Friday: Fox Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland reports (Twitter link) that Hutton is expected to sign with the Sabres once the free agency period officially opens up on Sunday.
Thursday: The Buffalo Sabres made a bold move when they decided not to qualify Robin Lehner, letting their starting goaltender walk into unrestricted free agency instead of trying to fix the inconsistencies in his game. Linus Ullmark, the heir apparent to the Sabres net, will be playing a healthy number of games this season but needs some experience to help him acclimate to life in the NHL. That may come in the form of Carter Hutton, the top goaltender on the UFA market and one that brings a history of pushing young goaltenders to their full capabilities. Hutton was in Buffalo on Wednesday according to Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required) and has narrowed his potential landing spots from the plethora of teams that reached out to him at the beginning of the free agent interview period.
If the Sabres can convince Hutton to sign with them, he’d be bringing along the .931 save percentage he posted last season in 32 games. Custance believes that’s enough to land him a three-year deal on the open market. That would be the longest contract of his career, and at the age of 32 perhaps his last multi-year deal. Hutton was a classic late bloomer that had to work his way through the NCAA and minor league ranks before making his NHL debut at 27, but has stolen the limelight twice in his career as Pekka Rinne and now Jake Allen struggled. His career .915 save percentage would actually match Lehner’s, but he might come in at a lower price tag than the latter’s qualifying offer would have guaranteed.
Buffalo, armed with new superstar prospect Rasmus Dahlin and some Stanley Cup-winning talent are trying to compete for the playoffs this season. Ullmark has showed immense potential and could step into a full-time starting role right away, but there’s no harm in pairing him up with one of the best options on the market.
Not sure how I feel about this. Buffalo HAS to be better soon – real soon.
It looks like we are working on it. Good signs.