Canucks Linked To Reunion With Former Defenseman

The Vancouver Canucks are entertaining the possibility of bringing back an old hand from their blueline, and one who now has a Stanley Cup ring. Per Vancouver insider Rick Dhaliwal, speaking on Canucks Conversation, the team has reached out to unrestricted free agent Ben Hutton. 

Agents are calling Vancouver on some of the UFAs left. The Canucks are not biting yet... Maybe some of those guys get a PTO, I don't know.

But Ben Hutton to me, is interesting. I did hear there have been some conversations with Hutton's agent and the Canucks, but not sure where it goes... Good veteran, good in the room. He can play up and down the lineup. You want 12 minutes, he'll give you 12. If there's injuries and you want 20 (minutes), he'll give you 20. 

With $17.8 million in team cap space, the second most in the league as of August 9th, it's not surprising that agents are trying to pitch their unsigned clients to the Canucks. But Hutton makes some sense for Vancouver in a number of ways. 

He was drafted and developed by the team, and eventually became a staple on their blueline for the first four seasons of his career. (New GM) Ryan Johnson, in fact, was in player development for the team when Hutton made his way up and into the NHL lineup.  

UFA Ben Hutton can help fix the Canucks' locker room chemistry

Additionally, as Dhaliwal referenced, Hutton brings leadership and team cohesion.

"One of the biggest things this new regime is going to do is fix that dressing room. The Canucks' dressing room has been the worst in the NHL the last two years, and you fix it with guys like Hutton. He's a good glue guy, well-liked when he was in Vancouver."

Hutton is also more than familiar with the Pacific Division, having played most of his NHL career there. In fact, 571 of his 575 NHL games have been in that division. He just finished a five-year run as a depth defenseman for the Vegas Golden Knights, and has himself a Stanley Cup ring with them from 2023. 

One thing working against him with Vancouver, however, is that the team did bring in Jamie Oleksiak as a free agent already this summer, which would put Hutton 4th on the depth chart on the left side of the Canucks' defense, behind Zeev Buium, Elias Pettersson and Oleksiak. 

But again, at age 33, as a depth guy and a "glue guy", he'd be a nice fit.