Who Would You Rather Build Around: Lane Hutson or Dustin Wolf?
The Calder Trophy race this season has been nothing short of electrifying, and two standout rookies have sparked an intriguing debate—Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson and Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf. If you were starting a franchise today and had to pick one of these rising stars, who would it be?
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On a recent episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE , Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk tackled this exact question. Yaremchuk raised an interesting point: When building a team from scratch, do you start with a high-caliber goaltender, or do you lock in a game-changing defenseman?
Seravalli leaned towards Hutson, and it’s easy to see why. While Wolf has been nothing short of spectacular, stepping up from an impressive AHL career to becoming a key factor in Calgary’s playoff push, elite goaltending talent can often be found through different means. A great netminder is invaluable, but there are more avenues to acquire a strong goaltender than there are to land a true difference-maker on the blue line. And Hutson? He’s a rare breed.
Consider this: Hutson has notched 50 assists in his rookie season, a feat achieved by only five other defensemen in NHL history. That kind of offensive production from the back end is a game-changer, the type of talent that teams desperately seek but rarely find. A defenseman who can control play, push the pace, and create offense at an elite level is a foundational piece—one that’s much harder to replace than a goalie, no matter how good that goaltender may be.
That said, the irony in Seravalli’s take is that, should the Flames make the playoffs, he would still vote for Wolf as his Calder Trophy winner. It’s a testament to how exceptional Wolf has been, backstopping a team that wasn’t even expected to contend.
At the end of the day, this debate highlights two elite young players who could be cornerstones of their respective franchises for years to come. Whether you lean toward Hutson’s dazzling offensive ability or Wolf’s clutch goaltending, both players are set to shape the future of the NHL in their own ways. So, if you had the choice—who would you build your team around?
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