The Calder Trophy honors the memory of the NHL's first president, Frank Calder. It is one of the longest-reigning awards, dating back to the 1936-37 season. The Professional Hockey Writers' Association members vote on the winner after the regular season. It is given to the league's top rookie. The Canadiens haven't had an award winner in many years, but they have the chance to change that this season with Lane Hutson moving up the rankings for Rookie of the Year.
Bleacher Report recently reranked all the significant awards. They ranked Hutson second in the Calder Trophy, behind Macklin Celebrini, who has been tearing up the league with the San Jose Sharks. Canadiens fans will be happy to know that they ranked Hutson ahead of Matvei Michkov, who had a hot start to the year but has cooled down as John Tortorella tries to teach him the "Torts way" of playing hockey.
Bleacher Report says about Hutson, "Skating on the Canadiens' first pairing with Mike Matheson, Hutson had the makings of a high-scoring defenseman in the same mold as Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes. His risk-taking style can sometimes lead to costly defensive mistakes, but he'll reduce those errors as he adjusts to the NHL pace."
NHL.com also wrote an article at the end of 2024 that made some bold predictions for the remainder of the season. Mike G. Morreale predicted that Hutson would win the Calder Trophy. "It's about time Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson is given greater consideration for the Calder Trophy, voted as NHL rookie of the year. Not only does Hutson rank third in NHL rookie scoring (26 points; two goals, 24 assists in 36 games), playing a harder position on a rebuilding team, but he leads all first-year players in assists, average ice time (22:28 per game) and blocked shots (46) despite his 5-foot-9, 162-pound frame."
The article was from a week ago, and Morreale would be happy to know that Hutson has an even better offensive output after his three-point night against the Vancouver Canucks. Hutson is up to three goals and 27 assists in 40 games, which is two points better than Celebrini in ten extra games. You'd want to believe that Hutson would be the Calder front-runner if the Canadiens make the postseason, but it's hard to say if the voters would factor that in. Bedard won the trophy last season, but the other two finalists also missed the playoffs.