One free agent every NHL team should sign this offseason
By C.L. Kohuss
Vancouver Canucks: Carter Hutton, Goaltender
With the seventh overall pick in the upcoming draft, the Vancouver Canucks are going to get a very solid player. But they need more than that to lift them from the Pacific Division basement. Both Daniel and Henrik Sedin are retiring, which. That leaves $29 million in cap space but also leaves a gaping wound on offense. Even with those two, they were sixth worst in scoring.
This is another spot where we could land John Tavares. But the idea doesn’t seem as comfortable as it does with Toronto. Especially when the Canucks are so bad. We don’t doubt they’ll make a push though.
Ultimately, goaltender Carter Hutton is going to end up somewhere and it’s probably not back with the St. Louis Blues. His numbers as a backup were too good to remain sitting behind Jake Allen. This also might be his biggest shot at making huge dollars, so he could head for any number of teams that need a netminder and are willing to pay.
For our money, he’s the best free agent goalie on the market and would be an instant upgrade over Jacob Markstrom.
The only risk is that he has never been a full-time starter. We’ve yet to see how that plays out for Hutton. He did go in 40 games for the Nashville Predators back in 2013-2014, posting a 2.62 goals against average and .910 save percentage. His last three seasons with the Blues have been great and he’s put up nine shutouts in that span. Some team is likely to take the chance while it rebuilds. Vancouver should give this a shot. There’s no harm and no fear of falling off the mountain. The team is already at the bottom, anyway.