Maple Leafs trade completed this summer: Hughes and the Canadiens can thank Chicago for the selection of Lane Hutson
As you know, the dynamic young players of the Montreal Canadiens generate a lot of buzz among the club's fans, and for good reason.
There are also a few Tricolore prospects that are doing very well in their respective leagues and seem to have great potential. One of the players that best fits this description is young defenseman Lane Hutson.
Some are already comparing him to Quinn Hughes (of the Canucks), and Hutson really seems to be special.
The young defenseman Hutson is simply phenomenal this year, as evidenced by his 17 points in 14 games in his very first season in the NCAA. Impressive!
The Habs seem to have made a very good move, drafting him in the second round.
What if the Habs had never been able to draft Hutson?
Via an official Montreal Canadiens release, my colleague Keven Mawn spotted a major pass. This one:
"To be honest, we thought it was going to be Toronto on day one," Hutson shares. "They had interviewed him a few times before."
But the Maple Leafs ultimately traded their first-round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks, and the Hutson family left the Bell Centre on Thursday, July 7 still wondering where Lane would end up.
Fortunately, the news came out fairly early on Friday. (He became a Montreal Canadiens player)" - Montreal Canadiens
Wow! So Hutson was not "supposed" to be available to the CH at #62. The Maple Leafs were obviously going to draft him with the 25th overall pick, but they traded the selection to the Chicago Blackhawks, who in turn completely ignored Hutson.
At least according to Lane Hutson's father, Rob, the Maple Leafs were very interested in drafting him with their first round pick.
A trade that changed everything
So it was a harmless trade on July 7, involving the Toronto Maple Leafs, that allowed the CH to get their hands on the very promising Hutson.
Kent Hughes and the Montreal Canadiens can also thank Chicago for the selection of Lane Hutson.
Here is the trade in question:
To Toronto: second round pick
To Chicago: goalie Petr Mrazek + 25th overall pick in 2022
All to get rid of a bad goalie contract. Thanks to Kyle Dubas and the Leafs for Hutson, anyway. They may regret not drafting him.
Go Habs Go!
For all the details:
| POLL | ||
Do you think Lane Hutson has the potential to become a Quinn Hughes? | ||
| Yes | 125 | 63.5 % |
| No | 30 | 15.2 % |
| Better! | 42 | 21.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
