It took a while for Hutton to make his NHL debut, but once he did he proved worth the wait.
After suiting up but not playing for three NHL teams in three seasons (the Philadelphia Flyers in 2009-10, the San Jose Sharks in 2010-11 and the Chicago Blackhawks in 2011-12), Hutton finally appeared in a League game April 27, 2013, for Chicago, making 25 saves in a 3-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues.
It took a while for Hutton to make his NHL debut, but once he did he proved worth the wait.
After suiting up but not playing for three NHL teams in three seasons (the Philadelphia Flyers in 2009-10, the San Jose Sharks in 2010-11 and the Chicago Blackhawks in 2011-12), Hutton finally appeared in a League game April 27, 2013, for Chicago, making 25 saves in a 3-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues.
With all of one game of NHL experience, Hutton signed a free agent contract with the Nashville Predators on July 5, 2013. He would see plenty of action with his new team; after starting goaltender Pekka Rinne was sidelined with a hip infection in October, Hutton stepped in. He went 20-11-4 in 40 games (34 starts) in 2013-14.
That included a five-game winning streak from March 21-April 3, 2014, in which he had a 1.77 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage. Hutton got his first NHL win in his first start as a Predator, stopping 38 shots against the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 20, 2013. He got his first NHL shutout April 5, 2014, against the San Jose Sharks, making 35 saves.
Hutton went 13-4-2 from Jan. 14, 2014 until the end of the season. He was 6-0-1 when facing 35 or more shots and was named the NHL's Third Star of the Week for Dec. 9-15, 2013, after going 3-0-0 with a 1.33 GAA and .960 save percentage.
The Predators earned a point in each of his six starts from Jan. 20-Feb. 22, 2015, when he had a 2.09 GAA and a .920 save percentage. After three seasons with Nashville, Hutton signed a free agent contract with the St. Louis Blues on July 1, 2016.
Hutton played four seasons at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell from 2006-10 and ended his career as the school's all-time leader in GAA (2.33), save percentage (.913) and shutouts (10).
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- Hockey East Second All-Star Team (2010)
- Signed as a free agent by San Jose, June 1, 2010.
- Signed as a free agent by Chicago, February 24, 2012.
- Signed as a free agent by Nashville, July 5, 2013.
- Signed as a free agent by St. Louis, July 1, 2016.
- Signed as a free agent by Buffalo, July 1, 2018.
