Lane Hutson’s Extension Could Come In Cheaper Than Expected

For one, unlike Jackson LaCombe with the Anaheim Ducks, who signed an 8-year $72 million deal on Thursday, Hutson is not that close to UFA status. The Habs would still have his RFA rights for another 5 years after this upcoming season. This is something that gives the Canadiens leverage for the majority of a long-term contract with Hutson. 

D’Amico also states that, unlike the Luke Hughes deal, who signed with the New Devils for a 7-year $63 million deal on Wednesday, Hutson’s family is not using the possibility of him joining another team to go play with his brother. The Hughes family definitely played dirty and earned the youngest brother more money than he otherwise would have received. 

Following that explanation from D’Amico, he goes into why the AAV on Hutson’s contract could be closer to $9 million rather than the $10 million AAV that everyone is expecting for the reigning Calder Trophy winner.

This is where things get interesting as D’Amico brings up something that many people may not know about how the Habs can make Hutson feel like he’s winning while accepting a lower AAV. The Canadiens can use heavy signing bonuses and Retirement Compensation Arrangements that will allow him to bypass many of the taxes involved with his annual salary. D’Amico mentions that even if Hutson’s contract could resemble both Hughes’ and LaCombe’s contracts with a $9 million AAV, he could actually earn a few million dollars more than them if the Habs take advantage of giving him signing bonuses and Retirement Compensation Arrangements. 

With how good Hutson was during his rookie season, he could easily command more than $9 million per year but it may be better for him to take that amount if he wants to help the Canadiens win the Stanley Cup someday and he does give off the vibe of being the type of player who will take a lower AAV to help his team win more.

Currently, outside of the regular season starting soon, the discussions of Lane Hutson’s next contract are one of the biggest topics surrounding the league. Elliott Friedman mentioned on his 32 Thoughts Podcast on Friday that he heard that the Canadiens are currently discussing an 8-year deal with around the annual salary of $9 million with Hutson’s camp. It will be interesting to see if the contract extension gets done over the next few weeks.

It sounds like both the Canadiens and Hutson could be close to the extension, but they have a little work to iron out. Could that be related to signing bonuses and a Retirement Plan Arrangement? 

What do you think of the Canadiens using the loopholes that D’Amico mentioned to get a deal done with Hutson?