Lane Hutson has been a revelation on the blue line for the Montreal Canadiens, winning the Calder Trophy in his rookie season in 2024-25 and taking his game to new heights this year.
The 22-year-old registered an assist on the Habs' second goal of the game in a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre on Tuesday, making even more National Hockey League history in the process.
Hutson officially has the most assists in his first 150 games by any defenseman in NHL history, as noted by Daily Faceoff's Scott Maxwell.
Make that 116 assists in just 147 contests, surpassing Hall-of-Fame rearguard Sergei Zubov. The Russian managed 115 assists in his first 150 tilts with the New York Rangers over three decades ago.
It's been an incredible campaign and career for the Holland, Michigan native, who is up to 65 points in just 63 games in his sophomore season. Hutson is second in team scoring, behind only Nick Suzuki, and fourth among NHL D-men, trailing Evan Bouchard, Zach Werenski and Cale Makar.
Hutson has three games to continue adding to the record: on Wednesday night on the road against the Ottawa Senators, and on Saturday and Sunday against the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks, respectively, at the Bell Centre.
Lane Hutson, Canadiens taking another step forward in 2025-26
After coming out of the rebuild last season, advancing to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in four years before bowing out to the Washington Capitals in five games in Round 1, the Habs are looking to take another step forward this time around.
Now 35-18-10 after the victory over the flailing Maple Leafs — who have lost eight games in a row and are dead last in the Atlantic — Montreal is third place in the division with 19 games remaining in their regular-season.
“I feel like that was our most complete game,” forward Jake Evans, who increased his point streak to five, said of Tuesday's triumph. “It felt like the third period, we were in control for most of it and we just didn’t get that third, or I guess maybe even fourth goal, to take them out of it. They fought hard to battle back, but I’m just happy with how complete that game was.”
Hutson has been a catalyst of the team's overall success, building off his Calder Trophy-winning rookie season by playing at over a point-per-game pace. The Habs also have a couple of key additions making important contributions, including Noah Dobson, Zack Bolduc, Phil Danault and rookie Oliver Kapanen.
The organization looks well-positioned to be one of the last eight teams standing in the Eastern Conference come the middle of April, and the storied franchise will be hoping the success continues into the postseason.
Now on the road to Canada's capital city, Montreal will look to make it three wins in a row against Ottawa at the Canadian Tire Centre on Wednesday night. Puck is set to drop just past 7:30 p.m. ET.
