Legendary NHL coach Scotty Bowman shares his thoughts about Lane Hutson

The most difficult thing for Montreal Canadiens fans to do is temper their expectations for Lane Hutson.

Every game that he plays, while you don't want to admit it, you expect him to score a point. You also expect that he will do a couple of things that are extremely difficult and make them look easy. For me, that is how it is, and you expect that he will have an off game, but he doesn't stop.

Hutson is wired to make an impact when the puck is on his stick; if it's not, he is in a position to receive it and make a play. Put simply, Hutson doesn't take nights off or shifts off, and he is doing things as a 20-year-old blueliner that rival the NHL's best. So it's not surprising that Hutson has gained attention, but attention from the best NHL head coach that has ever lived is pretty special.

You know that you are doing something right when Scotty Bowman is talking about you, especially when you're a rookie defenseman. The NHL isn't an easy league to play in for any defender, but a first-year defender is under a ton of pressure. But you wouldn't know that when watching Hutson play, he is constantly prepared to outsmart the opposition, and his ability to recover from a mistake is incredible.

I'm not sure that many rookies have the awareness to avoid mistakes like Hutson does, and cover his hide if he makes one. But the all-around skill and knowledge that he possesses at his position, have been enough to get Bowman excited. 14 Stanley Cup rings later, and you just might want to listen when he talks.

Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes are two of the most impactful players at their position in the entire NHL. Bowman says that Hutson impacts games for the Canadiens like Makar for the Avalanche and Hughes with the Canucks. You notice when they aren't on the ice, and the same can be said, in his opinion about Hutson.

I know what I see when he plays, and I'm not a talent evaluator but all signs point to a cornerstone number one defenseman. I don't think it's a stretch to believe that he is up there with the league's best by the end of the 2025-2026 season. I believe that he is already at that point, and when the Canadiens are thriving, generally Hutson has something to do with it.

The sky is the limit, and if he is scoring 36 points in his first 44 games, I would have to think that the next 38 games will be a treat to watch.

David Reinbacher resumes practice

One of the Canadiens' top prospects who barely gets talked about resumed practice on-ice today, for the first time since suffering a left knee injury during a preseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The injury itself was no doubt tough to see, but the fact that David Reinbacher was getting his feet wet and it happened - you have to feel for the guy. The comparisons between Matvei Michkov and Reinbacher have run rampant through social media, but it's unfair to compare since Reinbacher has been on the shelf.

Reinbacher resumed skating, a positive piece of news for the Canadiens, who are experiencing their best stretch of hockey in well over a decade, if not two. Just three months and change after his surgery, to see Reinbacher on the ice, and moving well it's a pleasant sight. I would like to think that he will be back for a few games before the season ends, but there have been no updates from the club to this point.

Reinbacher suffered the injury after a hit that looked rather innocent, but the way that he fell, and the speed at which it happened put a lot of stress on his knee. Leafs player Marshall Rifai finished his check, and more than anything it was the way that he fell and not the actual hit that did the damage. The incident occurred on October 1, and he was scheduled for surgery the following Tuesday, with a five to six-month timeline for his return.