EAST MEADOW, NY — Ben Hutton was surprised that the phone was ringing so little.
Free agency for the veteran defenseman, who spent the last five years with the Vegas Golden Knights and carved his niche as an important depth defenseman on a perennial contender, has lasted much longer than expected. No team came forward with a deal over the summer, and a professional tryout (PTO) with his hometown Ottawa Senators in September did not result in a contract.
He stayed in Ottawa, spent time with his one-year-old darling, and waited.
He finally got a call over the weekend from the injury-ravaged Islanders, who lost Alex Romanov for the season and will be without Ryan Pulock for the next two to four weeks, and hit the ice for the first practice of his PTO on Monday.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” the 33-year-old said. “Never really experienced something like this. I’ve been in the league for a little bit of time now. I thought I had a good year, but nothing came of it. I just kept my work boots on and stayed ready, waiting for an opportunity, and here we are now. Gotta make the most of it.”
Head coach Pete DeBoer admitted that he was “pleasantly surprised” with the shape Hutton was in after his first practice, considering he has not played in a competitive game in months. The two have a history together, with DeBoer serving as his head coach in Vegas during the 2021-22 season.
“He’s always been a straight shooter,” Hutton said of DeBoer. “His structure is great. He demands it out of everyone from top to bottom in the lineup. We had a meeting this morning, and I was smiling because he was saying everyone pull on the same rope; it’ll move quicker. Just stuff like that. He’s been a great coach in the past to me, and hopefully, he can be another coach for the year.”
There appears to be a pretty clear avenue for Hutton to nab a roster spot with New York. With Romanov and Pulock down, Scott Mayfield has drawn back into the lineup after being slated as an extra defenseman in an attempt to bolster the bottom of the defensive ranks alongside Logan Stanley and Matt Kessel.
“I know the player, I know the person,” DeBoer said. “He brings experience. He’s an interesting guy because when I was in Vegas, we picked him up and he made himself an important part of that group for four or five years on a really deep defense and a really good team. He’s versatile; he’s experienced. He was playing deep into the playoffs last year. I think the situation there was that he was behind a lot of really good defensemen… I’m really intrigued about what he might be able to bring to our group.”
For more on Ben Hutton and the Islanders, visit AMNY.com
