The Brockville native brings 575 games of NHL experience and provides some depth to a blue line that's already dealing with injury.
The Senators have added some local flair to their blue line, signing veteran defenceman Ben Hutton to a professional tryout.
Hutton was born in Brockville and raised in Prescott, making him a familiar name in these parts. He also spent more than 200 games in the CCHL with the Kemptville 73’s and Nepean Raiders before playing three seasons at the University of Maine.
The 33-year-old was the chosen by Vancouver in the fifth round of the 2012 NHL Draft, Hutton played his first four NHL seasons with the Canucks before stops with the Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
He spent the past five seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights, serving primarily as a reliable depth defenceman who could step into the lineup when needed.
In all, Hutton has appeared in 575 NHL regular-season games, recording 30 goals and 139 points. He also won a Cup with Vegas in 2023, appearing in two games during that run.
Last season, the six-foot-three, 209-pound left-shot D played 55 regular-season games for the Knights, contributing six goals and 15 points. He also dressed for seven playoff games and recorded one assist as Vegas advanced to the Stanley Cup Final.
Hutton’s year-to-year totals have fluctuated, partly because of injuries and partly because of his position on a deep Vegas blue line.
But his 55 games last season showed that he remains capable of handling a fairly steady NHL workload.
At a glance, the Sens don't have an obvious opening for Hutton on the left side. Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot are firmly established in the top four, while Tyler Kleven is expected to hold down the third-pairing role. But all three missed time with injury last year, and there isn't really an obvious fill-in at the AHL level.
The uncertainty is on the right side, where Artem Zub will miss the start of camp as he continues recovering from the lower-body injury he suffered in the playoffs last spring.
Head coach Travis Green said Wednesday that Zub is skating and could rejoin the team within the next week or two. That timetable doesn’t sound especially concerning, but with a compressed training camp, the Sens have to be ready with a backup plan.
Without Zub, the Senators would almost certainly begin camp with Jordan Spence, Carter Yakemchuk and Nikolas Matinpalo filling the three right-side positions. That would put both Yakemchuk and Matinpalo inside the top six, while leaving the club without an obvious option for the seventh-defenceman job.
Hutton's arrival probably changes that.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News
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