On Wednesday, NHL Network released its list of the Top 20 Defensemen Right Now, and one Montreal Canadiens’ blueliner made it: Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson. The 21-year-old is the only rearguard on the list to have a single season of experience at the professional level, and he comes in at number 19, which is a remarkable achievement at his young age.

Every other player on the list has at least three years of experience in the NHL. Unsurprisingly, Colorado Avalanche stud Cale Makar tops the ranking, followed by Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes, and Columbus Blue Jackets’ Zach Werenski rounds up the top three.

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Canadian teams are well represented on the list with Hughes, Winnipeg Jets’ Josh Morrissey at number six, Edmonton Oilers’ Evan Bouchard at number 10, Ottawa Senators’ Jake Sanderson at number 13, and Hutson at 19.

Former Hab Mikail Sergachev, whom Marc Bergevin sacrificed to acquire Jonathan Drouin, who he believed would be the Canadiens’ number one center, comes in at number 18. The 27-year-old has won two Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning and now sports the Utah Mammoth colours.

Despite his young age, Hutson made the list on the back of a fantastic rookie season which saw him post 66 points and break the Canadiens’ franchise record for the most points by a defenseman which belonged to Chris Chelios since 1984-85 on top of tying Larry Myrphys’ record for the most assists by a rookie blueliner, a mark that he held since the 1980-81 season.

Outside of the offensive numbers, Hutson also impressed with his skating skills and ability to evade opponents on the ice. The soon-to-be sophomore has a knack for reading the play on the go and is never caught with his head down. His elusiveness is what allows him to be so efficient despite his small stature.

The way he rebounds from an error on the ice is also impressive. When he’s dispossessed in the offensive zone, he wastes no time lamenting his mistake; he immediately back checks to catch up to the opponent and fix his mistake himself. The way he wants the puck in high-pressure situations is also nothing short of remarkable. No moment is too big for the youngster. If the Canadiens desperately need a goal, he wants to be the one carrying the puck and trying to score the next goal.

He quickly realized the need to pick his spots better in the NHL, adapting his play to the higher level and minimizing mistakes, which earned him more and more ice time as the season progressed. Fully aware of the gem he had on his hands, coach Martin St-Louis rapidly promoted him to the first power play unit, demoting veteran Mike Matheson in the process and helping his rookie fly to a Calder-winning season.

Our Top 20 Defensemen Right Now list has a total of:
• 19 total All-Star Game appearances
• 9 All-Rookie team honors
• 6 James Norris Memorial Trophies
• 2 Calder Trophies
• 2 Conn Smythe Trophies
• 9 Stanley Cups

What do you think of our list?@NHL | #NHLTopPlayerspic.twitter.com/0MaGYS04de

— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) August 13, 2025

Expect the youngster to move up this list next offseason when the NHL Network does it again. As impressive as Hutson’s first campaign was, there’s no way we’ve seen his ceiling yet, and as he gains experience and puts up some more muscle on his frame, he’ll become an even bigger threat on the ice.

One can expect the Canadiens’ power play to perform even better this season with Ivan Demidov entering the fold, and this should benefit Hutson in a big way, providing he remains on the first unit despite Noah Dobson’s arrival. Given the youngster’s efficiency on the man-advantage last year, though, it would be surprising to see St-Louis decide to move him down to the second power play, but time will tell. Yet another story to follow at training camp when it kicks off in September.

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Former Montreal Canadiens player and GM Serge Savard spoke to the media earlier this week as he held his annual golf tournament at Le Mirage in Terrebonne. Teeing off were members of the 1976 Canadian men’s hockey team, 40 years after winning the first Canada Cup. Legends such as Scotty Bowman and Bobby Orr were on the greens, alongside several Canadiens alums, including Larry Robinson, Bob Gainey, Guy Lapointe, and Steven Shutt, to name a few.

Savard has always been one to speak his mind, whether what he had to say was positive or negative, but Calder Trophy-winning blueliner Lane Hutson will be pleased to hear that “The Senator” is a fan. The former number 18 gave him very high praise when he said Hutson is probably the most talented player the Canadiens have had since Guy Lafleur.

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He even added that not many people can do what the youngster can do, and while you tend to be worried when you see a 6-foot-4 blueliner rushing down the ice to nail him, the youngster is so agile that he always finds a way to evade. Even though he’s got a small frame, he doesn’t let that get in the way of playing his game to the best of his abilities. It's hard to argue with those comments. When the Canadiens were in the playoffs and the games were very intense, it was the young rearguard who led them in points with five in as many games.

Savard, who played the position and was a member of the Canadiens’ legendary Big Three, knows how to spot a talented player. The former GM was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1986 and was also named one of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players in 2017. As for his former teammate, Larry Robinson, he likened the reaction to Hutson’s arrival in the league to the one people had when Wayne Gretzky joined the NHL. Many said he was too small and would get hurt, but he managed to become the highest-scoring player in history.

Nobody’s saying Hutson will outscore Gretzky, but what’s obvious, however, is that he knows how to use his skill set to his advantage, eluding contact and reading the play on the move. He might only have played 84 games, but it was enough to impress true legends of the game.

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Earlier this week, the Stanley Cup was brought to one of the most hockey-crazed nations around: Latvia.

Florida Panthers defenseman and Latvian native Uvis Balinskis brought the Cup to his homeland on Monday.

One of his visits was to the Tukums Ice Hall, where Balinskis grew up playing junior hockey in the Tukums program.

“I spent a couple years here playing hockey and they took really good care of me,” Balinskis said from the ice at the Tukums Ice Hall. “I made a lot of friends here and I’m still really close to them. It’s nice I can bring the Cup here now, it’s a special place for me.”

It was one of the two stops Balinskis made at local youth hockey rinks with the Stanley Cup, also stopping by the Marupes Ice Hall as well.

Balinskis said he finished his special day with a party for his closest family and friends.

You can check out some video footage of Balinskis’ special day with the Cup below:

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Photo caption: Florida Panthers defenseman Uvis Balinskis shares the Stanley Cup with youth hockey players at Tukums Ice Hall, where he once played youth hockey. (Florida Panthers)

WIth the 2025-26 NHL season just around the corner, teams are looking ahead to their respective training camps beginning in mid-September.

Barring a few more trades and signings here and there, most teams have a pretty good idea of what their rosters will look like next season, and they have conceptualized what the organizational approach will be next season in terms of standings and playoff aspirations.

Some teams plan to be contenders, and some plan to be bottom-feeders. So, where do the Pittsburgh Penguins stand?

There are a few things we know to be true at this point: For one, there is a generational talent in Gavin McKenna waiting in the wings for the winner of the 2026 draft lottery. We also know that the Penguins find themselves in the middle of a transitionary period, even if we don’t have an exact timeline on when they plan to start competing for the playoffs again.

Given those two factors, it should be relatively obvious what Pittsburgh should be gunning for in 2025-26. They’re aging out, they have suspect goaltending and defense, and they aren’t exactly contenders. The chance to draft the most hyped prospect since Connor McDavid should, presumably, be a goal for any team that knows they won’t be playing beyond the month of April next season.

But that’s precisely what makes the McKenna sweepstakes quite complicated for the Penguins next season: Although they may be positioned well enough not to make any real noise in the playoff hunt, there are also several teams that are probably better-equipped - and more committed - to tanking for McKenna.

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The Penguins’ situation

One look at the Penguins’ roster for next season shouldn’t have anyone jumping for joy. It may not be the worst roster the Penguins have constructed in the last 25 years, but it’s certainly not one of the best, either.

And in a McKenna sweepstakes year? That mushy middle could prove to be a bit of an issue.

At the end of the day, this isn’t about whether or not Pittsburgh should tank for McKenna. There are legitimate arguments to be made for the different directions that GM/POHO Kyle Dubas and the Penguins could take over the next season or two, especially since captain Sidney Crosby’s two-year extension kicks in this season, and he’s still playing like a top-10 player in the league. 

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Rather, this is about their ability to tank as intentionally as some other teams in a similar boat given the situation with their roster.

On the forward front - assuming no other trades are made prior to the start of the season - the Penguins should be markedly better on the forward front.

Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust are both coming off of career years for the Penguins, and as long as they are deployed alongside Crosby and remain healthy, there’s not really any reason to think they will drop off substantially. The Penguins went out and signed free agent forward Anthony Mantha to a one-year deal - one of their better free agent signings in recent memory - and they’ll have a full season of Tommy Novak, who was injured for most of his Penguins’ stint after being acquired from the Nashville Predators prior to the 2025 trade deadline.

They should also have a few young, promising forwards as part of the full-time NHL roster next season, as prospects Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty showed a ton of potential in brief stints to close out the 2024-25 season. They will also have others such as Tristan Broz, Avery Hayes, and Filip Hallander pushing for roster spots, which should make things interesting and provide an injection of energy into an otherwise aged roster.

However, the Penguins are still very weak on the blue line - and this would only get worse if Erik Karlsson is dealt prior to puck drop on Oct. 7 - and their goaltending is questionable at best, even following the acquisition of Arturs Silovs from the Vancouver Canucks this summer and with prospects Joel Blomqvist and Sergei Murashov in the pipeline.

But that’s just it: If anything, they’re about the same as where they were on the back end last season, they should be marginally improved between the pipes, and they’re better on paper when it comes to the top-12 on their forward depth chart. As a result, they may actually be a bit better than they were last season.

If they want the chance to draft McKenna, that probably won’t be enough, barring any major trade to send a key piece like Karlsson, Rakell, or Rust packing.

Penguins Exciting Prospect Named Top Breakout CandidateThe Pittsburgh Penguins have plenty of young players to keep an eye on next season as they continue their retool. They will certainly be hoping that their most notable prospects end up taking big steps forward in their development in 2025-26.

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Other teams in the mix

Again, a big part of the McKenna equation is the fact that a handful of other teams are actively still trying to tank next season. And they are still considerably worse than Pittsburgh is.

The Buffalo Sabres haven’t done anything substantial to address their roster in a meaningful way, and they lost J.J. Peterka to the Utah Mammoth. They did get defenseman Michael Kesselring and forward Josh Doan in return, but Peterka is the better player.

The Chicago Blackhawks have continued on the same path they’ve been taking for the past several years despite some whispers earlier this summer that they might try to take the next step. They aren’t going anywhere fast next season and should, presumably, finish in the bottom-five once again. 

Teams like the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Seattle Kraken, and San Jose Sharks are still making little to no effort to improve, even if a team like the Sharks has an outside shot at being a bit better because of a big youth movement. There are also still a lot of teams - such as the Detroit Red Wings, Vancouver Canucks, and Nashville Predators, and New York Islanders that are stuck in a limbo state with an unclear direction, similar to the Penguins.

In other words, if the Penguins want a bottom-five finish in the standings - and there’s no guarantee that’s what they’re aiming for - they need to get quite a bit worse. As of now, there are simply too many teams in the mix, and they haven’t positioned themselves well enough to be a surefire tanking team.

As of now, it’s looking like they might finish right around where they did last season. If they want McKenna - or if they want to start making a push next season - Dubas and the Penguins are going to have to commit a bit harder in one direction.

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