Pronger’s Tough-Love Take on the Canadiens Hutson
During the first intermission of Hockey Night in Canada, after the Canadiens had just started to run the Maple Leafs out of the building, Chris Pronger delivered a critique that has stuck with me. Most analysts have handled Lane Hutson with soft gloves since he arrived in Montreal, and why not? He’s young, he’s gifted, and he’s exactly the kind of creative defenseman fans want to fall in love with.
But, while Pronger admitted Hutson’s skill, he also went deeper. He cut straight to something no one else has really said out loud.
Pronger Talked About Hutson’s Energy and On-Ice Activities
While I don’t remember the exact words, Pronger described Hutson as “a bit of a water bug,” all legs, arms, and frantic movement, buzzing everywhere on the ice. Not north–south hockey. Not even east–west. More like everywhere-at-once hockey.
His point wasn’t that Hutson lacked talent: that part was never in question. It was that the kid was burning so much energy darting around that he sometimes loses the structure in his own game. When you’re young, small, and very, very skilled, you can get away with that, Pronger hinted. But Pronger also noted that it can’t become a regular thing. He implied that it’s not how grown men survive in the NHL.
That’s where this critique suddenly gets interesting. Let’s dig a bit deeper.
Does Pronger Really Have a Point?
Pronger, of course, played the game in a completely different body. Six-foot-six, over 220 pounds, and mean as a Western Canadian winter storm. Hutson is 5-foot-9 and barely hits 162. Pronger could control the game by standing still; Hutson controls it by never standing still. So when Pronger says Hutson needs to settle down, you can’t help but wonder if he’s really saying, “Play like me,” even though that’s impossible.
Still, buried inside his old-school delivery was a helpful point. Hutson is electrifying, but he does play like someone who’s still learning what the league will or won’t let him get away with. The chaos helps him survive right now. But the next step is to become the kind of defenseman a coach never has to hide. That will require some pacing, a little more control, and a bit less wandering into every battle within a 60-foot radius.
What Pronger said wasn’t a takedown. It was a rare moment of bluntness (tough-love honesty) from someone who knows what it takes to last in the NHL. And it was a reminder that while creativity is Hutson’s gift, refinement is what will eventually turn him from a fun young player into a foundational one.
For Canadiens fans, the critique shouldn’t scare anyone. If anything, it shows the league’s elite are already paying close attention. If you’re worth critique, that in itself is a good thing.