In this series we build the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster one by one leading up to the season opener on October 3.
G--Carter Hutton
33 yrs. old
6'0" 198 lbs.
Undrafted FA (PHI)
Career stats: 188 games | 81-64-22 record | 2.58 GAA | .913 Sv% | 11 shutouts
The Buffalo Sabres organization knew quite a bit about goalie Carter Hutton when they signed him to a 3yr./$8.250 million free agent deal last July. Jerry Forton, director of college scouting, former goalie coach Andrew Allen and former head coach Phil Housley all had a first hand look at Hutton from his time at UMASS-Lowell (Forton) to the Chicago Blackhawks (Allen) to the Nashville Predators (Housley.) All could vouch for the character he brought to the dressing room and his performance on the ice, which was in a backup role at the NHL level.
However, what none of them knew, including Sabres general manager Jason Botterill, was how he would perform as first-time starter for a Buffalo team that was coming off of it's third last place finish in five years and had the NHL's third-worst goals-against average (3.39) in 2017-18.
"There was a real comfort level with him," Botterill told the gathered media at the time of the signing. "He was a guy our scouts had focused in on, our analytics department certainly liked him a lot, and then you get the character check. It allowed us to have a lot of confidence in making the decision to bring Carter into our group."
