An electrifying season still fell short of Hutton's hope to be a No. 1 goalie, as he led the league with a .931 save percentage and 2.09 GAA but made only 26 starts. The Blues continued investing in Jake Allen, who is signed for four more years while Hutton headed for free agency. The Blues leaned heavily on Hutton at times to steal wins, but the 32-year-old has never been given the starter's reigns outright. Buffalo is a team that is willing to make the leap, so Hutton signed a three-year deal worth $2.75 million AAV. He won't have immediate pressure to win with the rebuilding roster, which should make for an easier transition to a 50-start workload. Buffalo has some of the league's top prospects and brought on Jeff Skinner this offseason, so they'll be a bubble playoff team, making Hutton a solid backup in fantasy formats.
Hutton appeared in 30 games (starting 21) last season, which is probably more action than he would have enjoyed if fellow goaltender Jake Allen didn't struggle in January. At one point, both of the Blues’ top netminders were playing so poorly that St. Louis elected to bring up minor leaguer Phoenix Copley to fill in for a game. Regardless, Hutton was able to post the second-best save percentage and GAA of his NHL career last season at .913 and 2.39, respectively. The 31-year-old is entering the final year of his contract in St. Louis, and he has a history of voicing his displeasure with being a backup, but he also isn't good enough to be an NHL starter. Another season as the Blues’ No. 2 is in the cards, and it wouldn't be surprising to see Hutton’s workload shrinks as Allen continues to grow into the role of a workhorse starter
Hutton is durable, but that doesn't get you far in fantasy. The Blues inked starter Jake Allen to a tasty four-year deal, so Hutton will be restricted to 20 games or so this season. And he won't care for that one bit. Hutton thought his 7-5-2 record with 2.33 GAA and .918 save percentage in Nashville last season warranted more starts and that promptly put him on the free-agent market – the Preds were and are Pekka Rinne's team. Hutton may get his wish for more ice in St. Louis, inadvertently of course. Allen can be inconsistent, but can Hutton carry the load if Allen wobbles? Probably not, if the best adjective we can use about you is "durable." He's a handcuff at this point and maybe not even a good one. The Blues would probably go out and get another goalie if something happened to their starter. Just saying.
Hutton appeared in 18 games with the Predators last season, posting a 6-7-4 record with a .902 save percentage. Starting netminder Pekka Rinne is a workhorse in the Preds’ crease, playing 64 games last season, so unless he goes down with another injury, don’t expect Hutton to see much more crease time in 2015-16. The 29-year-old Hutton now has 59 career NHL games under his belt and has proven he can be a trusted backup option behind Rinne. While Hutton owns a career .907 save percentage, he’s managed just two shutouts and hasn’t shown the elite ability to be able to steal games for his team. The Predators boast a great defense corpse, though, so whenever Rinne goes down with an injury or is given a rest, Hutton makes for a decent spot start.
After appearing in just one NHL contest prior to the 2013-14 season, Hutton was pressed into action for 40 games last year in the wake of the hip infection that kept Pekka Rinne out for the majority of the campaign, doing well to keep the Predators competitive. He finished with a 20-11-4 record, 2.62 GAA and .910 save percentage, establishing himself as a reliable backup for the team. He likely won't see as much playing time in the upcoming season unless Rinne suffers another long-term injury, but he may make for a serviceable spot-starting option in daily formats on the nights he'll be in the net. The Preds were so impressed with Hutton’s efforts last season that they rewarded him with a new two-year, $1.45 million contract in June.
Hutton, who signed a one-year contract with the Preds in July, was previously in the Chicago Blackhawks' minor league system. The 27-year-old Hutton appeared in 51 games for AHL Rockford last season, posting a 26-22-1 record, 2.72 goals-against average and .908 save percentage. He is expected to open the season for the Preds as the backup to Pekka Rinne, but is unlikely to see much ice time in that role.
Hutton is the number three goalie on the Chicago depth chart heading into this season. He started last season in the ECHL, but moved up to Rockford of the AHL when Alexander Salak got hurt; he never looked back. He delivered a 22-13-4 record with a 2.35 GAA and .917 save percentage. Still, the Hawks are his third organization in three years, and this is his first real breakout. He could be a back-up for the Hawks' in 2013-14 if he continues to excel.
Hutton, a native of Thunder Bay, Ontario, inked a deal with the Sharks as an unrestricted free agent in June of 2010. At UMass-Lowell, he shined between the pipes with a a four-year average of 2.35 in the goals-against average category. No need to jump on the Hutton bandwagon just yet, however. Last season was his first taste of the professional game, and he only had the chance to stop pucks in four games - all with the Adirondack Phantoms of the AHL, when he was property of the Flyers. Look for Hutton with Worcester this season.
