The Montreal Canadiens and Lane Hutson agreed to a new contract extension on Monday ahead of the team’s home opener on Tuesday night against the Seattle Kraken. Many wondered if the new contracts that were signed by Luke Hughes of the New Jersey Devils and Jackson LaCombe of the Anaheim Ducks would influence Hutson and his camp to hold out for more.
However, as Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun told Gino Reda on TSN’s That’s Hockey on Monday, it was the contract signed by Connor McDavid that really influenced not only Hutson, but also Canadiens management in sticking with their plan and salary structure to keep the team competitive moving forward.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Gino Reda: “Pierre, I get the fact that it’s big money, but it certainly seems to be a team-friendly contract. Hutson’s deal is going to pay him less than Luke Hughes and Jackson LaCombe, who just signed their new deals. Hutson’s younger, but he did win the Calder last season. Are you surprised where he falls amongst those three with an 8.85 AAV?”
NHL Rumors: Lane Hutson Wanted To Get His Deal Done
Pierre LeBrun: “Well, I would only say I’m not surprised, because if the deal was going to get done this early in the season, it meant that Canadiens management stuck to their guns and sort of got their way. Now, if this deal waited until next summer to get done, Gino, it might have been a different story. I mean, this is the pressure point on both sides.
The Habs really, really needed this done, because they can’t control other signings that keep happening around the league, and who knows what’s coming down the pipe in the next seven to 10 months as this salary cap landscape keeps going north in the NHL. It might have been harder and harder for the Habs to keep selling that cap culture and wanting to keep this number under $9 million.
But again, on the other hand, you have Lane Hutson, who was feeling a lot of pressure, I think, to get this deal done. It was weighing on him. He’d be the first to tell you he didn’t play his best hockey in the first couple of games of the year. So that played into this getting done this early. But the bottom line is this, the Habs, to some degree, absolutely got a bargain here, because with each passing day in the new NHL salary cap landscape, the number, to me, just goes up.
But I’ll tell you what’s interesting, as much as the Luke Hughes and Jackson LaCombe deals at $9 million a year, timing wise, were not ideal for the Canadiens as they tried to get Lane Hutson under $9 million a year. I’ll tell you a signing that might have been beneficial is Connor McDavid and his great bargain for the Edmonton Oilers.
And the point being, even though it’s apples and oranges, Hutson’s a player coming out of entry-level. Connor McDavid’s obviously would have been UFA in a year.
The message that Connor McDavid sent to his team in wanting the Oilers to be as competitive as possible during this window, during this new extension. That was part of the message from Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton to Lane Hutson and wanting their team to be as competitive as possible long term by perhaps leaving a bit of money on the table for the Canadians. And that message obviously got through.”
Again, it comes down to the player wanting to win or taking more money because they think that is what they are worth. Lane Hutson could have gotten $10 million if he wanted to. However, good teams that want to be consistent Stanley Cup contenders hold firm with a salary structure and keep their core locked up to an internal cap.
There is a reason why GM Kent Hughes and Executive Vice President Jeff Gorton just got locked up for five more seasons: they are building the Montreal Canadiens the right way. For players like Lane Hutson, it’s more about winning than the all-mighty dollar.
NHL Rumors: After a Few Extensions Last Week, What’s Next for the Montreal Canadiens?
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