Without Lane Hutson on the ice, the Canadiens play like a last-place club

Dose
Crédit:

Lane Hutson is going to break the bank the day he signs a long-term contract. It’s not bad, it’s certain.

And we’ll say it: he deserves it. He’s the best rookie in terms of points in the NHL – even though he plays on the blue line – and he’s the seventh-best scorer among defensemen in general.

His five goals and 56 points put him behind only Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield on the Habs.

Yesterday, he once again picked up two assists, bringing his total to 51 for the season – and 53 assists in 73 career games. He stepped up when the Habs needed him.

Did we mention he played 28:40, by the way?

What’s crazy is that the 50-assist plateau for a rookie allowed him to join a select group. Among active players in the NHL, only seven have had at least 50 assists as a rookie: Kane, Malkin, Ovechkin, Backstrom, Crosby, Barzal…

And him.

In history, among defensemen, only five players (including him) have had 50 assists as a rookie. The names of the other guys? Larry Murphy, Chris Chelios, Stefan Persson, and Gary Suter.

That’s it.

But it goes further than the numbers, as you know. After all, he plays a lot during games and he doesn’t put his club in trouble. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

When we look at the Habs’ advanced stats for a little over a month (since the return of the Four Nations Tournament), we see that with Hutson on the ice, the Habs dominate. And without him? They play like a last-place team.

That’s a player who deserves to win the Calder. The other guys in the running deserve it too, but Hutson’s historic pace in a playoff run is noteworthy.

We’ll see if he’ll win.

Overtime

– He should play tonight.

– No David Reinbacher either.

– Yeah.

– No Canadiens logo on his kids’ jacket because he never played in Montreal. It’s logical, but it brings back bad memories.