Vancouver Canucks: A look at the Left-Handed Defence depth chart
Ben Hutton
Ben Hutton is a curious case. One may even call it the curious case of Benjamin Hutton (credit to Daniel Wagner of the Vancouver Courier for that one). Hutton was a pick by former Canucks’ general manager Mike Gillis, taken in the fifth round from the University of Maine in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.
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Hutton made his Canucks debut in the 2015-16 season, appearing in 75 games for the Canucks. In that season, Hutton had a career-best 25 points. The seasons that followed did not go as well as his rookie season did, especially the 2017-18 season, which was Canucks’ head coach Travis Green’s first year on the job.
Hutton found himself in the press box for multiple games last season, in what is also known as Travis Green’s doghouse. Green openly called out Hutton and was brutally honest with him. That honesty is why Hutton says that players respect coach Green. The players know exactly why he’s doing what he’s doing, even when us fans aren’t entirely sure of Green’s thought process.
After the disappointing season that was 2017-18, where Hutton picked up just six assists and was scratched for almost 20 games, he went back home and trained hard alongside Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux and changed his diet completely.
Hutton did exactly what Green told him to do and earned himself a spot back on the Canucks’ blueline this season. Hutton is now considered one of the Canucks few valuable trade assets because he proved this year he can be an effective second or third pairing defenceman for any team, including the Canucks next season if they choose to keep him. He is a restricted free agent and like Edler, will require a contract this offseason.