Did the Habs make Lane Hutson a substantial contract offer this summer?

Abbie Says on X — @AbbieFit)

Canadiens management doesn’t discuss contract negotiations publicly, but you have to think Hutson has already been given a substantial offer as he heads into the final season of his NHL entry-level contract with a US$950,000 salary-cap hit.

“Contract negotiations, obviously, we don’t want to talk about those publicly,” Jeff Gorton, the Canadiens’ executive vice-president of hockey operations, said at the team’s golf tournament last month. “But we feel good about Lane and getting him done in the future.”

A couple of recent contract signings by young NHL defencemen provide an idea of the kind of money the 21-year-old Hutson will be looking for after winning the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie, posting 6-60-66 totals and a minus-2 while playing in all 82 games.

Luke Hughes, 22, signed a seven-year, US$63-million contract with New Jersey this week with an annual salary-cap hit of US$9 million after posting 7-37-44 totals in 71 games, along with a minus-9, last season with the Devils. The previous season, as a rookie, Hughes had 9-38-47 totals in 82 games and was minus-25. The Devils selected Hughes with the fourth overall pick at the 2021 NHL Draft.

Jackson LaCombe, 24, signed an eight-year, US$72-million contract with Anaheim this week with an annual salary-cap hit of US$9 million after posting 14-29-43 totals in 75 games last season with the Ducks and he was even in plus/minus. The previous season, as a rookie, LaCombe had 2-15-17 totals in 71 games and was minus-24. During his two seasons in the NHL, LaCombe has six points less than Hutson had in his rookie season. The Ducks selected LaCombe in the second round (39th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft.

The Canadiens selected Hutson in the second round (62nd overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft.

You have to think the Canadiens were hoping to pay Hutson less than the US$9.5 million Noah Dobson will earn annually on his eight-year, US$76-million contract — just like Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky, who both signed for slightly less than the US$7.857 million captain Nick Suzuki earns each season. But that seems unlikely.

At this point, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Hutson decides to bank on himself and signs a bridge contract like the two-year deal P.K. Subban signed with the Canadiens before cashing in on an eight-year, US$72-million deal after winning the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenceman in 2012-13. The NHL salary cap will jump from this season’s US$95.5 million to US$104 million in 2026-27 and then go up to US$113.5 million in 2027-28.

However, if the Canadiens were to offer Hutson an eight-year, US$80-million contract, that’s an awful lot of guaranteed money to leave on the table for a young defenceman who is only 5-foot-10 and 163 pounds when you factor in the possibility of an injury.

What letter grade do you give Habs management on its off-season efforts for this season’s opening-night roster?

Ed Helinski  on X — @MrEd315

I’d give them an A-minus. It would have been an A if they could have landed a legitimate second-line centre, but that wasn’t from a lack of effort.

As head coach Martin St. Louis has noted several times during training camp, this team has more talent than he has had since taking over as head coach three years ago and he also has more options with his lineup, including the power play. Dobson and forward Zachary Bolduc were great additions during the summer, plus Ivan Demidov will be with the Canadiens all season.

Looking to the future, with Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson playing on the last year of their contracts and Lane Hutson looking for a big payout, will the Canadiens let those two players walk at the end of the season and use one of Florian Xhekaj, Owen Beck, Luke Tuch or any other prospect to replace them?

thenumbersguy on X — @numbersguy130

Gallagher and Anderson actually have two seasons remaining on their contracts with salary-cap hits of US$6.5 million and US$5.5 million, respectively. Gallagher will be 35 when his contract expires and I can’t see the Canadiens keeping him. Anderson will be 33 when his contract expires and, depending on how he plays the next two seasons, the Canadiens might have interest in keeping him on a short-term deal since there aren’t a lot of power forwards like him in the NHL.

Xhekaj is a similar type of player to Anderson and could replace him. But Xhekaj and Anderson could also be very effective on the same line and wouldn’t be fun to play against. We might see that this season. The Canadiens have more than enough prospects — including Beck and Tuch — capable of replacing Gallagher.

Will Florian Xhekaj make the team and, if not, will he be one of the first call-ups once the season gets going? In other words, is the top brass impressed with him and what he brings?

Judgewonitz on X — @Judge1717

Whether to keep Xhekaj or not will be the toughest decision Canadiens management faces to start the season. The fact Xhekaj wasn’t among the 24 players cut from training camp last weekend and sent down to the AHL’s Laval Rocket highlights how much he has impressed the top brass.

St. Louis has said he wants to add “grit and sandpaper” to the team and Xhekaj has both of those qualities in spades. But there only appears to be one vacant spot among the top-12 forwards and it looks like Oliver Kapanen will take that spot. I don’t think the Canadiens would want to carry Xhekaj as an extra forward since he would be much better off playing big minutes with the AHL’s Laval Rocket.

But if/when there are injuries at the forward position, I would expect Xhekaj to be the first player called up from Laval.

Are the Habs truly ready for the sandpaper that the Wi-Fi brothers will bring to the table? Martin St. Louis seems to be a Lady Byng peacenik at heart with little to no time for any rough stuff.

David Sword

St. Louis did win the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of play three times during his 16-year Hall of Fame playing career. But, as noted above, he also understands the need for sandpaper and grit — especially in the playoffs.

I believe St. Louis is definitely ready to have the Xhekaj brothers as a tag-team act — and Canadiens fans would absolutely love it. Also, as noted above, they might need to wait a bit longer for that to happen.

In your opinion, what is keeping Owen Beck from making the team this year?

Dave on X — @sdcctnj

The answer to that question is basically good drafting and developing by the Canadiens, which has created tougher competition for jobs.

The Canadiens selected Beck in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft, a year after they took Oliver Kapanen in the second round (64th overall). Beck is competing for a job against Kapanen and Florian Xhekaj, selected in the fourth round (101st overall) of the 2023 NHL Draft. Ivan Demidov, the No. 5 overall draft pick in 2024, has already secured a spot on the Canadiens.

The competition will only get tougher for forwards as other draft picks join the Canadiens organization, including Michael Hage (selected 21st overall at last year’s draft), Aatos Koivu (70th overall last year) Alexander Zharovsky (34th overall this year) and Hayden Paupanekis (69th overall this year).

That competition is a good thing for the Canadiens.

If Guy Lafleur didn’t retire after the 1984-85 season and Steve Shutt wasn’t traded to the Los Angeles Kings on Nov. 18, 1984, would the Habs have still won the 1986 Stanley Cup? They both deserved better sendoffs in Montreal, but with the team dynamic changing the way it did, their roles would have definitely been different.

Stunning Steve on X — @SteveDickerNL

That’s a great question and it’s hard to answer hypothetical questions — but my answer would be no.

While many Montreal fans still blame Jacques Lemaire — who was head coach — for forcing Lafleur into his first retirement by wanting him to focus more on his defensive play at age 34, they forget the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup in their first season without Lafleur.

Lemaire resigned as head coach in July 1985, saying it was “tough to live” with the pressures in that role and became the team’s director of player personnel. The Canadiens won the Stanley Cup in 1986 with Jean Perron behind the bench.

The departure of Hall of Famers Lafleur and Shutt opened spots for other players. The Canadiens had eight rookies on their team in 1985-86, including Claude Lemieux, Stéphane Richer, Shayne Corson, Brian Skrudland, Kjell Dahlin and goalie Patrick Roy.

If you have a question you’d like to ask for the weekly Habs Mailbag, you can email it to montrealcanadiens@postmedia.com

Related