Islanders sign Ben Hutton to one-year deal off PTO

The tryout barely lasted a week. Hutton signed his PTO on Sunday, and by Thursday night the beat had the news.

The Islanders had until November 11 before the PTO ran out, so nothing forced them to move this fast. Pulock did. He's out 2-4 weeks with an upper-body injury, and Romanov is already gone for a long time after tearing his ACL in October. Lose 2 of your top guys on the back end and suddenly a guy who skated 2 practices with you looks like a need, not a luxury.

The contract itself is about as low-risk as NHL money gets. It's 1 year, it's one-way, and it carries a prorated $900K cap hit, so he gets paid NHL money even if he ends up in the press box most nights.

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The #Isles signed 33 y/o D Ben Hutton to a one year one-way prorated $900K cap hit contract Rep'd by Andy Scott @OctagonHockey t.co/tgzSGOwhJd

Hutton is the definition of a journeyman. The 6-foot-3 lefty was a fifth-round pick of the Canucks back in 2012, and he's played 575 NHL games for Vancouver, LA, Anaheim, Toronto and Vegas, with 30 goals and 139 points. Vegas signed him in 2021 on a 1-year, $750K deal and he stuck around for 5 seasons, getting his name on the Stanley Cup in 2023 as a depth guy. Last year he put up 6 goals and 15 points in 55 games at a little over 14 minutes a night.

There's a familiar face behind the bench, too. Pete DeBoer coached Hutton in Vegas in 2021-22 and runs the Islanders now, so he already knows what he's getting: a steady, stay-at-home third-pair guy who won't hurt you. That matters more than usual, because Hutton came into this fall on a PTO with Ottawa and didn't get a contract out of it.

Don't expect this to change the season. The real takeaway is that the Islanders would rather play a veteran than throw kids into the fire while Pulock heals. Watch the lineup once Pulock comes back. If Hutton is still dressing then, he did more than just plug a hole.