Islanders Sign Ben Hutton To PTO

The New York Islanders have suffered a pair of long-term injuries in their defensive corps this season. First, Alexander Romanov is unlikely to return this season after tearing his ACL in early October. Second, the Islanders recently lost Ryan Pulock for potentially a month with an upper-body injury.

Instead of sparingly using some younger options to round out the blue line, New York has opted for a veteran addition. According to a team announcement, the Islanders have signed Ben Hutton to a professional tryout agreement.

It’s the second PTO Hutton has signed over the last few months. During preseason, he signed a tryout agreement with the Ottawa Senators. Obviously, that never turned into a standard contract for the 2026-27 season. Now, Hutton hopes that the second time is the charm.

Although he’s had difficulty finding a new contract, Hutton is coming off a period of stability. Around this time during the 2021-22 campaign, Hutton signed a one-year deal with the Vegas Golden Knights. Even though he primarily served as a depth defender, Hutton turned a one-year, $750K contract into a five-year stint with the Golden Knights.

The former fifth-round pick scored 14 goals and 48 points in 196 games with a +22 rating, averaging 15:21 of ice time per game. He had his name engraved on the Stanley Cup after the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs. He went scoreless in two games for the Golden Knights en route to their first Stanley Cup championship.