Canadiens, Star Defenseman Making Progress on Extension

Marco D'Amico of RG.org gave a comprehensive update on where things stand between Hutson and the Canadiens. Most notably, Montreal finds itself in a favorable position due to his status as a 10.2(c) restricted free agent (RFA), which essentially means that he is not eligible for offer sheets or arbitration.

“Hutson doesn’t really have a large amount of leverage in this situation, outside of his excellent on-ice play, simply because he is not eligible for any offer sheets, and he doesn’t have any arbitration rights either,” one source told D'Amico.

Many have compared Hutson's potential next contract to the eight-year, $76 million deal ($9.5 million annual cap hit) Noah Dobson, another offensive blue-liner, signed with the Canadiens after a trade from the New York Islanders. However, their vastly different situations mean that comparable doesn't really work.

“His contract comparable wouldn’t be Dobson in this case, it would be more like (Jake) Sanderson or (Brock) Faber or (Quinn) Hughes, who signed long-term deals as 10.2(c) RFAs,” the source said. “It’s about comparing apples to apples here, even though I think Hutson could be elite."

A second source stated that the Canadiens should look to see what happens between the New Jersey Devils and defenseman Luke Hughes, who is currently an RFA himself.

"For someone like Lane Hutson, all eyes are likely on what the New Jersey Devils decide to do with Luke Hughes," the second source said. "Can you really offer him more than his brother, Jack? Does that impact his term then? All these things come into play, but will also impact negotiations across the league, as agents or general managers will use it as a benchmark.”

Possibly the best news for Canadiens fans, the team and Hutson are on very good terms and feel confident they will get a deal done sooner or later.

“Both parties are in a good space and there’s a good amount of mutual respect, but just very little rush from either party,” a third source said. “I think it gets done eventually and on the longer-term.”