@boosbuzzsabres
Goaltender--Carter Hutton
DOB: December 19, 1985 (age, 34)
Draft: Undrafted free agent (SJS, April 26, 2010)
How acquired: Signed by Buffalo (UFA, 2018)
Last contract signed: July 1, 2018 3yr./$8.25 million
Final year of contract: 2020-21
2018-19 Stats: 50 games played |18-25-5 record | 3.00 GAA | .908 SV% | 0 shutouts
Career Stats: 188 games played | 81-64-22 record | 2.58 GAA | .913 SV% | 11 shutouts
What we wrote preseason: If the Buffalo Sabres want to make the playoffs this season a lot will be riding on the shoulders of their goalkeepers. Although their roles will be figured out through camp and into the season, it's hard to think that Hutton will be that 60-game workhorse starter in Buffalo when his 34 starts in 2013-14 represents his career-high. In fact the Thunder Bay, Ontario native has a grand total of only 80 starts in the four seasons since, but with Botterill in a bit of a bind this off season a Hutton/[Linus] Ullmark 1A/1B goaltending tandem is what Buffalo enters training camp with
When you look at Hutton's excellent numbers in St. Louis it's best to remember that the Blues were a veteran club with a very strong d-corps that was also supported by their forward group. They had the sixth-best goals-against last average season, have the third-best cumulative GAA (2.49) over the past five seasons and their system has helped have changed the narrative from back-up to potential starter when talking about goalies like Hutton and Brian Elliot. As a premier two-way team, St. Louis was also 14th in the league in cumulative goals-for over the last five seasons averaging 2.81 goals/game.
With all the question marks concerning Hutton as a starter (or 1A) for a franchise that has the worst record in the NHL over the last seven seasons, character doesn't seem be one of them. He'll have the chance to be the No. 1 goalie in Buffalo but he also is being tasked with mentoring Ullmark, who's saying goodbye to the AHL after being the No. 1 goalie in Rochester the last two seasons. “What we’ve learned about Carter," said [GM Jason] Botterill, "is he has the confidence in the No. 1 role and also has a history of working with young goalies. We think it’s a great fit."
What we wrote mid-season: Sabres GM Jason Botterill made a number of off season moves that have paid dividends for this club and stabilizing the goalie situation with the signing of free agent Hutton was one of them. Although his 2.58 goals-against average and .917 save percentage aren't gaudy by any stretch of the imagination, Hutton has been very solid and has given his team a chance to win nearly every time he's in net. This is the 33 yr. old's first gig as a starting goalie and there are a lot of positives which include his stickhandling ability and the way he's mentoring his backup, although he's had some clunkers and an egregious error or two along the way. Word on the street is that this year Hutton will be carrying a huge weight in net while next season could be more of a 50/50 split. The following season, his last under contract with Buffalo, could end up being more of a backup role.
Impressions on his play this year: After a tepid start to the season Hutton, like the team, was really locked in through November and it looked as if Botterill found a steal of a No. 1 goalie at $2.75 million per season. The crash back down to earth was particularly rough for the team but Hutton's crash left a crater that he still needs to climb out of. But having said that, it isn't fair to place Buffalo's bottom-feeding performance post-November squarely on goaltending.
“Checking has got to be tighter, but the play with the puck has got to be the thing that we really work on here,” captain Jack Eichel said back in February with the Sabres downward spiral picking up steam. “It was a staple of our game when we were winning, and it’s been costing us lately." True enough, their play was so loosey-goosey that goals against were coming by the bushels as odd-man rushes were the norm and defensive breakdowns left the opposition all alone in premier scoring spots. That said, Buffalo's goaltending tandem didn't help the situation all that much as they were unable to come up with the big save when needed like they did consistently in November. In fact, they were hard-pressed to come up with any save and the Sabres found themselves in holes during games they never could get out of.
It was a disappointing season for Hutton as he couldn't seem to do much right after November and there were times that he admittedly tried to do too much. In St. Louis (as well as Nashville) Hutton played a simple game as the skaters in front of him played a strong two-way game. What we saw in Buffalo is that he's no Dominik Hasek and isn't even Ryan Miller, but if the team can get their act together, he can do some very fine work in net. And he remains a strong locker room presence and excellent mentor to Ullmark.
Questions moving forward: How much defensive structure will the new head coach instill in this club? Will the players embrace it? What will Ullmark look like at camp and early into the season? Will there be more of a 50/50 split? Or will Hutton be a 50-plus game, 1A type of goalie? Can he and his skaters find the mutual trust they had when they went on that 10-game winning streak?
Contract info via CapFriendly, stats via sabres.com and hockey reference.com.
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