Ben Hutton is one of the most forgotten Vegas Golden Knights ever. He's a press box guy known for being a defensive defenseman. He blocks shots and takes away shooting and passing lanes, making him an ideal fit for the Golden Knights.
However, it seems that Kelly McCrimmon might be looking to send him to a team for a bag of pucks and some peanuts. According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, Vegas wants to trade Hutton.
Considering Vegas has a sudden surplus of defensemen with Jeremy Lauzon and Dylan Coghlan (again) coming to the team, it shouldn't be a surprise. When you're missing Alex Pietrangelo due to Father Time or seeing Nicolas Hague getting $5.5 million AAV, life can be tough.
But, my, how the turn tables.
Some might look at this as shocking. Why not trade a player like Zach Whitecloud, specifically when he has a cap hit of $2.75 million?
Believe it or not, there are some reasons why this makes sense. It doesn't involve the cap hit whatsoever ($975,000 is merely a drop in the bucket), so that's something that will have some fans scratching their heads. In fact, it's deeper than that.
Why trading Ben Hutton makes sense
Look, I love Hutton as a depth piece. He's a good guy (even got a picture with him!) who brings plenty of value with blocking shots and clogging lanes. However, there are some things that raise up some concerns.
First, he's 32 years old. Vegas is looking to get younger and shed some cap space. That means cuts from positional surpluses, specifically with depth players who are over 30 years old. Therefore, it shouldn't surprise people that Hutton's on the trading block.
That's especially true when you're in the last year of your current contract. 2026 is when he hits the free agent market, meaning the upcoming season will be a lame-duck season.
The elephant in the room known as Rasmus Andersson
Rasmus Andersson wants to come to Las Vegas for the long term. There's a strong belief that he's not going anywhere else until he gets what he wants. Ken Holland can attest to this since the Kings gave him an offer that would sweep a regular defenseman off his feet. Why not include him in that deal?
That's especially true with the team not having a defined role for him. In a perfect world, he would replace Nicolas Hague, specifically with the 6'6" blue liner choosing to go to Calgary instead of his present reality of Nashville. Alas, that's not the case.
Why not Hutton? He can fill a void and go in a salary dump. Of course, this would require a bigger salary (i.e. Barbashev) to go. But seeing the 32-year-old traded would tip the scales.
Knowing how the Golden Knights love making trades, this would be surprising. Not many people predicted the 2024 trade deadline to happen. But that's Kelly McCrimmon for you, doing whatever he can to win.