NHL Insider Secrets: What’s Really Holding Up Lane Hutson’s Contract Extension?

When it comes to the Montreal Canadiens and the contract saga surrounding promising defenseman Lane Hutson, things aren’t as straightforward as one might expect. Despite being eligible to ink a new deal since July 1st, Hutson remains unsigned as we near the end of August, prompting plenty of speculation. The truth is, the mechanics of NHL contract extensions are a bit more nuanced—Hutson still has a year left on his current deal, which doesn’t expire until July 1, 2026, and that restricts how early negotiations can officially kick off. Add to that the shifting dynamics of the league’s salary cap—rising by a substantial $9 million this season—the stakes for both player and team are higher, making long-term commitments a cautious dance rather than a rushed handshake. Listening in on conversations between Hutson’s camp and the Canadiens reveals ongoing, smooth talks with multiple options being bandied about, hinting that patience might just be the name of the game here. It’s a classic wait-and-see scenario, waiting on other restricted free agent deals to set the pace before locking anything down. For anyone closely tracking Hutson’s future and what it means for the Canadiens, there’s definitely no reason to panic just yet—it’s all part of the evolving chess match behind the scenes.

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Where do things stand with a Lane Hutson contract extension?

The Shaun Staar Show: Marco D’Amico, when asked about what is going on with a contract extension for Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson.

** NHLRumors.com transcription

Starr: “Walk me through the mechanics of this story. Here we are with this out on August 18th, and there still is Lane Hudson without a contract. He was eligible to sign one on July 1st. Walk us through the mechanics. What’s going on.

D’Amico: “Well, just to be clear, he still, he still has the last year of his current contract to play out. And then next, like July 1st 2026, is when it would expire. In the NHL, you’re able to negotiate an extension as of the final year of your contract. You cannot do that before.

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So in the past, we’ve seen the Montreal Canadiens get aggressive in that regard. Signing Juraj Slafkovsky on July 1st. Signing Kaiden Guhle shortly after last summer, I think it was a week later or two. So those two went long-term right away, avoiding the possibility of an offer sheet this summer. Which is normal, and at the time, there was a few things that made it understandable.

However, the market nowadays has changed, and there’s a lot that’s kind of changed. And so we’ll get into it. First and foremost, the salary cap is going up, right? And it’s not going up, you know, by one or two or 3 million, it’s going up by $9 million a year. We’re talking about 9% of salary cap going (up). That’s a lot.

And if you’re an NHL player right now, unless you’re in like a Noah Dodson situation, or a free agent like a Mitch Marner, you know, going eight years is a risky venture, because what are you giving up in potential earnings, right? And a lot of people would be like, ‘Wow, they’re millionaires. Who cares, right?’ But this hockey, first of all, has a very short window of opportunity, and there’s a whole lot of risk involved.

So yes, there is the element of giving them security. But then, you know, Sean, we talked about this before, if you’re a defenseman making $8 million right now, that used to be first-pair defenseman money about five years ago. Now it’s, you know, second pair defenseman money, like high-end second pair defense, when we saw Ivan Provorov sign for 8.5 (million) this summer.  And within three years, that will realistically be second pair of defenseman money, right? Like, regular second-pair defenseman money, like, like we saw with Gavrikov, Provorov, those kinds of contracts, right?

And so when you’re looking at building out your roster, and you’re an agent on the other end, and the agent’s like, ‘well, maybe we don’t necessarily want to go too hard, too quick.’ That’s exactly what’s going on with Lane Hudson right now.

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And so his camp, and obviously Canadians, constant conversation. And I think that’s the thing we need to make clear. They’re in conversation. Things are going very smoothly. They’re exchanging ideas. There’s multiple scenarios on the table. They’re looking to see how other negotiations play out before they lock down on an idea. Because there’s one thing to set the trend and there’s another thing to follow a trend, and a lot of people are waiting to see exactly what’s coming, when it comes to RFAs and we’re going to get into that in a later episode. But when it comes to Hutson situation, nothing to worry about from what I’m being told.”

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