Ben Hutton is in a little bit different scenario than the rest of the players on the bubble at Senators training camp. For one, he’s 33 and has no contract for the season, after signing a professional tryout offer on the eve of camp.
But he’s also not staying at a hotel like the rest of the roster hopefuls — at least not full-time. That’s because Hutton hails from nearby Prescott, Ont., and lives in the Ottawa neighbourhood of Westboro, with his wife, Emma, and their one-year-old daughter, Honey.
“Whenever I can get home to see [Honey], I [do]. But I mean, the early mornings I have stayed, or the pregame naps, I've stayed at the hotel. So yeah, it's a bit of a mix, but it's nice being close to family, especially with my young daughter there,” said Hutton on Thursday after taking to the ice for practice.
With the Senators down Artem Zub due to an injury, which Travis Green estimates will keep him out of the lineup to begin the year, there could be an opening on the Senators’ blueline for Hutton, who played his second preseason game on Wednesday night at home.
It was in that game, a 4-2 loss to Toronto, that his 575 games of experience stuck out. That’s because, with Thomas Chabot a late scratch, there were only eight other games of NHL experience on the Senators’ defence corps.
Green and assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner are familiar with what he brings to a team, the pair having coached him with the AHL’s Utica Comets and then the Vancouver Canucks — and Hutton is familiar with the defensive systems they utilize.
“Even some of the drills are named the same. As I go on, you know, I obviously I kind of forgot them, but then the odd name, I'm like, oh yeah, I remember that one,” laughed Hutton.
“When I was in Vancouver, it was the same sort of thing. You know, obviously being in Vegas, we had a little bit of a different system for the D-men. Here, it's aggressive everywhere, which is nice, and you can close on plays quick,” said Hutton, who won a Stanley Cup with Vegas in 2023 alongside Senators winger Michael Amadio.
“I've been with Vegas for the last five years, so I mean, obviously, the systems are a little bit different. I feel like we're more aggressive here, which is great as long as we're all on the same page and aggressive together.
“It’s a hard system to play against. I mean, I remember coming into this barn with Vegas [in January] and we kind of got whacked there pretty good. So, yeah, it's a hard system to play against when everyone's on it.”
A contract for the year would be extra meaningful for Hutton considering his local ties. He said that he went to a lot of Sens games when he was younger to see the likes of Jason Spezza, Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley, Peter Schaefer, Marian Hossa, and Zdeno Chara.
“Yeah, it's definitely in the back of your mind, once you sign a PTO. You know, it adds a little stress, but I guess that's part of the gig, part of the job,” said Hutton of how much he’s thinking about the opportunity at hand.
“So yeah, I’ve just got to keep doing my thing, and you know, hopefully something comes here soon.”
