Jets Should Offer Goalie Michael Hutchinson To Penguins

The Winnipeg Jets have a surplus of NHL caliber goaltenders with Michael Hutchinson toiling in the minors. Considering Steve Mason is being paid like a starting goalie and Connor Hellebuyck is playing like a starting goalie, Hutchinson is the obvious odd man out.

THE TIME IS NOW

The Jets had a front row seat to the Pittsburgh Penguins‘ goaltending issues. Matt Murray allowed four goals on nine shots on Sunday’s 7-1 thrashing, and newly recalled backup (and recently demoted) Casey DeSmith did little to inspire confidence.

It’s become obvious that Matt Murray is not fully prepared to start 65+ games in a full season and may be a better goaltender with a lighter workload.

Antti Niemi was brought in to spell the two-time Stanley Cup champion, but that experiment didn’t even last a single month.

Tristan Jarry is the goalie of the future, but he’s better suited being the starter in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

NOTE: Tristan Jarry has been recalled by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Enter Michael Hutchinson.

While Hutchinson is not a world beater of a goaltender, he has proven that he can be a solid backup and can start a decent amount of games.

Hutchinson has been a 1B in his career with the Winnipeg Jets, playing second fiddle to Ondrej Pavelec and Connor Hellebuyck over the past three seasons.
He appeared in 38, 30, and 28 games and produced numbers that would be considered good for an NHL backup.

WHAT COULD THE JETS GET FOR HUTCHINSON?

Unfortunately, stop-gap goaltenders aren’t a very hot ticket on the market. Last year, the very same Penguins had claimed Mike Condon off waivers from Montreal and ended up dealing him to Ottawa in exchange for a 5th round pick.

Condon had only one season of NHL experience, but his numbers were similar to that of Michael Hutchinson.

The Senators’ season was saved by Mike Condon and he was awarded a three-year contract.

Michael Hutchinson could be in a very similar situation. Right now, the Jets could probably ask for a 4th round pick and the Penguins would likely pony up.

THE BALL IS IN CHEVELDAYOFF’S COURT

Kevin Cheveldayoff has absolutely no pressure on him to move his third-string tender. In fact, if he waits this out he could probably get more for Michael Hutchinson.

Hypothetically, if Matt Murray goes down with an injury, the Pens would become desperate and Chevy could bring the price up.

Another way to escalate the asset level is to start a bidding war. The Vegas Golden Knights are starting their third-string goalie and if Marc-Andre Fleury‘s concussion takes a turn for the wore they could consider adding a Hutchinson.

However, that is more unlikely with Oscar Dansk’s strong play.

NOTE: Oscar Dansk was injured in the last Vegas game. Knights are now down to their fourth-string goaltender Maxime Lagace.

DOES MOVING HUTCHINSON LEAVE A HOLE?

Not really. Hutchinson is splitting starts with prospect goaltender Eric Comrie and it’s important for a goalie’s development to start as many games as possible.

There’s not another goaltender that the Jets need to develop so there really is no absolute hurry to move Hutchinson. The reason the Jets should consider it is that they can turn the third-string goaltender into another asset.

4th round picks don’t sound like much, but some good rental players can be had around the trade deadline for that particular price.

Would the Jets be happy moving Hutchinson for a pick that becomes a depth forward like Jason Chimera for example?

It’s worth a thought for sure.