Canadiens unlocked Lane Hutson’s upside with obvious position change

The Montreal Canadiens have consistently be near the top of the Atlantic Division. As of this writing, the Canadiens sit in third place in the division with a 23-13-6 for 52 points through 42 games. They are just two points behind the Detroit Red Wings for first place in the division.

The Canadiens need to keep it up, considering the entirety of the Eastern Conference is still in the playoff hunt. There is little leeway for them to lose ground. Luckily for the Canadiens, they figured out how to improve their defense, and it came with a no-brainer move.

Back on Dec. 11, the Canadiens moved young defenseman Lane Hutson to the left side of the defense, which is his more natural position. Previously, Hutson played on the right side. As Arpon Basu of The Athletic points out, the Canadiens scored 21 goals for with Hutson playing on five-on-five situations, while giving up just eight goals.

Canadiens obvious Lane Hutson move is paying off, but they may have to back off

Besides the goal differential, the Canadiens are also outscoring their opponents 134-84 since Dec. 11. The change obviously worked, but they may have a dilemma on their hands.

The reason why the Canadiens and head coach Martin St. Louis made the decision to switch Hutson to the left side is because of the injury to Kaiden Guhle. Back in November, Guhle underwent surgery on a partially torn adductor muscle. In the days after that, the Canadiens tooled with the defensive pairings, and it led to Hutson switching over to the left.

Now, with Guhle back, the Canadiens have to figure out whether they will move Hutson back to the right at some point this season. It would be difficult to do so, considering his success since making the switch to his natural position.

Guhle is set to make his return on Wednesday in the team's game against the Calgary Flames. The Canadiens held practice on Tuesday and unveiled their lines and defensive pairings. Interestingly enough, Guhle practiced as an extra defenseman on the left side with Adam Engstrom. Hutson, meanwhile, is their second pairing defenseman on the left side with Alexandre Carrier. So, there are no immediate changes to St. Louis' defensive strategy.

It's hard for a team to pivot off of something that is currently working. Hutson is proving that he's been well worth the eight-year, $70.8 million contract extension signed earlier this season. He's thriving with the position change, and there is really no reason to alter plans. If it's working, there's no need to fix it.