The Buffalo Sabres need to move on from Carter Hutton

One of the most significant question marks going into this offseason for the Buffalo Sabres is who will be the goalies on the roster once next season begins. Linus Ullmark is the best goaltender the Sabres have by a wide margin, but he is set to become a free agent this offseason. It is currently not clear how Buffalo will address their goaltending issues this offseason, but one thing is for sure, Carter Hutton cannot be the answer.

Hutton signed a three-year deal with the Sabres in 2018 worth $8.25 million. He was coming off a career-best year in St. Louis in the 2017-2018 season but could never replicate that success in Buffalo. He has never had a goals allowed average under 3.00 or a save percentage above .908% in the three years he has played for the Sabres. Hutton averaged 3.12 goals allowed per game, and a save percentage of .902% in his time with the Sabres.

Now that Hutton’s contract with Buffalo is set to expire in 2021, it is time for the team to move on from him. It has become obvious that Hutton is no longer a viable option for even a backup role anymore. The Sabres had players such as Dustin Tokarski and Michael Houser get time in net this season and post stats that were just as good as Hutton and at a much lower cost.

Although this Sabres cap situation is less than ideal, bringing back Ullmark for a long-term deal is what they should be aiming to do. However, it would be cheaper and easier to bring back Hutton on a one-year contract and hope that this would bridge the gap to when Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is ready to be the everyday goalie for the Sabres. But that is something that Buffalo needs to avoid doing.

If this organization really wants to show their fans that they can make the right decisions, they need to move on from Hutton. Ullmark is the best goalie the Sabres have had since Ryan Miller, and letting him walk in free agency would just add to the list of disappointment the fans have already gone through this year.