{"id":71410,"date":"2025-08-15T23:51:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T23:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/71410\/"},"modified":"2025-08-15T23:51:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T23:51:08","slug":"nhl-analyst-urges-patience-in-lane-hutson-contract-talks-calls-erik-karlssons-92-million-deal-a-mistake-nhl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/71410\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL analyst urges patience in Lane Hutson contract talks, calls Erik Karlsson\u2019s $92 million deal a \u201cmistake\u201d | NHL News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/123327429.jpg\" alt=\"NHL analyst urges patience in Lane Hutson contract talks, calls Erik Karlsson\u2019s $92 million deal a \u201cmistake\u201d\" title=\"The Montreal Canadiens are in no rush to lock down Lane Hutson to a massive long-term deal (Getty Images)\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>The Montreal Canadiens are in no rush to lock down Lane Hutson to a massive long-term deal (Getty Images) The Montreal Canadiens are in no rush to lock down Lane Hutson to a massive long-term deal, despite his sensational rookie season that earned him the 2024\u201325 Calder Trophy. <a href=\"http:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/sports\/nhl\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NHL<\/a> insider Stu Cowan believes the Canadiens should take a measured approach, even as the 21-year-old defenseman\u2019s stock continues to rise.<\/p>\n<p>Why the Canadiens are taking their time with Lane Hutson\u2019s contract negotiations<\/p>\n<p>Hutson, who posted six goals and 60 assists for 66 points in his first season, has quickly become one of the most promising young blueliners in the league. But with only one year of NHL experience, Cowan feels a cautious strategy is smart.&#8221;If you&#8217;re offering him eight years at $8 million or $9 million, I don&#8217;t think you&#8217;re insulting the kid, right?&#8221; Cowan said on The Sick podcast. &#8220;That&#8217;s a lot of money for a kid with one season in the NHL, 21 years old, size worries or concerns.&#8221;Cowan warned that waiting could increase the cost. If Hutson replicates his rookie performance this season, a midyear extension could easily surpass $10 million annually. However, he stressed that rushing into an eight-year commitment isn\u2019t necessary at this stage.Comparing Hutson to Colorado Avalanche star Cale Makar, Cowan noted that Makar signed a six-year, $9 million AAV deal at 23. When host Tony Marinaro brought up Erik Karlsson\u2019s $11.5 million AAV contract worth $92 million, Cowan didn\u2019t hesitate: \u201cYeah, that is a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The risk-reward balance for both sides in the negotiations<\/p>\n<p>While patience could benefit the Canadiens, it comes with risk for Hutson. Cowan pointed out that an injury before signing could cost the young defenseman millions. Still, he believes both sides will eventually agree to a deal: \u201cI\u2019m sure at the end of the day the Canadiens are going to sign Lane Hutson.\u201dHutson\u2019s rookie season was historic\u2014his 60 assists tied Larry Murphy for the most ever by a rookie defenseman. Former Habs legend Serge Savard even claimed, \u201cHe\u2019s probably the most talented player the Canadiens have had since Guy Lafleur.\u201dAlso Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/sports\/nhl\/news\/nhl-trade-rumors-heat-up-as-carey-prices-contract-linked-to-potential-chicago-blackhawks-deal\/articleshow\/123313471.cms\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NHL trade rumors heat up as Carey Price\u2019s contract linked to potential Chicago Blackhawks deal<\/a>The challenge for Montreal\u2019s front office is finding a deal that rewards Hutson\u2019s early brilliance without taking on unnecessary long-term risk. For now, the Canadiens appear ready to let time\u2014and performance\u2014guide the price tag.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Montreal Canadiens are in no rush to lock down Lane Hutson to a massive long-term deal (Getty&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":71411,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,55994,55993,55996,55998,55997,55991,5790,575,55992,55995,85],"class_list":["post-71410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-calder-trophy","tag-canadiens-strategy","tag-erik-karlsson-contract","tag-hutson","tag-lane-hutson","tag-lane-hutson-contract-talks","tag-montreal-canadiens","tag-nhl","tag-nhl-analyst","tag-nhl-contract-negotiation","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71410\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}