[Report] Ben Hutton to become UFA

[ChuckNORRIS4Cup]

16 minutes ago, EternalCanuckFan said:

I wonder if Ben is making a decision about a PTO.  At this stage, I would think it would be better for him to at least train with a team than to sit out training camp and pre-season.  For his sake, hopefully there's a deal on the table, even if it might not be at the term or $ that he wants.

 

Unfortunately, I could see Ben being one of those guys who ends up playing in Europe and then has a hard time breaking back into the NHL even if he otherwise plays well.  I have to imagine that every year there are new, undrafted guys in college, the KHL, Euro Leagues, etc. who catch the eye of scouts.  Having an NHL resume should help him a bit but there seem to be lots of guys who never come back.

I originally said I felt if a team wanted him it would be on a 2 way contract, but obviously he wouldn't want that, but I think he needs to come to reality and accept that, and realize he still has things to work on and if it's to be sent down to work on things and get better then so be it. If he doesn't want to accept that then overseas is where he will have to go if he wants to continue playing hockey possibly, or he signs a low low contract to stay in the NHL. 

[Spoosh]

I hope he can get something done eith an NHL team. He definitely should be in the NHL and not KHL etc.

[Provost]

Someone definitely played this one badly in his camp.  I bet the Canucks would have brought him back for $2 million or under as an extension, but have long since moved on.

I can't imagine that there are a lot of choices left for him at the moment.  He might pull out a one year deal at $1.5 or something last minute, but you would have thought we would have heard that by now.  It is slightly possible that one of the team with big RFAs to sign has interest in him and it is stuck until they know how much money they have... but none of them will have much money to throw around once their own guys are signed.

Edited September 11, 2019 by Provost

[Maddogy]

The Canucks organization should offer him a PTO to help him showcase himself. Vancouver may not wish to sign him but should at least help his career. He is a great kid and has talent. 

[PhillipBlunt]

2 minutes ago, Maddogy said:

The Canucks organization should offer him a PTO to help him showcase himself. Vancouver may not wish to sign him but should at least help his career. He is a great kid and has talent. 

He had his chance. Vancouver has enough players in camp. Hutton made his bed, now he sleeps in it.

[aGENT]

59 minutes ago, Provost said:

Someone definitely played this one badly in his camp.  I bet the Canucks would have brought him back for $2 million or under as an extension, but have long since moved on.

I can't imagine that there are a lot of choices left for him at the moment.  He might pull out a one year deal at $1.5 or something last minute, but you would have thought we would have heard that by now.  It is slightly possible that one of the team with big RFAs to sign has interest in him and it is stuck until they know how much money they have... but none of them will have much money to throw around once their own guys are signed.

WPG being a pretty obvious one.

[oldnews]

On 6/24/2019 at 6:41 PM, Kanukfanatic said:

pro hockey rumors....just another click bait crap site.....is building up Hutton like he is some top 4 D man free for the taking now that Vancouver is not qualifying him.

 

Haha...what a joke. Eklund level stuff there....

there was lots of this fluff -even before not being qualified - among the smarm pseudo-'analytics' circles (and on CDC) that he's a "legit top 4" - not going to bother dredging up those threads/let sleeping dogs lie.

 

Hutton could still become a 'top 4' - he has a good toolbox = size, skating, good hands, capable in coverage....but it seems like for whatever reasons he and/or his agent have been unable to be realistic about his performance the past few years.   And not just his own camp, lots of outsiders (and possibly some element of TSN type trolling, suggesting he's a lot better than his actual outcomes the past couple seasons) - perhaps that misleading noise contributed.  NHL GMs don't seem to have bought it (nor the Gardiner hype).

 

I'd like to see a tight cap team like Winnipeg take a chance on him under the circumstances - if he gets his mental gam together, he's still worth a shot imo.

[oldnews]

Who here would have guessed that the Stanley Cup Chamions would sign Pouliot to a deal on July 1st, while Hutton remains unsigned on September 11th?

[EternalCanuckFan]

2 hours ago, ChuckNORRIS4Cup said:

I originally said I felt if a team wanted him it would be on a 2 way contract, but obviously he wouldn't want that, but I think he needs to come to reality and accept that, and realize he still has things to work on and if it's to be sent down to work on things and get better then so be it. If he doesn't want to accept that then overseas is where he will have to go if he wants to continue playing hockey possibly, or he signs a low low contract to stay in the NHL. 

I agree, though the two-way contract would still presumably require a lower salary NHL contract.  I can't see too many teams wanting to commit over $1.085M at the NHL-level to a bottom-6 D on a two-way contract.  At or below that amount, then they can bury all of the cap hit in the minors.

 

Hard pill to swallow but it looks like the lower tier of players in this year's UFA crop ran into bad timing with the cap crunch.  Everyone's expectations have had to be altered and, at the end of the day, it's the teams who have to meet the cap and want to pay for their services.  It's amazing how many high-end RFAs are still un-signed.  There are also more teams that don't want to spend to the limit and more teams that are more cap conscious when looking a few years ahead so it looks like there will be a bunch of players who will be "casualties".

 

It was nice to see Ben's game grow to the NHL level with the Canucks.  Will be too bad if he is unable to stick in the league.

[Phil_314]

On 9/4/2019 at 2:05 PM, ChuckNORRIS4Cup said:

The Los Angeles Kings are among the teams interested in unrestricted free agent defenceman Ben Hutton, multiple sources have told TFP.

The Minnesota Wild, Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers have also shown interest in Hutton, though other teams have inquired, as well.

https://www.thefourthperiod.com/sept-2019/kings-remain-interested-in-hutton

I could see him beating out any of the 3rd pair left D for these teams, question is does he want to join a team in a rebuild?
That or he can go and live as an "all-star" overseas

[Kobayashi Maru]

I think Ben needs to make a decision with his current agent and maybe cut ties.  Still a bit of time, however I think his agent completely played this out wrong.  Maybe get a new agent and refresh the pitch to teams.

[Lionized27]

58 minutes ago, Phil_314 said:

I could see him beating out any of the 3rd pair left D for these teams, question is does he want to join a team in a rebuild?
That or he can go and live as an "all-star" overseas

He'd be wise to join the Rangers if that ship hasn't sailed.

[ChuckNORRIS4Cup]

1 hour ago, Phil_314 said:

I could see him beating out any of the 3rd pair left D for these teams, question is does he want to join a team in a rebuild?
That or he can go and live as an "all-star" overseas

At this point he can't be picky if he wants to play in the NHL, if a team is willing to offer him something he should take it and not worry about if they're a rebuild or not, if he does worry then he's out of a job lol.

[sonoman]

[VancouverIteinSanDiego]

If Luke Schenn can get signed Hutton should be signed I say he needs a new agent

[PhillipBlunt]

14 hours ago, sonoman said:

$3000 in total credits? Sign me up!

[Provost]

14 hours ago, sonoman said:

Seravalli is generally pretty solid, but it sounds like he is getting his info from Hutton or his agent.  Not so sure they are telling him the entire truth.

 

Several teams interested doesn’t mean several offers.  It also doesn’t say if all actual offers are league minimum 2 way deals.

 

There aren’t many plausible reasons why training camps would have started and he still hasn’t decided where he wants to go... if there are really options in front of him.

[DeNiro]

Looks like Hutton is gonna have to wait for an injury or a PTO to get a contract now.

 

If I were him I’d fire my agent. He likely priced Hutton right out of the market. Now he may be playing in Europe.

 

Too bad I liked Hutton. A good 5/6 guy if he’s on a reasonable 1.5-2 million dollar contract.

[sonoman]

13 minutes ago, PhillipBlunt said:

$3000 in total credits? Sign me up!

Too lazy to edit the screen capture.  Hate trying to tag a twitter capture on iPad 

[oldnews]

15 hours ago, sonoman said:

This is the problem with fishbowling things from a distance.

Hutton played a career high in minutes!

He upticked to 20 points!

 

Edler played 56 games.

Tanev played 55.

Gudbranson played 57 and was dealt.

Pouliot struggled/regressed.

Del Zotto was a tire fire.

Biega was playing between 22 and 26 minutes a night down the stretch = that doesn't make him a top 4 on this team.

 

Hutton's minutes are so overplayed and extracted out of context. 

There's a reason he wasn't qualified - and that reason is not only arbitration rights (which I think people mistakenly assumed would drive up his salary/cap hit) - the reality is that Hutton hasn't been worth his previous contract the past two seasons (whether or not he saw lots of emergency "top 4" default duty.

His production also doesn't scream "uptick".  He had nearly 2 minutes a night of powerplay time - and where relative/comparable production is concerned, Stecher had 19 even strength assists, while Hutton had 7 (half of Hutton's assists were powerplay assists).

I like Hutton, but for whatever reason he's not a player that tends to be assessed in 'realistic' terms - he is probably the beneficiary of more "he's a legit top 4" fluffing than any other player in this market = perhaps a refreshing change of tone relative to what most players in this market face, but I'm not sure it has served Hutton well, at all.