Lane Hutson at the 2026 Olympics: it’s not just Quinn Hughes working against him

Dose
Crédit: MONTREAL, CANADA - SEPTEMBER 23: Lane Hutson #48 of the Montreal Canadiens skates during a preseason game against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Bell Centre on September 23, 2025. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

The 2026 Olympics, where NHL players will make their comeback, are drawing ever closer. It’s all set to take place next February… but in reality, the line-ups of the various countries will have to be announced well before then.

In six weeks’ time, the federations will have to announce which players have been selected.

And what seems increasingly clear is that Nick Suzuki will be part of the Canadian squad. TSN‘s Craig Button and Mike Johnson have projected him alongside Macklin Celebrini and Mitch Marner on Canada’s third line.

But when it comes to the U.S. roster, the Habs players seem far less assured of a spot. Cole Caufield has a chance(although he wouldn’t make the roster right now), but for Lane Hutson, it’s looking a lot less likely.

And tonight, during the Insider Trading segment, Pierre LeBrun also talked about Hutson’s case… and according to him, there are two reasons why he doesn’t have much of a chance.

We’re talking here about the presence of Quinn Hughes (which we’ve talked about at length)… but according to LeBrun, Hutson’s lack of experience would also work against him.

If LeBrun is to be believed, then it’s not just Quinn Hughes who’s playing Hutson at the moment. You get the feeling that Team USA ‘s executives want guys with a certain NHL track record.

And that’s despite the fact that no U.S. defenseman has scored as many points as the Habs defenseman this season.

It’s clear, then, that no matter how much management likes Hutson (according to LeBrun), we shouldn’t expect to see him in the lineup, even as an extra.

The good news is that it suggests he’ll have a better chance of being there in the future, whether at the World Cup in 2028 or the Olympics in 2030.

Overtime

– Great read on Macklin Celebrini.

– 50 goals for Cole Caufield: Alexandre Pratt believes.[Zone exit]

– Too bad for the Blue Jays manager.