One Big “Bubble” Problem With Lane Hutson and a New Under-23 Rankings

The Athletic’s Corey Pronman is taking all sorts of heat this week thanks to his top NHL players under 23 list. Typically, a list like this draws criticism when it’s published. That said, even teams who fared well are sharing their negative thoughts about the rankings.

While Montreal Canadiens fans have plenty to celebrate — Juraj Slafkovsky at No. 4 and Ivan Demidov at No. 8 — the list arguably gets one glaring thing wrong: Lane Hutson isn’t in it. At least, according to Karine Hains of The Hockey News, who argues that Hutson is in the wrong tier entirely.

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“To exclude Hutson from the top 10 is one thing, but to think he won’t be an NHL star is quite another; to be fair, in Montreal at least, he already is a star.”

Pronman slots Hutson at 11th, tucked into a tier he reserves for “top of the lineup” players rather than bona fide stars. Canadiens fans are understandably not pleased with the tiering.

Pronman writes:

“Hutson was one of the top scoring defensemen in the league and a pillar for the conference finalists. He’s a dynamo with the puck on his stick. Hutson has high-end skill, creativity, poise and sense with the puck, often walking the blue line using his great edge work to create time to make plays. He sees the ice at an elite level, finding a ton of seams, making quick, difficult plays often. Hutson’s pure athleticism won’t overly excite you. He’s a good, elusive skater, but he doesn’t have Quinn Hughes-type feet for his size. He works hard, but he’s not overly physical. The hope is he can continue to be average defensively to make up for his off-the-charts offense. He projects as a long-term top-pair defenseman who will be a top scorer.”

Calling Hutson merely “average” is what likely has fans so upset. That framing doesn’t hold up. Hutson closed last season with a league-best plus-36 rating among the NHL’s top offensive defensemen — well ahead of Norris winner Zach Werenski and points leader Evan Bouchard. Even if his underlying numbers aren’t as flattering, he’s not average.

Should Hutson Be Higher Than His Teammates?

It’s also worth asking why Slafkovsky and Demidov rank ahead of him. Slafkovsky’s size and speed are real, but his game still has stretches of inconsistency. Hains writes, “Speaking of the two forwards, as things stand for me right now, Hutson is ahead of them both. I would even say that Demidov has got the upper hand on Slafkovsky.”

At the end of the day, maybe it doesn’t matter. The Canadiens have three players in the top 11 and are ranked third out of 32 NHL teams, which is a huge positive. It’s a great sign for where this team is headed. Leaving Huston out of the top 10 might be a real miss, but the bigger miss appears to be the article suggesting he’s not even a bubble star.

Next: Maple Leafs Fans Are Feeling Better for the Future. Should They?