Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens is the odds-on favorite to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year — and would be a deserving victor.
Hutson, a huge reason why the Canadiens are on the verge of punching a ticket to the Stanley Cup playoffs, has three more games to put himself in the record book.
Hutson’s 58 assists are the second most by a freshman defenseman in league history, two behind the 60 recorded by Larry Murphy of the Los Angeles Kings in the 1980-81 season.
Hutson’s opportunity to join a list of the league’s elite does not end there. His 64 points rank as the sixth most collected by a rookie rearguard. Murphy holds that record with 76, followed by Brian Leetch (1988-89, New York Rangers) with 71, Gary Suter (1985-86, Calgary Flames) is third with 68, followed by Phil Housley (1982-83, Buffalo Sabres) with 66, and fifth is Ray Bourque (1979-80, Boston Bruins) with 65.
That is heady company for Hutson, the 21-year-old offensive dynamo drafted 62nd overall in 2022.
Although Hutson has likely pulled away from the pack for top player in his first full big-league season, it certainly is a larger-than-usual field.
While the 2024-25 regular season will be most remembered for Alex Ovechkin breaking Wayne Gretzky’s goal-scoring record, a big story will also be the rise of the rookies.
The runner-up for top rookie should easily be Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf, who has been the backbone for a low-scoring club that has remained in the playoff mix until the final week. Without Wolf’s netminding, the Flames unquestionably would be among the bottom feeders, but he has them pushing to the end.
From there, expect to see San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini, the top pick in last year’s draft, finish third in voting. Celebrini has delivered everything the Sharks hoped for and more.
Heading into Sunday’s game against the Flames, Celebrini has collected 24 goals and 62 points for the last-place Sharks. He already is showing the offensive smarts and touch to be a star and is indeed the cornerstone to turning around San Jose’s fortunes.
What makes this rookie class all the better is a fact to consider: When the top five vote-getters are announced, it will mean either a player with 20 goals or a skater who has been red-hot down the stretch and is closing in on 50 points will be off the list.
Likely to place fourth in voting is Matvei Michkov of the Philadelphia Flyers. The season has been something of a nightmare in the City of Brotherly Love, but Michkov has delivered to expectations. The sublimely talented forward has plenty of work to do on his all-around game, but he heads into the weekend’s action with 24 goals and 59 points.
There have been plenty of seasons in which a campaign like that would make him a serious contender for the Calder Trophy.
Now, to the player who will end up fifth — whoever deserves that spot is truly a good debate. On one hand, you have Cutter Gauthier of the Anaheim Ducks, who reached the 20-goal mark on Thursday. Gauthier was held to only four assists in the first 15 games of the season and was feeling his way around the league until the break for February’s 4 Nations Face-Off, but has improved his game ever since and has scored five goals in the last three games.
Not to be outdone of late, San Jose’s other super rookie, Will Smith, has followed a similar path and has scored five times in a four-game streak and 10 times in 20 outings. With 17 goals and 44 points, Smith has a chance to join the 20-goal club as well.
Before the Stanley Cup playoffs kick off, appreciate the crop of kids. They’re all right.
