Value of: Lane Hutson's contract extension on July 1st

[BLONG7]

Next Bobby Orr according to some fans.

No one has suggested that at all.

 

[Frank Drebin]

How so? The history of the sport supports every word I’ve said. Should’ve teams paid Sandis Ozolinsh like Ray Bourque? Steve Duchesne like Rob Blake? Tyson Barrie like Ryan McDonagh?

Hutson, if he can stay healthy, could very easily become this generation’s 1990s Paul Coffey. It’s the closest comparison to him right now. He was once the NHL’s best offensive weapon from the blue line, and just like Hutson, wouldn’t have played a single NHL game, if he was in the lineup to be a traditional dman.

Hutson is even at a disadvantage to that comparison because Coffey could’ve changed the way he played 4-5 years into a contract, if he really needed to. He just chose to never do so. Hutson will likely never have that choice. Out of pure necessity to survive, he’ll never be able to play the position in a traditional way, because of his body structure. You can only take so much punishment at under 160lbs. Your body will breakdown. You will end up concussed numerous times.

Detroit ended up trading Coffey, because they knew they couldn’t win Championships with him, and finally accepted they couldn’t hide him enough anymore. Scotty Bowman has talked about this. The NHL had started playing defensive systems. The wide open 1980s were over.

That team had Nick Lidstrom and Vladimir Konstantinov, and still couldn’t hide Coffey enough.

Those are facts. That’s the reality of having a Dman you wouldn’t have on your NHL team if not for his being an offensive weapon.

This isn’t a PK Subban situation, where he could’ve made the choice to work on his defensive game. This is a 155lb player, pushing 21, who can’t put on any muscle or weight. He’s at a massive physical disadvantage. This is no Quinn Hughes situation either. Quinn has 25-30lbs on Hutson, only being an inch taller. He’s a bulldozer.

Detroit literally replaced Coffey in their line-up, with Larry effen Murphy, who they got for free in a trade, because he’d become a pylon in Toronto. They ended up winning 3 Cups with Murphy in the lineup, instead of the best offensive dman of his generation.

Bottom line is, you win playoff rounds and Cups with great Dmen, who can be great at both ends of the ice. Not giving wealth contracts to offensive weapons on your blue line.

So Hutson is nothing new to the NHL.

Yes, he’s fun to watch on a team not in the mix. Let’s see how fun he is to watch in playoff games, when the game tightens up, and bodies are flying around. When guys 50, 60, 70lbs heavier, start taking shots at him.

Unfortunately for Montreal, they don’t have a Nick Lidstrom and Vladimir Konstantinov to hide Hutson, and those guys still, could only hide Coffey to a certain point.

Once again, you play the game to win Stanley Cups, not be the most exciting. There were many fans in Detroit irate they traded Coffey. He was fun to watch as well. Fans who couldn’t be found after they started winning Cups.

So if you don’t think Montreal is concerned with handing 8-10% of their cap to a player they can’t have on the ice during important minutes of a playoff game, you’re just not dealing in reality. They will try everything possible to bridge him and stall, until they’re forced to make a decision. All while they try finding ways to protect him.

They have to compete with Buffalo and Detroit handing wealth contracts to Seider, Power, Dahlin and Edvinsson, and Montreal fans are ready to hand that much of Montreal’s cap to someone you can’t put on the ice in 3rd Periods of 1 goal playoff games?

Once again, you play to win Cups, not be exciting in the regular season. If Hutson gets through a playoff defying all logic, hand him 12% of your cap. People would change their minds. That’s just not logically going to happen though.

Im sure you offer good insight but its 2025. Ain’t nobody got the attention span for posts that long

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

League maximum

 

[periferal]

Never watched him play.

Is he really that good? Like top 5 defenseman in the league good?

 

[Goal Caufield50]

No one has suggested that at all.

Maybe Quinn Hughes light

 

[BLONG7]

Never watched him play.

Is he really that good? Like top 5 defenseman in the league good?

Way too soon to say that........but the kid has great offensive talents.........he is not very big and has some defensive struggles at times.......
It's possible the kid could be top 10 in the league, not sure about top 5
Amazing talent being shown for a rookie. Pacing for 60 pts.

 

[Ford Prefect]

His defensive abilities won't be by tying anyone up in the boards or clearing the crease. At his heaviest weight he'll still be one of the lightest in the league. His value is going to be related more towards his hockey smarts. He'll be great at angling opponents, blocking the passing lanes, that sort of thing. My guess is barring something exceptional happening, he won't ever see PK time.

As for his contract, they will do their best to keep him under Suzuki on a max contract, but if he decides to bridge instead, he may be asking for (and be worth) a ten-digit AAV in three or four years. Paying him more for his RFA years and a less for his UFA years will help, especially if they front-load the contract.

 

[Ford Prefect]

No one has suggested that at all.

That's right. What we're saying is that Bobby Orr was a poor man's Lane Hutson.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Maybe Quinn Hughes light

Exactly what I am thinking but the fans who like to belittle will think Bobby Orr round 2 because we are saying nice things about Hutson.

 

[Habs Halifax]

His defensive abilities won't be by tying anyone up in the boards or clearing the crease. At his heaviest weight he'll still be one of the lightest in the league. His value is going to be related more towards his hockey smarts. He'll be great at angling opponents, blocking the passing lanes, that sort of thing. My guess is barring something exceptional happening, he won't ever see PK time.

As for his contract, they will do their best to keep him under Suzuki on a max contract, but if he decides to bridge instead, he may be asking for (and be worth) a ten-digit AAV in three or four years. Paying him more for his RFA years and a less for his UFA years will help, especially if they front-load the contract.

Heading into this season, I was on the conservative side. I said one full year of AHL for him to groom his defensive side and get use to pros. Fast forward to today, he has surpassed the evaluation of being able to handle big NHL forwards who can also skate. He really does hold his own very well as a smaller D and that due to him being fearless and having high hockey IQ

The next level of test is playoff style hockey where forwards target him and hit him harder. He's great at escaping pressure but there is going to be times where he gets hit very hard.

This is Caufield round 2. The hype is real and Hutson is very solid at disrupting play in his own zone. His skating edge work and hockey IQ is unreal. Everyone sees his offensive side but his defensive ability is solid.