Hutson won the Calder Trophy, awarded annually to the top rookie in the NHL, with 66 points (six goals, 60 assists) last season, becoming just the seventh player in Canadiens history to receive the honor and first since the late Ken Dryden, who won the award in 1972. His 60 assists tied an NHL rookie record set by Larry Murphy with the Los Angeles Kings in 1980-81.
Hutson's new contract, which begins with the 2026-27 season, has an average annual value of $8.85 million through 2033-34. He has one assist in three games this season.
"I tried not to let myself get distracted by the negotiations, but it was starting to weigh on me a little," he said. "It's a good thing for both sides to come to a deal. I'm just happy to be here for a long time.
"I think every time you get to throw on this jersey, it's special, whether it's practice, games, preseason, playoffs. It always means so much to me, and it's pretty special that I get to do it for a while now."
Hutson and his agent, Ryan Barnes of Quartexx Management, sped up the negotiation process with the Canadiens at the start of October. He said that terms were essentially finalized before a 3-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Saturday.
"It's been hard to read the market lately," Hughes said. "When a player like Connor McDavid signs a contract (two years, $25 million, $12.5 million AAV with the Edmonton Oilers) for far less than another player in the League (Kirill Kaprizov; eight years, $136 million, $17 million AAV with the Minnesota Wild), it's a big reminder that there's a salary cap.
"With this contract, Lane just told us that he likes playing in Montreal and that he wants the Canadiens to be in a position to win. We're very happy to keep him here with us. We were also really happy to have drafted him as late as we did (second round, No. 62 in the 2022 NHL Draft). We've lucky to have him here with us, and to have him here on a long-term basis."
Much like Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky, Hutson chose to accept an eight-year contract with Montreal immediately following his rookie deal, avoiding a massive burden on the team's salary structure.
"I like seeing a teammate get a nice salary, one that's to the level of his talent, but we've kind of built a culture here where guys are not trying to break the bank," Suzuki said. "I think all Lane wants to do is win, and I think he's definitely set us up for that possibility moving on in the future."
Hughes stayed true to his personal philosophy, convincing Hutson to accept a yearly salary that respects the team's cap space, rather than seek out what could have been a higher wage on the open market.
"It was a priority for us," Hughes said. "When the salary cap changes, the numbers are no longer the same, but our principles have to remain the same."
Hutson will earn slightly less than teammate Noah Dobson, who signed an eight-year, $76 million contract ($9.5 million AAV) with the Canadiens after he was acquired in a trade with the New York Islanders on June 27.
"Noah's was a different contract," Hughes said. "The contracts for 'Suzie,' Caufield, 'Slaf,' Kaiden Guhle and Lane are all contracts following their NHL rookie deals. This one's different.
"We talked about our desire to build a winning culture. That's important for us. To get there, everyone's got to be pulling in the same direction."
