The first player profile is pending UFA goaltender Michael Hutchinson.

Hutchinson is a third round draft selection from the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins.

He started with a middling Erie Otters team, that featured forwards Kyle Clifford (TOR) and Bryan Little (ARI); and defenders Mike Weber, Brian Lashoff (playing in final season with GR/DET) and Dalton Prout (former CBJ enforcer).

He was traded in his final season of eligibility from Erie to London. They were led by Nazem Kadri. This team also had former CBJ alumni in Zac Rinaldo and Scott Harrington.

Hutchinson never played a single game with the Boston Bruins. He rotated between Providence and Reading.

Hutch signed with Winnipeg getting his crack at the show, backing up Connor Hellybuck. He part of his first and final season with the minors, but mostly remained the secondary option during Winnipeg's best years in the mid-2010s.

He moved again in free agency from Manitoba to Florida with a new contract with the Panthers, and being the third stringer to veterans James Reimer and Roberto Luongo.

For the first time in his career, he was traded.

The first team to trade for him was Toronto. The return was a 2020 5th round pick.

The Barrie native became the backup for Frederik Andersen until the 2020 trade deadline, being traded for defender Calle Rosen to join the Colorado Avalanche.

He signed back with the Leafs and was with them until the most recent free agency, joining the Vegas Golden Knights.

At the 2023 deadline, he joined the Blue Jackets with a 2025 7th round pick in a trade for a salary retrained Jonathan Quick.

With Columbus, he was to backup Elvis Merzlikins after the Joonas Korpisalo trade, that brought Quick to Columbus.

In 16 games with the Blue Jackets, he won two games with a 0.877 save percentage and a 4.21 goals against.

Hutchinson is an NHL/AHL tweener, an AHL starter for sure. His future is not best for Columbus, but could be fore Cleveland with Nolan Lalonde.

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