{"id":212923,"date":"2025-10-14T14:39:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T14:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/212923\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T14:39:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T14:39:09","slug":"lane-hutsons-bargain-contract-plus-the-nhls-most-confusing-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/212923\/","title":{"rendered":"Lane Hutson\u2019s bargain contract. Plus: The NHL\u2019s most confusing team"},"content":{"rendered":"

Red Light newsletter\u00a0\ud83c\udfd2\u00a0| This is\u00a0The Athletic\u2019s\u00a0hockey<\/a>\u00a0newsletter.\u00a0Sign up here<\/a>\u00a0to receive Red Light directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n

Good morning to everyone except the Seattle Mariners, who are very mean. The NHL season is officially one week old. Were we wrong about everything? We might have been, yeah, but we\u2019ve got it all figured out now, so read on to get caught up.<\/p>\n

Monday saw the league\u2019s only two 3-0-0 teams in action, and both lost, with the Bruins and Panthers both falling in regulation. You can still count on some things, though \u2014 the Islanders and Sabres both lost to fall to 0-3-0. They\u2019re the only two winless teams left, after the Hawks got their first of the season against Utah, so if you bet on Chicago to go 0-for-82, you had a good run.<\/p>\n

Hey, speaking of losing money\u2026<\/p>\n

Just how much of a discount did Lane Hutson take?<\/p>\n

The short answer: A whole lot!<\/p>\n

The slightly longer answer: He got over $70 million, fully guaranteed, so he won\u2019t be eating store brand ramen anytime soon. He\u2019ll also have just turned 30 when the deal expires, meaning he\u2019ll have a chance to sign at least one more monster deal. It\u2019s fine, everyone settle down.<\/p>\n

The significantly longer answer \u2026 well, let\u2019s get into it.<\/p>\n

First, if you missed the details: Hutson signed an eight-year extension<\/a> that kicks in next year and is worth a total of $70.8 million. That\u2019s a cap hit of $8.85 million through 2034 for last year\u2019s Calder winner as rookie of the year. Arpon has more on what this means for the Canadiens<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So is it a good contract, from the team\u2019s perspective? Very obviously so. I can\u2019t even imagine what it would look like to argue otherwise. The question is whether this immediately becomes one of the league\u2019s great bargains \u2013 the new Nathan MacKinnon deal, say, or the one that shoves Jack Hughes off the top of the heap \u2013 or merely a solid bit of business for a player who\u2019s still not quite proven.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the tricky part, especially with Hutson having just one real season under his belt. The question is whether Hutson is what Canadiens fans have spent the last year insisting he is, which is to say the next Cale Makar, or maybe Ray Bourque, or maybe Bobby Orr, or maybe all of the above\u2026 or whether he\u2019s something closer to the next Shayne Gostisbehere, which is to say a talented offensive defenseman who had a great rookie year but will go on to a career that\u2019s merely good but not Hall-worthy.<\/p>\n

And the answer is that we don\u2019t know because this is sports and we never know. There\u2019s a range of outcomes here, which makes coming up with a number that works for eight years so tricky. Part of what makes these max-length deals for young players so hard to get right is that there\u2019s a ton of risk, and the team and player have to figure out how to spread that around.<\/p>\n

All that said\u2026 I mean, the risk here for the Canadiens seems pretty minimal, right? Hutson had 66 points, won the Calder and finished in the top 10 in Norris voting as a rookie, and he signed for a smaller cap hit than fellow young blueliners Luke Hughes and Jackson LaCombe. If he\u2019s the next Gostisbehere, the contract probably ages just fine in a rising-cap world. It\u2019s only a problem if he turns out to be a total bust, which is technically possible but would be just about unprecedented barring injury or off-ice issues. And if he does turn out to be as good as he seems like he could be after one year, then the Canadiens may have themselves the single biggest bargain in hockey for nearly a decade to come.<\/p>\n

Then again, that\u2019s just my opinion, and I\u2019m some guy. What does Dom\u2019s model think?<\/p>\n

Lane Hutson signs an outrageously team-friendly deal considering his skill-set, age, comps, and a rapidly exploding salary cap. pic.twitter.com\/GDsNirWfEb<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 dom \ud83d\udcc8 (@domluszczyszyn) October 13, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0Coast to Coast<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfd2 Easton Cowan, who you may know as the Maple Leafs best and also only prospect, made his NHL debut yesterday. Josh Kloke has the story on his path to the NHL<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\ud83d\udcc8 If you missed it, my weekly power rankings returned on Monday<\/a>. Read them before they\u2019re out of date and you whoops too late.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udd25 The whole staff got together to make some bold predictions for all 32 teams<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f On Monday\u2019s \u201cThe Athletic Hockey Show,\u201d Max Bultman, Mark Lazerus, and Rob Rossi had eight overreactions to the first week of the NHL season, including Matthew Schaefer winning a Norris before his entry level deal ends. Listen here.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n (Ezra Shaw \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The NHL\u2019s most confusing team (according to you)<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s hoping you entered the prediction contest, which closed last week with roughly 1,100 entries. I love running the contest for two reasons. First, it inevitably turns into a fun reminder that none of us know anything. And second, it\u2019s a sneaky way to take the temperature of hockey fans, and find out just what kind of opinions are percolating among the hockey world\u2019s very smartest people (i.e. my readers).<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll have a post on the site tomorrow where I go through the contest\u2019s 11 questions, and which answers were most popular. But one of my favorite insights comes from the answer that you guys don\u2019t give. Specifically, it concerns the first three questions, which ask you to name five playoff teams, five non-playoff teams, and five teams that will finish in the NHL\u2019s mushy middle. I\u2019m always fascinated to combine your answers to all three questions, and then see which team gets the fewest mentions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In other words, which teams are you the least confident in predicting? Which one can you just not figure out?<\/p>\n

And this year, would you believe \u2026 the Winnipeg Jets?<\/p>\n

Yes, despite winning the Presidents\u2019 Trophy last year, the Jets were the least-mentioned team in this year\u2019s contest, showing up just 89 times across the three questions. That\u2019s not necessarily a sign of disrespect \u2013 we\u2019ll point out that nobody had the Jets actually missing the playoffs \u2013 but it does seem surprising. So I asked our Jets beat writer, Murat Ates, what he thought of his team earning this, um, honor.<\/p>\n

Murat: This does surprise me \u2014 a bit anyway. I\u2019ve seen enough media commentary about how not everyone trusts their Presidents\u2019 Trophy win as real to understand that there\u2019s some uncertainty about them. But then: Why do so few people have the courage to commit to Winnipeg missing the playoffs? Yeah, the more I think about it, the outright avoidance of Jets votes \u2026 Pick a side, people!<\/p>\n

Having said all that, I can understand why Winnipeg might be hard to predict. Maybe you think the great season they just had was all about Connor Hellebuyck and his playoffs turned you off. You\u2019d be wrong, but maybe you included the power play and think they\u2019re due for regression, or maybe you do understand that the Jets were a great five on five team too but look at the turnover \u2014 Nikolaj Ehlers and others out, Jonathan Toews and others in \u2014 and the doubt creeps in. I think they\u2019re a playoff team but can at least begin to understand why people might be afraid they\u2019re not a lock \u2014 and that\u2019s before the injuries.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thanks Murat, and yeah, it\u2019s weird. But not unprecedented \u2013 in fact, the Bruins were the most confusing team just two years ago, coming off their own Presidents\u2019 Trophy season. The story here, from a Jets\u2019 fan perspective, is that almost nobody thinks they\u2019re a playoff lock. And while that\u2019s tough to hear coming off a 116-point season, the Central is nasty. (But did readers have the same hesitancy about the Stars or Avs? Find out tomorrow \u2026)<\/p>\n

Trivia time\ud83d\udca1: Since we\u2019re on the subject of the Jets, let\u2019s ask a question about a Winnipeg legend. Teemu Selanne spent his Hall of Fame career with the original Jets, the Ducks (twice), the Sharks and the Avalanche. Which Canadian team did he sign his first NHL deal with?\\
\n\u00a0What to watch\u00a0<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa Predators @ Maple Leafs
7 p.m. ET on ESPN+ \/ TSN4<\/p>\n

Both teams have been minor surprises so far. The Leafs have struggled, dropping back-to-back games in regulation to the Red Wings. It\u2019s not panic time yet, but it\u2019s also Toronto, so we\u2019re getting there. Meanwhile, the Predators have earned five of six points, including a solid win yesterday in Ottawa.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa Lightning @ Capitals
7 p.m. ET on ESPN \/ Sportsnet<\/p>\n

Tampa badly needed that win in Boston yesterday, their first of the season. The Caps just swept a mini road swing against the two New York teams, and now return home for a week.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa Wild @ Stars
9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN \/ Sportsnet One<\/p>\n

The marquee matchup of the night features two top teams from the league\u2019s marquee division. Dallas should have the edge, since they\u2019re at home and rested while Minnesota played last night. But handing the powerhouse Stars their first loss of the year would be a nice early statement for the Wild.<\/p>\n

Full NHL schedule here<\/a>. Try streaming games like these for free on Fubo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

No Dumb Questions\u00a0<\/p>\n

We believe that in hockey, as in life, there are no dumb questions. So if you have something you\u2019ve always wondered about the sport, ask away by emailing us at redlight@theathletic.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Understanding delayed offside<\/p>\n

What is a \u201cdelayed\u201d offside? \u2013 Gerald M.<\/p>\n

Great question, thanks for sending it.<\/p>\n

First things first: A team is offside when any player has entered the attacking zone before the puck, with the exception of a player who\u2019s controlling it. Often, this happens when a team is trying to time its entrance into the zone, and someone crosses just ahead of the puck-carrier. Those are instant whistles. But it can also happen if a team shoots (not carries) the puck into the zone when an attacking player is already in there. At the moment when the puck enters the zone and an attacking player is already there, the play is offside.<\/p>\n

But! Just because a play is offside doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s going to be whistled dead, as long as the team that\u2019s gone offside doesn\u2019t touch the puck. Instead, the linesmen will let the play go as long as all of those attacking players can get out of the zone without touching the puck. Once all of the offending players are out of the zone, the play is no longer offside. This is often referred to as \u201cclearing\u201d the zone. You typically see it when a team is dumping the puck deep into the zone, maybe for a line change or just to regroup defensively. A few guys are trapped deep, but it\u2019s OK because none of them touch the puck, they just head out of the zone.<\/p>\n

During an NHL game, you\u2019ll know a play is offside if the puck enters the zone and you see the linesman\u2019s arm go up, but there\u2019s no whistle. That\u2019s a delayed offside. (You may also sometimes hear it referred to as tag-up offside.) The linesman will keep his arm in the air until the attacking team has cleared the zone, at which point he\u2019ll drop his arm back down and play will continue on.<\/p>\n

As with just about everything in the NHL, it\u2019s not always that simple \u2013 you\u2019ll sometimes see a delayed offside whistled down because the puck has been shot on net, or because an attacking player isn\u2019t trying to clear the zone. But in general, you\u2019re allowed to shoot the puck into the zone and be offside without being whistled for it, as long as your players can clear the zone.<\/p>\n

One last thing: Not all hockey leagues permit delayed offsides, with some making it an automatic infraction as soon as the puck enters the zone. Even the NHL has gone back and forth on how the rule is called; at one point in the 1990s, the league switched to immediate offsides in an effort to discourage teams from playing a dull dump-and-chase style, although it didn\u2019t really work and was eventually brought back. But these days, delayed offside is a thing, and you\u2019ll see it happen a few times in most games.<\/p>\n

Your trivia answer \u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n

Teemu Selanne\u2019s first contract was not with the Jets, weirdly enough. Yes, they drafted Selanne, with the 10th pick of the 1988 draft. And he debuted with them, in that memorable record-shattering rookie season in 1992-93. But in between, he actually signed his first NHL deal with the Calgary Flames. It was an offer sheet, and the Jets matched it. It\u2019s one of those weird forgotten offer sheets from the era when teams were far more aggressive on those. Like Keith Tkachuk, Joe Sakic and Sergei Fedorov, Selanne\u2019s matched offer sheet is one of those deals we rarely mention anymore. But it did happen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udceb Love Red Light?\u00a0Check out\u00a0The Athletic\u2019s other newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n