At their locker clean-out today, the St. Louis Blues addressed several issues including Vladimir Tarasenko’s injury, World Championship invitations, and how this season slipped away. One thing on the minds of many fans, is where will the goaltending situation land for next season? Well according to Lou Korac of NHL.com, GM Doug Armstrong admitted that Jake Allen would be back with the team but didn’t rule out a return for Carter Hutton. Hutton is a pending unrestricted free agent, who also indicated that he would be open to a return, depending on how things go in negotiations. Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets that the team has reached out to Hutton’s camp to start contract talks.
Hutton put up the best season of his career, leading the league in save percentage among goaltenders who played in at least 20 games. That .931 number could likely secure Hutton a job in several markets around the league, though it’s not clear if anyone would be willing to hand over a starting role. That’s because Hutton is already 32 years old and though he’s been effective in a backup role throughout his career, still only has 138 games under his belt in the NHL. If he’s going to sign somewhere as part of a tandem, St. Louis—where his son was born and his family has put down roots—seems as good an option as any.
The Blues have some cap room to play with this summer, but have to be careful whether they want to commit more money to the goaltending position. They already have Allen secured for another three seasons at $4.35MM, and though his play has been extremely inconsistent he’s shown the ability to perform among the best in the league for short stretches. Getting him to put up those numbers over a longer period of time is difficult, but sitting that cap hit on the bench as a backup isn’t a very good option either.
Still, this is a team that expects to contend for the Stanley Cup next season. With several star players in their prime and some top prospects ready to break through, the organization is still in good shape going forward. Securing their future in goal is important, as we’ve seen with talented teams that can’t quite put it together all around the league.
That future could already be in the organization though, and ready to take the next step. Ville Husso, a 23-year old goaltender selected in the fourth round in 2014, put up an excellent season in the AHL and could be ready to take the next step. He’s seen a few NHL games from the bench this season, but is still waiting to make his debut. There might be some merit to the idea that an Allen-Husso pair could be enough to get the Blues back to the playoffs, but with anything in hockey (and especially when it comes to goaltending), nothing is a sure thing. If Hutton does find a better opportunity elsewhere, there is no guarantee that the team wouldn’t bring in a more experienced netminder to take his place.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
The blues really need to resign Hutton because I’ve seen articles and people who have given up on Jake Allen.
I don’t understand how people still believe in Allen as a goalie. Every year I hear people saying he’s going to have a good year- but he never does.
He was beyond amazing in last years playoffs