The Montreal Canadiens have some disagreements with Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin. See, the Winter Olympics are a matter of weeks away, and nearly every country's ice hockey team announced their roster. Guerin is the general manager for Team USA, and he had significant sway with who makes the team.
The Canadiens watched as Guerin left forward Cole Caufield off the roster, along with defenseman Lane Hutson. For Caufield, seeing him and Jason Robertson miss the cut over J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck had to sting. For the defense, it was a bit understandable considering all of the talent depth Team USA has.
On Wednesday, it was announced that Seth Jones of the Florida Panthers will miss the Winter Olympics due to an injury suffered in the Winter Classic on Jan. 2. With Jones coming off of the roster, it opened the door for Hutson to replace him. Instead, Guerin slammed the door shut in his face and selected Jackson LaCombe of the Anaheim Ducks instead.
It was a puzzling decision to say the least, considering how well Hutson has played this season.
Lane Hutson once again left off Team USA roster
There's no disrespect meant towards LaCombe, who is a great defenseman for the Ducks. That's why he earned a $72 million contract extension from the Ducks after recording 14 goals and 29 assists in 75 games last season. This year, he's at a great pace, putting up six goals and 25 assists thrugh 49 games.
But Hutson has the better numbers. Through 50 games, Hutson has 52 points to his credit. The only defenseman who has more points than him is Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche, and everyone knows how great he is as a defenseman. Being in that same category as Makar? That has to feel great for Hutson and Canadiens fans.
ESPN's Greg Wyshynski mentioned that it's possible LaCombe got the nod over Hutson because he participated in the 2025 IIHF World Championships, which is something that Guerin "clearly values." Even so, Wyshynski asks, even afer bringing up Team USA feels they have enough offense available on defense, "how is this not Lane Hutson?"
1. Lane Hutson didn’t play at worlds and LaCombe did, which Guerin clearly values.
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) January 21, 2026
2. Given the Hutson and Fox snubs, Team USA clearly feels they have enough offense from back.
3. All that established … how is this not Lane Hutson lol? https://t.co/kg1hqhLpxT
The timing of this announcement is a bit ironic. Facing off against the Wild on Tuesdday night, Hutson recorded a goal and an assist, in the same game where he was called for a phantom tripping penalty. This was in front of Guerin. Yet, even with an announcement regarding Jones' replacement arriving a day later, Guerin still opted against including Hutson on the roster.
Look, Hutson has a great future ahead of him. He's only 21 years old. There is a realistic chance that he will compete in multiple Winter Olympics events for Team USA. But even with his incredible to his career with 15 goals, 103 assists, and a +16 plus/minus ratio in these past two seasons, it still wasn't enough for Guerin. For his sake, this decision, along with his other controversial ones, better work out.