Hutton aiming to be No. 1 goalie for first time with Sabres

BUFFALO --Carter Hutton is hoping to be a No. 1 goaltender to begin a season for the first time in his NHL career after signing with the Buffalo Sabres.

The 32-year-old said he believes the Sabres are headed in the right direction after failing to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs the past seven seasons. They will rely on a core of young players, including 21-year-old center Jack Eichel, chosen No. 2 in the 2015 NHL Draft, and 18-year-old defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, chosen No. 1 in the 2018 NHL Draft.
"I skated with Dahlin] one day this summer, and honestly, he's an extreme talent," Hutton said Friday. "Every scout, manager and player you talk to who has seen him play talk about how impressive his skating is and his maturity, and it's exciting. He's going to step right in and help us and we're looking forward to that. I think us older guys will have to do a good job of protecting him and letting him develop at his speed.
"Coming in here, I'm just going to try to be the best version of myself."
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Hutton is coming off a career season with the St. Louis Blues, going 17-7-3 and leading the NHL in goals-against average (2.09) and save percentage (.931) in 32 games (26 starts). In six seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators and Blues, he is 63-39-17 with a 2.42 GAA and .915 save percentage.
"Last season was all about finding a rhythm and playing more consistently," said Hutton, who signed a three-year, $8.25 million contract (average annual value of $2.75 million) on July 1. "Just kind of trimming the fat out a little bit. Every year there's that odd game where things don't go well or you let it snowball and over time, maybe it's maturity or experience, but being able to make it a two-three-goal night instead of a five-six-goal night.
"That's something that comes with mental toughness and over years of being in so many situations, you build that toughness so if things aren't going well you just stick with it and keep those games tight to give your team a chance to win."
Hutton said he learned about mental toughness by watching veteran Pekka Rinne as a backup with the Predators for three seasons, from 2013-16. He also took a lot from the tutelage of Martin Brodeur, who was Blues assistant general manager when Hutton was there the past two seasons.

"I was set in my ways, and [Brodeur's] style was a little bit different ... there aren't too many guys who played like Marty," Hutton said. "But just from the mental visualization, the breathing techniques and things he did during a game, I incorporated into my game. Marty is good at breaking the game down."
Brodeur was hired as New Jersey Devils executive vice president of business development on Aug. 29.
"You know, it's hard to be playing for 2 1/2 hours a night and be totally dialed in the whole time," Hutton said, "so just learning to breathe better and take mental breaks in and throughout the game is important. Marty helped me a lot with that; he became a good friend and mentor. He's a guy you can't really argue with because of what he's accomplished."
Hutton is hoping he can help the Sabres tighten up their defensive play this season; they ranked 29th in the NHL in goals-against (2.78) and GAA (3.39) on the way to a last-place finish with 25 wins and 62 points.
"I think everybody can see from the interior of the team, they're trying to change the culture and get a winning attitude," Hutton said. "It's obviously been a tough few years here, and they kind of recognized what they need to do, brought in a lot of young good players and they've brought in more leadership guys. Things are headed in the right direction."

Hutton likely will be sharing goaltending duties with 24-year-old Linus Ullmark, who has been an American Hockey League all-star in each of the past two seasons with Rochester and has a .917 save percentage in 26 NHL games over three seasons.
Hutton's NHL career high for games played in a season is 40, with Nashville in 2013-14. He feels ready for more.
"It's the NHL, so there's always pressure on us," Hutton said. "I don't view this situation any differently than any other; it's the same game. [Ullmark] is a heck of a goalie too, and we're going to be counting on each other because the days of goalies playing 70 to 75 games are gone.
"You need two goalies that can play; look at [the] Washington [Capitals] last year and how Philipp Grubauer needed to play a lot of big minutes down the stretch before Braden Holtby was called upon. The mindset of both of us is to help this team win hockey games."