NEW YORK – Defenseman Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens is the 2024-25 recipient of the Calder Memorial Trophy, presented “to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition,” as selected by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
Hutson was surprised with the trophy at a dinner attended by more than 50 family and friends – many of whom flew in secretly from out of town – to celebrate his first NHL season.
The 21-year-old is the Canadiens’ second Calder recipient in the expansion era (since 1967-68) after goaltender Ken Dryden (1971-72). He becomes the fifth active defenseman with a Calder win, joining Tyler Myers (2009-10), Aaron Ekblad (2014-15), Cale Makar (2019-20) and Moritz Seider (2021-22).
As the first choice on 165 of the 191 ballots and a unanimous top-two pick, Hutson was a dominant winner with 1,832 voting points. Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf finished second in voting with 1,169 points, a total that included 15 first-place votes. Wolf was followed closely by San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini, who earned 11 first-place votes and 1,104 points.
Hutson (6-60—66 in 82 GP) became the fourth defenseman in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) to lead rookies in scoring, joining Bobby Orr (13-28—41 in 1966-67 w/ BOS), Brian Leetch (23-48—71 in 1988-89 w/ NYR) and Quinn Hughes (8-45—53 in 2019-20 w/ VAN). His 60 assists matched Larry Murphy (1980-81 w/ LAK) for the most by a rookie defenseman in League history, while his 66 points trailed only Murphy (16-60—76 in 1980-81 w/ LAK), Leetch and Gary Suter (18-50—68 in 1985-86 w/ CGY) for the most by a rookie blueliner. No rookie, regardless of position, has registered more assists for the Canadiens in a single season, while only two forwards have collected more points: Kjell Dahlin (32-39—71 in 1985-86) and Mats Naslund (26-45—71 in 1982-83). Hutson, a second-round pick (62nd overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft, also topped 2024-25 NHL rookies in time on ice (1,864:07 – nearly 500 more minutes than any other skater), power-play assists (25) and power-play points (26).
The best players and coaches from the 2024-25 season will be celebrated in the 2025 NHL Awards, a one-hour special that will premiere on Thursday, June 12, at 6 p.m. ET on TNT in the U.S. and Sportsnet in Canada, before Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. The show will highlight all NHL Award winners this season, including Hutson and others revealed in a series of special surprise video announcements across all League platforms leading up to the June 12 program.
