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Hutton jokes about joining his unbeatable rivals in St. Louis

THUNDER BAY – If you can’t beat them, join them. It wasn’t the deciding factor that pushed Thunder Bay goaltender Carter Hutton to join the St. Louis Blues, but it did cross his mind before signing a two-year, $2.
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Carter Hutton signed a two-year deal with the St. Louis Blues. (Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com)

THUNDER BAY – If you can’t beat them, join them.

It wasn’t the deciding factor that pushed Thunder Bay goaltender Carter Hutton to join the St. Louis Blues, but it did cross his mind before signing a two-year, $2.25-million deal on Canada Day.

Hutton joked on Tuesday that he’s played the Blues six times in his brief NHL career, and has yet to post a victory – three overtime and two regulation losses, if anyone’s counting.

“It’s kind of nice to join the team you can’t beat,” he said.

“They’re always a tough team to play against. They can beat you with size, they can beat you with skill. They’re kind of the complete package.”

Hutton knew well before the free agent frenzy began he was going to be moving on from the Nashville Predators, where he spent the past three seasons backing up all-star Pekka Rinne.

While some teams were on his radar from the start, looking at who might need a second-string goaltender next season, the Blues weren’t on the list, despite the fact one of his best friends and former Fort William North Stars teammate, defenceman Robert Bortuzzo, was on the St. Louis roster.

The Blues appeared set in goal, with Jake Allen and Brian Elliott sharing duties this past season. But St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong dealt Elliott to Calgary, clearing the way for Hutton to step in.

It was Armstrong and assistant general manager Martin Brodeur who made the push to bring the 30-year-old Hutton into the fold.

"He was at the top of our list. He got in there a couple years ago when Rinne got hurt and had a really good run with Nashville," Doug Armstrong said in a release. "He's a lot like Brian Elliott – a great competitor and a great teammate. He's looking to push Jake but also understands he's a mentor and a solid partner.”

Hutton said the conversation began as soon as the window the league gave teams to talk to prospective free agents opened.

“In all honesty, they came out of nowhere. I didn’t really have them on my list and they came in and it was a perfect fit,” said Hutton, who has a 33-24-12 record over four seasons and 67 games, all but one with Nashville.

“One of the things they like in my game was my puck handling. They really like the way Jake handles the puck as well. They wanted some consistency there so that no matter who is net there’s going to be some consistency for the D-men to make plays.”

A promise of more playing time – he saw action in just 35 games combined the past two seasons behind Rinne – was a factor in his decision, as was going to a team coming off a trip to the Western Conference final. 

While Allen is an up-and-coming star, he’s still going to need regular time off.

“I think what they want there is me to be a veteran leader and help out, but at the same time push him for minutes. Going into camp, I know Jake is the guy. And for me, that’s understandable. I knew going in I wasn’t going to be given a job.”

Having Bortuzzo as a teammate was the icing on the cake, he said.

“What an amazing thing, a close friend of mine, a guy I spend all summer with hanging out, and every time we’re on the road we get together and look back on our Fort William North Star days – it’s pretty awesome, pretty wild to think about back in the SIJHL that we were teammates and now we’re going to be teammates in the NHL.”

 



Leith Dunick

About the Author: Leith Dunick

A proud Nova Scotian who has called Thunder Bay home since 2002, Leith is Dougall Media's director of news, but still likes to tell your stories too. Wants his Expos back and to see Neil Young at least one more time. Twitter: @LeithDunick
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