Lane Hutson has had an incredible start to his NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens after winning the Calder Memorial Trophy as a rookie and then improving across the board with career highs in goals (12), assists (66), and obviously points (78). Last season's performance is not something only Canadiens' fans have noticed, but the rest of the league as well, as noted by the recent Top 20 defensemen rankings by NHL Network.
Hutson would rank sixth in the NHL, which was an improvement from 19th last summer. He was only behind Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, Zach Werenski, Rasmus Dahlin, and Miro Heiskanen but ahead of some notable players like Matthew Schaefer (7th), Moritz Seider (9th), and Charlie McAvoy (11th).
Lane Hutson has a chance to be in discussion for the Norris Trophy this season
Among the five players ahead of Hutson, three have won the Norris Trophy at least once in their career, with Zach Werenski winning it last season, Cale Makar winning it twice (2022, 2025), and Quinn Hughes winning it in 2024.
In each of the past two seasons, Lane Hutson has received some votes for the Norris Trophy but hasn't really been close to winning, as he was ninth in 2025 and sixth this past season. However, this past season seemed like he should have received more with the season he had.
The fact that he made the jump in these rankings could be an indication that he is no longer an afterthought when discussing the best defensemen in the league. He is squarely in that conversation, and if he can put together another season like the one he had last season, there is no reason he can't be a Top 3 finalist or even win the Norris Trophy.
If he were to win, it would be the first time since 2013 that the Montreal Canadiens have had a player win the award for the best defenseman. That season, P.K. Subban would win and it would be the 12th time a Canadiens player would win the trophy, second most of any franchise in the NHL. While the Bruins are still two ahead at 14, if Hutson were to win, he could close the gap with the division rival.
Add us as a preferred source on Google