Montreal Canadiens' Lane Hutson Dominates NHL Calder Trophy Voting
Montreal Canadiens rookie Lane Hutson is the NHL's 2024-25 winner of the Calder Trophy, and it wasn't all that close.
Hutson, 21, had more than 50 family and friends at a dinner in Lake Barrington, Ill. Rob Hutson, Lane's father, said the group was there to celebrate the rookie's nomination for the Calder Trophy, but mostly everyone else had no idea he actually won it and the Calder Trophy would show up.
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The Professional Hockey Writers Association selected Hutson as the NHL's most proficient player in their first year of competition. He is the second Canadiens player to win the Calder Trophy since 1967-68 after Ken Dryden won it in 1971-72. He's also the fifth active D-man to win the award, with Detroit Red Wings blueliner Moritz Seider being the last one in 2021-22.
But Hutson didn't just win – he won in a landslide.
Of the 191 ballots, Hutson received 165 first-place votes and 26 second-place votes. Nobody had him below second.
Hutson had 150 more first-place votes than Calgary Flames netminder Duston Wolf, who finished second in the voting. Wolf had the most second-place votes, with 96, while the San Jose Sharks' first-overall pick in 2024, Macklin Celebrini, finished third.
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Only three other defensemen since 1943-44 led the NHL's rookies in scoring: Bobby Orr, Brian Leetch and Quinn Hughes. Of that group, Hutson's 66 points rank second, and his 0.80 points per game also rank second.
Lane Hutson (Eric Bolte-Imagn Images)
Hutson set a Canadiens franchise record for most points by a rookie defenseman, while only forwards Kjell Dahlin and Mats Naslund had more points, with 71. Hutson's 60 helpers also tied Larry Murphy for the most by a rookie defenseman in NHL history.
The 5-foot-9, left-hand shot stepped up his production against the Canadiens' opponents in their own division.
Hutson recorded one goal and 28 assists for 29 points in 26 games against teams in the Atlantic Division, which comes to around 1.12 points per game. Against teams in the rest of the NHL, he had five goals and 32 assists for 37 points in 56 games, or 0.66 points per game.
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As for the rest of the rookies to receive votes, Philadelphia Flyers sniper Matvei Michkov finished fourth, with zero first-place votes but eight in second place, 26 in third, 151 in fourth and six in fifth. Michkov led all rookies in goals, with 26.
Anaheim Ducks left winger Cutter Gauthier finished fifth, followed by the Sharks' Will Smith, Carolina Hurricanes' Logan Stankoven and St. Louis Blues' Zack Bolduc. Five players only received fifth-place votes, including the Hurricanes' Jackson Blake and Red Wings' Marco Kasper.
The NHL will recognize Hutson's rookie of the year honors again during the 2025 NHL Awards show, a one-hour program airing on June 12 at 6 p.m. ET.
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