Elliotte Friedman confesses and reveals what he really thinks of Lane Hutson.

Every single season it seems like there is some controversy or another around National Hockey League Awards voting. There is always one team or one fan base that feels like it has been snubbed in one way or another, and based on some recent comments from the league's top insider that will very likely be the case again this year.

On the most recent episode of his podcast, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman gushed over the play of Montreal Canadiens star defenseman Lane Hutson in these playoffs, but not before making a very honest confession.

Elliotte Friedman comes clean.

Interestingly enough, Friedman's praise of Hutson was prefaced by the insider revealing some details about the Norris Trophy ballots that he cast this season.

"This year it was a brutal year for the Norris, I'll be honest he did not make my final 5," said Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast.

Although Friedman didn't express any regret about his ballot selections his next comments about Hutson suggest that he may be having some second thoughts about the decisions he made this year.

A very bold prediction for the future.

In a league that now features 32 teams it can be very difficult to predict the results of individual awards ahead of time, but in spite of that Friedman has been so enamored with what he has seen from Lane Hutson so far in the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs that he is willing to go out on a huge limb.

"I can tell you this, this might be the last year for 10 years that he doesn't make it," admitted Friedman. "I am making this prediction right now, right now, he is going to win multiple trophies. Not just one and maybe not just two, he is going to win multiple Norris [Trophies]."

Lane Hutson puts on a clinic in Game 3.

While I have zero doubt that Friedman is being entirely sincere with his comments about Hutson, there is no question in my mind that a great deal of how Friedman is feeling about the player stems from Hutson's mind boggling performance in Game 3.

Hutson would collect 2 assists in the game as his team smashed the Buffalo Sabres by a score of 6-2 but it was the little things he did that stood out to those who were watching closely. Even former NHL player Ryan Whitney commented on the "clinic" Hutson put on the Sabres in Game 4.

Here are a few of those highlights:

If Hutson is indeed making some of the best minds in hockey rethink their Norris Trophy ballots, that is a very good sign of things to come, both in the short and long term, for the Montreal Canadiens.