The New York Islanders have locked in Ben Hutton on a one-year contract, bringing the veteran defenseman into the fold after a brief tryout with the team.
The club announced the deal Thursday evening, just days after Hutton signed a professional tryout agreement on Monday. Per PuckPedia, the contract is a one-way NHL deal with a pro-rated $900,000 cap hit.
Hutton, 33, had also gone the PTO route with the Ottawa Senators ahead of their 2026 training camp, but he was released after failing to make the opening roster. The 6-foot-3 left-shot blueliner spent the previous five seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights, where he was part of their 2023 Stanley Cup-winning team.
He first arrived in Vegas as an unrestricted free agent in 2021 and settled into a depth role on the blue line. Last season, he appeared in 55 regular-season games for the Golden Knights and then added seven more during their run to the 2026 Stanley Cup Final.
Hutton’s NHL path started long before that. The Vancouver Canucks picked him in the fifth round, No. 147 overall, of the 2012 NHL Draft. A Brockville, Ont. native, he spent his first three post-draft seasons at the University of Maine before turning pro in 2015.
Once he reached the NHL, Hutton stuck. He became a regular right away with Vancouver in the 2015-16 season and, aside from four games with the Utica Comets right out of school, he has never played in the AHL during his pro career. After four seasons with the Canucks, he spent one year with the Los Angeles Kings, then split the 2020-21 season between the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs before landing in Vegas.
Over 575 career NHL games across 11 seasons with the Canucks, Kings, Ducks, Maple Leafs, and Golden Knights, Hutton has posted 30 goals and 139 points. In the playoffs, he has one assist in 10 games, all with Vegas.
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