Senators invite Ben Hutton to training camp on PTO

The Ottawa Senators are bringing in a veteran presence for the preseason, adding Ben Hutton on a PTO as they open camp and prepare for a mixed preseason schedule that includes one game and two split-squad games. 

Hutton, 33, played in 55 games with the Vegas Golden Knights last season, posting six goals and seven assists for 15 points, before adding an assist in seven Stanley Cup playoff contests. The campaign marked the final year in a two-year deal, worth an average annual value of $975,000. Prior to the deal, he played the three previous seasons in Vegas as well, winning the Stanley Cup in 2023.

Before his time with the Golden Knights, Hutton played for the Vancouver Canucks, Anaheim Ducks, LA Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs, with his NHL career totaling 30 goals and 109 assists for 139 points in 575 games, largely as a depth defenseman. 

Selected 147th overall in the fifth round of the 2012 NHL Draft by the Canucks, Hutton has not always played major minutes on the teams he has been on, but has rarely been sent to the AHL, playing just four career games in the minors, all of which came after he transitioned to the professional ranks in 2013-14, following three seasons with the University of Maine. 

Coming into camp, Hutton will reunite with one of his former coaches from Vancouver, as Senators head coach Travis Green led the Brockville, Ontario native for parts of two seasons with the Canucks, before Hutton left the organization in 2018-19. 

The Senators are set to open the preseason with a Kraft Hockeyville matchup against the Montréal Canadiens on Sept. 21 at the Colisée Vidéotron in Trois-Rivières, Québec, the usual home of the ECHL’s Trois-Rivières Lions. 

After the Kraft Hockeyville matchup, the Senators will play four split-squad games against the Canadiens and Maple Leafs before turning their focus to the regular-season opener against the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Oct. 3.