Islanders putting band-aid on blue line with Ben Hutton

The New York Islanders made some mild waves by signing veteran defenseman Ben Hutton to a Professional Tryout (PTO) earlier this week.

Make no mistake. The move isn’t designed to really solve anything. It’s one of those stopgap decisions aimed at offering a partial fix to a larger situation.

The Isles’ blue line has taken massive hits this season. The loss of Alexander Romanov for the season left a major hole in the lineup. Then, the recent injury to Ryan Pulock has put further pressure on the team’s defense corps. And while Logan Stanley has been a fantastic surprise, the bottom line is that the Islanders, like every team in the NHL, are looking for depth.

That’s it.

Ben Hutton, a bit of a journeyman, is a depth move. He’s the sort of guy who could come into the picture should there be a bigger need.

Now, it’s worth noting that he’s only signed a PTO. So, he’s not actually on the Isles’ roster. In order for that to happen, the team would need to sign him to an NHL contract. And that may not be a guarantee at this point.

But when looking at the waiver wire and the trade market, the Islanders don’t really have much of a choice at this point.

Could Ben Hutton actually play for the Islanders this season?

So, the big question regarding this entire discussion is whether Ben Hutton will actually play this season for the Islanders. The 33-year-old played in 55 games for the Vegas Golden Knights last season, scoring six goals and 15 points. That’s not bad for a third-pairing guy on a deep team like Vegas.

And like Stanley, Hutton comes with size and plenty of brawn. But is that really what the Islanders need right now?

That depends on how you feel about the Matthew Kessel-Scott Mayfield pairing. Calls have picked up regarding the need to move on from Mayfield. As for Kessel, he’s good, but not the sort of guy who's going to turn heads.

Unfortunately, Hutton is not really an upgrade on either of those two names. That’s why Hutton is likely going to hang around as insurance. The Islanders may be tempted to send him down to Hamilton for a while and potentially get him on the NHL roster soon enough as the seventh defenseman.

Yes, you could argue that it’s time for Isaiah George or Warren Marshall to get regular NHL playing time. And that may be the long-term move here. But for now, the club wants a guy for regular press box duty.

That’s going to be Hutton for the time being.

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