The Ottawa Senators are adding a familiar veteran body to the mix as training camp gets underway, bringing in Ben Hutton on a professional tryout.
Hutton, 33, spent last season with the Vegas Golden Knights and gave them steady production from the blue line, appearing in 55 games and finishing with six goals and seven assists for 15 points. He then chipped in one assist over seven Stanley Cup playoff games.
That came in the final season of a two-year contract carrying an average annual value of $975,000. Before that deal, he had already spent three straight seasons in Vegas and was part of the club’s 2023 Stanley Cup run.
The defenseman’s NHL path has taken him through Vancouver, Anaheim, Los Angeles and Toronto as well, and his career line sits at 30 goals and 109 assists for 139 points in 575 games. He has mostly worked in a depth role throughout that stretch.
Hutton was a fifth-round pick of the Canucks, taken 147th overall in the 2012 NHL Draft. Even though he hasn’t logged huge minutes everywhere he’s gone, he has stayed almost entirely in the NHL. He has played only four AHL games in his pro career, all of them coming after he turned pro in 2013-14 following three seasons at the University of Maine.
The camp invite also reconnects Hutton with Senators coach Travis Green, who coached him for parts of two seasons in Vancouver before Hutton moved on after 2018-19. Hutton is from Brockville, Ontario.
Ottawa’s preseason opens with a Kraft Hockeyville game against the Montréal Canadiens on Sept. 21 at the Colisée Vidéotron in Trois-Rivières, Québec, the usual home of the ECHL’s Trois-Rivières Lions. The Senators’ preseason slate includes one game and two split-squad matchups.
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For a group of prospects expected to be in camp, that approach changes the stakes. If a young player earns a promotion, Johnson believes he should stay put so the development path is protected, which means the openings in camp are not just for a temporary look. For prospects trying to turn a strong showing into something more lasting, the message is simple enough: make the team now, and the Canucks may be willing to keep you there. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Fans Just Got A Familiar New Postgame Voice
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Dodd is set to begin with the preseason game on Sept. 22 and the regular-season opener on Sept. 29, while other co-hosts will handle the remaining broadcasts. The show will continue to be offered as both a livestream and a podcast, keeping the postgame conversation easy to find no matter how fans prefer to follow along. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Suddenly Face A Bigger Thatcher Demko Question At Camp
Thatcher Demkos camp availability is already shaping up to be one of the Canucks first real storylines of the preseason. General manager Ryan Johnson said the goaltender will not be fully participating this week as he continues to recover from hip surgery, even though he is still skating and working out on his own in Penticton. For a team that has leaned on Demko as a foundational piece, any update on his health naturally draws attention, especially when the calendar flips to camp and the first signs of the season start coming into focus.
Johnson framed the situation as a matter of patience and support, stressing that the organization wants Demkos recovery handled properly and noting his determination to get back as part of Vancouvers future. The important part for the Canucks is that this is not a setback in effort or intent, but it does leave one of their biggest questions hanging over the week as the rest of the roster settles into full camp work. [Read more 🡒]