Lane Hutson is not a big fan of surprises.
“He doesn’t like anything out of left field,” his dad, Rob Hutson, said. “I’m probably going to be on the not-so-good list.”
Why you ask?
It’s because his parents not only threw a surprise party to celebrate the Montreal Canadiens defenseman being a finalist for the Calder Trophy, which goes to the NHL rookie of the year, but also because at the surprise party the 21-year-old found out he was the winner.
“To win rookie of the year award, I just feel really fortunate” Hutson said at the surprise party which was held at The Wild Onion Pub & Brewery in Lake Barrington, Illinois. “I’m lucky to be part of the Montreal Canadiens and be a part of such a great support system with all my friends and family.”
Those friends and family, other than Hutson’s mom and dad, were surprised when Phil Pritchard of the Hockey Hall of Fame walked into the pub holding the Calder Trophy, which is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
But the fact he won should hardly be a surprise to anyone.
Hutson led all rookies in assists (60), points (66) and ice time per game (22:44) in 82 games. Selected by the Canadiens in the second round (No. 62) of the 2022 NHL Draft, he got his 65th point of the season with an assist on Juraj Slafkovsky’s goal in the third period of a 4-3 shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks at Bell Centre in Montreal on April 14 to break a tie with Chris Chelios for the most by a rookie defenseman in Canadiens history.
He is the fifth active defenseman to win the Calder, joining Tyler Myers (2009-10), Aaron Ekblad (2014-15), Cale Makar (2019-20) and Moritz Seider (2021-22).
Hutson also became the fourth defenseman in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) to lead all rookies in scoring, joining Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins (41 points; 13 goals, 28 assists in 1966-67), Brian Leetch of the New York Rangers (71 points; 23 goals, 48 assists in 1988-89) and Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks (53 points; eight goals, 45 assists in 2019-20). Hutson’s 60 assists matched Larry Murphy, who had 60 for the Los Angeles Kings in 1980-81, for the most by a rookie defenseman in League history, and his 66 points trailed only Murphy, Leetch and Gary Suter (68 points; 18 goals, 50 assists in 1985-86) for the most by a rookie defenseman.
No rookie, regardless of position, has had more assists for the Canadiens in a single season, and only two forwards have had more points -- Kjell Dahlin (71; 32 goals, 39 assists in 1985-86) and Mats Naslund (71; 26 goals, 45 assists in 1982-83). Hutson, a second-round pick (No. 62) at the 2022 NHL Draft, also topped 2024-25 NHL rookies in time on ice (1,864:07 -- nearly 500 more minutes than any other skater), power-play assists (25) and power-play points (26).
He was also a big reason why Montreal (40-31-11) was the second wild card in the Eastern Conference and earned a Stanley Cup Playoff berth for the first time since 2021.
Hutson earned 165 of a possible 191 first-place votes, finishing ahead of the other finalists: goalie Dustin Wolf of the Calgary Flames, who was second, and center Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks.
Hutson is the first Canadiens player to win the Calder since goalie and Hockey Hall of Famer Ken Dryden in 1972 and seventh overall, joining Jacques Laperriere (1964); Bobby Rousseau (1962); Ralph Backstrom (1959); Bernie Geoffrion (1952) and Johnny Quilty (1941). Russ Blinco won the award playing for the Montreal Maroons in 1934.
“To be able to do what I love every day, it’s been a dream,” Hutson said. “I wouldn’t be here without the great support I have or friends, family and teammates and coaches, so it’s definitely special.”
The best players and coaches from this season will be celebrated at the 2025 NHL Awards, a one-hour special that will premiere Thursday at 6 p.m. ET on TNT in the U.S. and Sportsnet in Canada, before Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. The show will highlight all NHL Award winners this season, including Hutson and others revealed in a series of special surprise video announcements across all League platforms leading up to the program.
2024-25 Calder Trophy Voting
Pts (1st-2nd-3rd-4th-5th)
1. Lane Hutson, MTL 1832 (165-26-0-0-0)
2. Dustin Wolf, CGY 1169 (15-96-59-17-1)
3. Macklin Celebrini, SJS 1104 (11-61-106-12-1)
4. Matvei Michkov, PHI 645 (0-8-26-151-6)
5. Cutter Gauthier, ANA 92 (0-0-0-6-74)
6. Will Smith, SJS 62 (0-0-0-2-56)
7. Logan Stankoven, CAR 22 (0-0-0-2-16)
8. Zack Bolduc, STL 20 (0-0-0-1-17)
9. Jackson Blake, CAR 9 (0-0-0-0-9)
10. Marco Kasper, DET 7 (0-0-0-0-7)
11. Mackie Samoskevich, FLA 2 (0-0-0-0-2)
t-12. Drew Helleson, ANA 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
t-12. Denton Mateychuk, CBJ 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
(10-7-5-3-1 points allocation)
