The New Jersey Devils and Anaheim Ducks inked their young defensemen on massive contract extensions. New Jersey locked in Luke Hughes to a seven-year, $63 million extension carrying a $9 million annual cap hit, while Anaheim signed Jackson LaCombe to an eight-year deal for $72 million. For reigning Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson, it means he's about to earn his own massive payday.
It was something Kevin Weekes pointed out on X, mentioning Hutson and Los Angeles Kings blueliner, Brandt Clarke.
Given the recent signings of @NJDevils https://t.co/LcAT70hLy5 and @AnaheimDucks LaCombe at 9M AAV, curious to see how those impact potential signings of Calder Trophy winner Hutson with @CanadiensMTL and Clarke of @LAKings .#HockeyX pic.twitter.com/kFZAOPYAh0
— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) October 2, 2025
Hutson, who carries an annual cap hit of $950,000, is eligible for an extension this season, and he's already a proven player and one of the brightest young playmakers in hockey. Just look at his 66-point, 60-assist season that helped snap the Montreal Canadiens' playoff drought in 2024-25. Those efforts also led to a ninth-place finish for the Norris Trophy.
Everything is falling into place for Lane Hutson
As it stands, the Canadiens are in a place where they're looking to keep that brewing championship-calibre core intact long-term. Right now, they have Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Noah Dobson, and Kaiden Guhle in Quebec for the long haul. And since the Canadiens have already seen tremendous results and are well ahead of schedule, it's only a matter of time until Hutson joins them.
What's more, is that Dobson's $9.5 million cap hit could serve as the floor for Hutson, especially if he picks up where he left off last season. His ceiling is over a point-per-game pace, rare for a defenseman, while 23-plus minutes of average total ice time are in his future.
Should Hutson outperform Dobson in 2025-26, or even if he's on pace to outperform him, Hutson could be in line for an eight-figure annual cap hit. And the Canadiens will find a way to make room, especially with Mike Matheson in the final year of his deal, and they could probably dump Josh Anderson onto an organization that's not on his five-team no-trade list.
If they let Matheson ($4.875 million) walk and trade Anderson ($5.5 million), they will have enough cash to ink Hutson to an eight-figure cap hit. And that will make Canadiens fans very, very optimistic as this team continues its playoff odyssey.
At the end of the day, they can thank the New Jersey Devils and Anaheim Ducks for their indirect contributions. Not that Hutson wasn't on his way to a massive extension as it was, but the financial reward just got sweeter after Hughes and LaCombe locked themselves into respective $9 million cap hits.