Lane Hutson is proving he is already the Canadiens’ most important player

After coming off an incredible regular season, Lane Hutson has arguably been the most influential player for the Montreal Canadiens so far in these playoffs. While Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky struggled early in the playoffs, specifically in the series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Hutson has been a constant threat throughout. He became just the third Canadiens player to record a point in the team’s first five games of the postseason, joining legends Larry Robinson and Serge Savard, and it does not look like Hutson is showing any signs of slowing down.

Hutson was an assist machine in his rookie season, tying NHL records and breaking Canadiens franchise records en route to winning the Calder Memorial Trophy over his superstar collegiate teammate Macklin Celebrini and Calgary Flames goalie Dustin Wolf. In his sophomore season, Hutson got even better. He matched his season total of 66 points from last season in just the assist category, while adding 12 goals. His 78 points had him fourth in NHL scoring by defencemen, and while he was not one of the people named as a finalist for the James Norris Memorial Trophy, he has cemented himself as one of the premier defenders in the league.

If that was not a concrete fact after the regular season Hutson has had, his performances so far in these playoffs should give you no doubt. In 10 games so far in these playoffs, Hutson has two goals and seven assists, right around the same production he had in the regular season. While his first goal came in Game 2's loss to the Lightning, his second was something all hockey players dream of as kids. After regulation solved nothing in Game 3 of the Canadiens-Lightning series, it was Hutson who came to the rescue in overtime. The Lightning got caught puck watching, leaving Hutson alone at the point. He wires home a slap shot that fights through three screens on its way to beating Andrei Vasilevskiy over his shoulder. Hutson is not just proving that he is one of the best players in the whole NHL, but also that when the lights are the brightest, he can deliver in those moments.

Hutson's best performance in the playoffs might have come in the Canadiens Game 3 win against the Buffalo Sabres. While the Sabres have Norris Trophy finalist Rasmus Dahlin on their roster, it was Hutson who was the best defenceman on the ice. Hutson dazzled with his skating and playmaking ability, which was on full display when he set up Caufield for his first goal since Game 4 against the Lightning. Hutson receives a pass at the top of the circle, fakes a pass to Suzuki, which Jordan Greenway bites on, making him lose his footing. Hutson then cuts towards the net, drawing the attention of two Sabres players, before passing it to Caufield, who was alone in the slot, and he buries it into the empty net for the goal. It was a dazzling display of hockey IQ, talent, and patience, a play that very few players in the NHL can make.

The diminutive defenceman has come a long way from being a prospect some believed would not be able to make the jump to the NHL. He is now performing at the highest level on hockey’s biggest stage, and he has not missed a beat. Hutson is already arguably the best offensive defenceman in the whole NHL, or at least in the shortlist of the conversation. However, if he continues to play like he is right now, the conversation should not only include his offence, but should be whether he is already the best defenceman in the NHL?

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