Playing behind Vezina Trophy runner-up Pekka Rinne, Thunder Bay’s Carter Hutton didn’t get many opportunities to shine last season in the Nashville Predators net.
But for a second straight season, Hutton could easily lay claim to the save of the year.
In February Hutton and the Predators were clinging to a 4-3 lead over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs and on the power play, the Leafs Daniel Winnik rang the puck off the post, off the side boards and onto the waiting stick of teammate Tyler Bozak.
The Toronto forward one-timed it off Winnik, Hutton caught going the other direction. But in acrobatic fashion, Hutton spun and denied Winnik his second of the night, smacking the puck out of harm’s way with his outstretched stick, inches from the goal line as it headed toward the twine.
“I was able to keep my eye on it enough and spin around and get my stick on it just enough to keep it out and hold onto the win,” said Hutton, describing the play.
In the weeks and months ahead, the 29-year-old said he couldn’t escape the replays.
“Yeah, I’ve seen it enough times, and especially nowadays with social media and Instagram and Twitter, you see it all the time,” he said.
“It’s one of those ones that’s pretty cool in the moment, but for me the biggest thing is we got the win that night.”
A year earlier he made an equally incredible stop on Philadelphia’s Michael Raffl, after losing control of a Flyers dump-in behind his own net.
Hutton dove from out of nowhere to snag the sure goal. The play went viral before the period was complete.
Despite the heroics, with Rinne playing at an all-world level, the undrafted Hutton’s chances to play were few and far between last season, unlike a year earlier when Hutton appeared in 40 games after Rinne went down with an injury.
Hutton played 18 games, 17 of them starts, posting a 6-7-4 record, a 2.61 goals against average and his second career shutout, a 21-save gem against the high-powered Pittsburgh Penguins.
The limited action took a little getting used to, he said.
“It was my first year as a pro that I didn’t play a lot of games,” Hutton said. “I’d go five weeks in between starts sometimes. (Pekka) ended up missing about eight games with an injury. I had a bulk of more games where I thought I played a little more consistently in my play.
“But at the same time, it was a development year for me too. It’s a role you have to get used to and I think something that as the season went on I think it was something I got better with.”
He’s heading into his third NHL season with the understanding from Nashville higher-ups that he’ll be in the back-up role again.
But he won’t take it for granted.
“In what we do there’s always competition. It’s kind of one of those things. But right now everything stays status quo. It’s going to be me and (Rinne) again. Obviously there are some young guys coming up battling, trying to take my job, trying to take his job, but that’s the business we’re in. That never changes,” said Hutton, entering the final year of his two-year deal with the Predators, who lost in the first round of the playoffs to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.
“For me, I’m just going to try to have a productive summer, get stronger, get faster and just improve my game.
