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New York Rangers should consider signing Carter Hutton

By Sean Raggio

CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 06: Goalie Carter Hutton #40 of the St. Louis Blues guards the net in the first period against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on April 6, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. The St. Louis Blues defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1. (Photo by Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 06: Goalie Carter Hutton #40 of the St. Louis Blues guards the net in the first period against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on April 6, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. The St. Louis Blues defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1. (Photo by Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The New York Rangers are in need of a new backup goaltender. Unrestricted free agent Carter Hutton may be the answer.

The New York Rangers have a problem on their hands (one of many).

They have Henrik Lundqvist, 36, to backstop the team next season, but no one to back him up. The team tried out some of their prospects, but it’s clear they still need some time.

So the Rangers signed Ondrej Pavelec to a one year, $1.3 million contract last season. It’s safe to say the Rangers didn’t get a good return on investment. He finished with a 4-9-1 record in 19 games, a 3.05 GAA and a .910 SV-percentage.

You can’t have a 36-year-old goaltender relied on to play another 60+ game season. It’s not only detrimental to him at that point, but to the team’s chances. Therefore, you need a dependable backup. The Rangers had two solid dependable backups, but ended up trading them away over the last few seasons. Those backups were Cam Talbot (Edmonton Oilers) and Antti Raanta (Arizona Coyotes).

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The case for Carter

Carter Hutton had a career year for the St. Louis Blues, owning a 17-7-3 record in 32 games. He finished the season with a 2.09 goals against average, a .931 save percentage and three shutouts. Hutton may be getting up there in age (32), but he would serve as a short-term solution to a short-term problem.

The Rangers should sign Hutton in a similar deal to the one they gave Pavelec. The one year and $1.3 million would be team friendly and it would also be a raise for Hutton. He is coming off a two year, $2.25 million deal with St. Louis.

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Why not use one of the kids?

The Rangers used two of their goaltending prospects over the past season. Brandon Halverson only played 13 minutes and gave up a goal while stopping five pucks with the Rangers this season. Alexandar Georgiev had more of an opportunity to play as he went 4-4-1 in 10 games. He had a 3.15 GAA and a .918 SV-percentage.

There is little doubt that someone will fall to the injury bug. Also, especially if the team isn’t a playoff team, the team will want to give some of these rookies a shot. Hutton not only adds a dependable backup, but someone who has extensive college and AHL experience. They could also use him as a trade chip as well.

Even if the Rangers need Hutton to stick around for an extra year or two, he’s young enough that he should be able to swing it if his numbers stay decent. It helps that it should primarily be in a backup role. It should even be a relatively cheap contract too.

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If worse comes to worse, they can release him after next season. This one year deal could even be renewed in the next offseason. To put it plainly: this move has low risk, high reward potential for the Rangers.

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