defenseman in the 21st century to record over 45 assists in a season. The only other defenseman to record 45 was Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks, who did it in just 68 games during a shortened Covid-19 season. Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche recorded 38 in just 57 games in the same season, and both players were on pace for 54 total had they played in all 82 games.
Calder Trophy Race Tightens: Celebrini, Wolf, and Hutson Lead the Pack
Sitting at 5 goals and 51 assists, Hutson has a great chance to receive the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year. He would be the first Canadiens player to receive the award since goaltender Ken Dryden in 1971-72. If you are looking to bet on who will receive the award, there are several sports betting platforms in Quebec offering competitive odds. You can get Hutson to win the Calder Trophy at +100 over on DraftKings or –110 over at FanDuel.
The next closest player in Calder Trophy odds behind Hutson is Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf. The netminder is having a great season posting a 2.67 GAA in 44 games, but he is a lon-gshot for the award at +2500 with just 11 games remaining. The only player close to Hutson in award odds is San Jose Sharks centre Macklin Celebrini, who is currently the favourite for the award at –120. The 18-year-old has 21 goals and 32 assists for 53 points on the season, trailing Hutson by just three points.
Heading into the season, the Professional Hockey Writers Association had Matvei Michkov of the flyers as the most likely player to receive the Calder Trophy, but he now ranks fourth at +5000 odds. Celebrini was ranked second and is looking to follow what Connor Bedard did last season and become the ninth first overall pick to go on a win the award. Hutson was ranked fourth by the writers but has a great case to win over Celebrini at the moment, leading all rookies in points as a defenceman.
Drafted 62nd overall in 2022 and registered at just 5 ft 9 in and 162 pounds, Hutson is a great underdog story. Very few would have pegged him as a rookie of the year candidate coming out of his draft year, but since being selected by the Canadiens, the now 21-year-old has done nothing but produce. He went on to play two excellent years for Boston University, played great for the USA world junior team winning gold in 2024, and is now shining at the highest level the sport has to offer.
