Former Vancouver Canucks defenceman Ben Hutton took the time to reflect on his tenure with the team after he signed a one year deal with the Los Angeles Kings.
The Vancouver Canucks blue line has been below average for quite some time now. The team has seen players such as Micheal Del Zotto, Erik Gudbranson, Derrick Pouliot, Matt Bartkowski, and Philip Larsen patrol the blueline, and we all know what the results of that look like — one playoff berth in the past six years.
The prospect cupboard was essentially empty when it came to defencemen, but there was one Canucks prospect defencemen who against all odds, was a breath of fresh air for fans to see find success at the NHL level as a rookie. That prospect defenceman is Ben Hutton.
Hutton was a fifth round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and played three years of collegiate hockey at the University of Maine before signing a contract near the end of the 2014-15 season, when he played four games with the Utica Comets.
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Hutton made the Canucks out of training camp, and on a rather abysmal Canucks team, Hutton was one of few bright spots. He led all Canucks blueliners in points in 2015-16, his rookie year. Keep in mind, this was before hometown kid Troy Stecher had burst onto the scene, so Hutton was something Canucks fans hadn’t had in a long time — an exciting young defenceman.
After that rookie season, Hutton struggled to put up points and at times, struggled to stay in the lineup. He had arbitration rights this offseason, and that’s the main reason that the Canucks elected not to extend him a qualifying offer, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent.
The move came as a shock to Hutton, and it was time for him to start fielding phone calls and move on from the only NHL team he had ever known. Hutton signed a one year, $1.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Kings a couple of days ago, and yesterday, joined Rick Dhaliwal, Perry Solkowski, and James Cybulski on The Starting Lineup on Sportsnet650 to discuss his summer, and briefly talk about his tenure with the Canucks.
First and foremost, ending up as a UFA caught Hutton off guard and he was not expecting it. Hutton said the following: “The cap was tight in Vancouver, they didn’t qualify me and I didn’t see that coming. I’m happy with the deal with the Kings, it’s a 1 year show me deal.”
Hutton added that the free agent process was extremely stressful, and was sure to acknowledge the passionate Canucks fanbase, saying, “fans were nothing but great to me since day one in Vancouver. It’s a passionate city with passionate fans, and I will miss Vancouver fans.”
Ultimately, Hutton will be remembered as a defenceman whose rookie season brought hope to Canucks fans who were dying for something to look forward to. Unfortunately, Hutton was never able to live up to the hype generated from that rookie season. Now he gets a chance to turn it around on a one year deal with the Kings.