Lane Hutson and Canadiens agree to eight-year 70.8 million-dollar deal

The main topic of intrigue and drama surrounding the Montreal Canadiens has finally come to a close. The Habs announced Monday morning they have locked up Calder Trophy-winning defenceman Lane Hutson to an eight-year contract worth $70.8 million. This will round out to $ 8.85 million per year, lower than what most had anticipated. This deal will extend Hutson's time with the team through to 2034.

"I think it's good for both sides, I'm just happy to be here for a long time" said Hutson during Monday's after practice media availability. "Every time you get to throw on this jersey, it's special. Whether it's practice, games, pre-season, or playoffs, it means so much to me, and I'm happy I get to do it for a while now."

"I left it to Sean Coffey and Ryan Barnes, and they did a great job. Kind of listened to me a little bit about what was important to me, and being here a long time was important, and I'm just glad we were able to get it done."

This was the final year for the Canadiens to lock up Hutson on an eight-year contract, as next season, when the new CBA kicks in, the max term will limit the longest contracts to seven years maximum. The deadline of October 7th, 2025, had already passed to structure a deal around deferred salary as well.

According to Puckpedia this deal is structured in a way where the first two years are a 1-million-dollar base salary, as well as an 11-million-dollar signing bonus. Years 3 and 4 also have a 1-million-dollar base salary, but year 3 has a 9.5-million-dollar signing bonus while year 4 has a 6.5-million-dollar bonus. Years 5-6 increase the base pay to 1.2 million dollars with a 6 million dollar signing bonus. Year 7 is 2.2 million dollars base with a 5-million-dollar bonus, and year 8 is just a flat 7.2-million-dollar base pay.

Years 6 through 8 have a 10-team no-move clause attached.

Speculation surrounding whether the Habs were nearing a contract agreement peaked during the Habs' away game on October 11th in Chicago, as a rumour swirled that a representative from Quartexx Hockey, the group that represents Hutson, was seen talking with Kent Hughes in the press-box.

Hutson was a key piece to the Canadiens' run to the playoffs last season. He accumulated 6 goals and 60 assists over the regular season, surpassing Chris Chelios for points by a Canadiens defenseman, as well as tying Larry Murphy for most assists as a rookie defenseman, league-wide.

Hutson is also the most recent Calder trophy winner, both league-wide and for the Habs. The most recent was, of course, the late-great Canadiens netminder, Ken Dryden, in 1972.