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.
