Two Canadian teams ended their playoff droughts last season, led in part by a young, budding American defenceman.
The Montreal Canadiens wouldn’t have had nearly as much success without rookie Lane Hutson, whose dynamism took the league by storm. Meanwhile, the Ottawa Senators‘ best player, perhaps, was Jake Sanderson—a do-it-all defender who ate huge minutes.
But the emergence of these two blueliners didn’t just spark their franchises—it sparked debate. Fans of both teams believe their player is superior right now and in the long term. Let’s give a case for each defenceman, and come to a final, albeit subjective, verdict.
The Case for Lane Hutson
The numbers alone tell Hutson’s story. He tied the all-time assists record by a rookie defenceman last season, with 60. Adding six goals across an 82-game slate, the 21-year-old was rewarded with the Calder Trophy by a convincing voting majority (86.39% of first-place votes).
While Hutson quickly became the Canadiens’ top power-play quarterback, he didn’t depend on the man advantage for his production. In fact, he was a pivotal 5-on-5 contributor. The stats below show Montreal’s splits with him on versus off the ice.
| Stats, 5-on-5 | Canadiens with Hutson | Canadiens without Hutson |
| Actual Goal Differential (%) | 73–59 (55.30%) | 85–122 (41.06%) |
| Expected Goal Differential (%) | 73.25–71.17 (50.72%) | 94.64–117.93 (44.52%) |
Montreal controlled the pace of play with Hutson on the ice, while they were often caved when he was resting. Getting those results while averaging borderline top-pairing minutes (22:44) is rare for someone that young—that’s franchise defenceman stuff.
Diving into his game, Hutson’s path to superstardom will evidently depend on his ability to move the puck up the ice and create from the blue line. His top-tier smarts, skating, and vision have both of those boxes checked off already, though.
Hutson drives offence through crafty passing work in the defensive and neutral zones, or by using his legs. Somewhat of a dual-threat in this way, he’s constantly generating scoring chances. His presence in the offensive zone is most widely praised, however, and it’s well-deserved. Manipulating defences and creating havoc with his edge work and playmaking ability, he’s impossible to contain.
Recording 2.12 points per 60 minutes, Hutson’s total was the second-highest for a 20-year-old defenceman in the analytics era (2007–08 to present; 500 minutes of ice time required). Sandwiched between the NHL’s last two Norris Trophy winners, Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes, he could reach their point-producing heights.
Easily the best defenceman on a team that snuck into the playoffs last season, Hutson could one day be the most electric in the NHL. His defensive game is a work in progress (despite some encouraging signs), but a Norris Trophy win is reasonably in his future. He was, in my eyes, a top-20 blueliner in his debut campaign.
The Case for Jake Sanderson
On the surface, this is a losing battle for Sanderson. Outscored 56–41 at 5-on-5 play last season, the Senators technically had better numbers when he was off the ice. However, that leaves out a lot of necessary context and fails to address just how special a player he really is.
For starters, Sanderson is an elite puck-carrier, a trait that separates the best defencemen in the sport from the rest. Ottawa depends on the 23-year-old to exit the defensive zone and go the other way, which he did quite effectively. A high-end defender who controls the pace of play, he’s arguably the best player on the team—a playoff team, at that.
But Sanderson is potent offensively, too. He’s a very fast and smooth skater, which is an essential trait in all three zones, but works in his favour off the rush and inside the offensive zone. This, along with his playmaking skill, helped him rank second in power-play points among defencemen, sandwiched between Makar and Hughes, ironically.
Across 80 games, Sanderson notched 11 goals and 46 assists for 57 points. The poor 5-on-5 numbers can be blamed on unsustainable finishing results—a 6.24% on-ice shooting percentage, ranking 210th out of 214 defencemen with 500 minutes played last season. Travis Hamonic’s departure is a bonus, as the two didn’t mesh well together.
In the future, Sanderson can be a much more traditional No. 1 defenceman than Hutson—a player who is simultaneously his team’s best puck-carrier and shutdown man. Tasked with big minutes last season (24:27 per game) and excelling in the eye test department, his future is bright. There are areas in which he can grow, but the tools are exciting.
Final Verdict: Both Become Franchise Defencemen, Hutson Has a Slight Edge
I believe both players will be franchise-calibre defencemen in their prime. Hutson’s generational dynamism and Sanderson’s all-around impact should have them competing for Norris Trophies.
Related: Predicting NHL’s Top 50 Players in 5 Years
Ultimately, only one can reign supreme. For me personally, that’s Hutson. Two years younger than his counterpart in Ottawa, the fact that they’re arguably neck-and-neck today is telling, and far from an indictment on Sanderson. Montreal might have the next face of the league on its hands, forever challenging the notion that small defencemen are too risky to draft.
Stats courtesy of Evolving-Hockey and Natural Stat Trick
