St. Louis Blues – New York Islanders Trade Talk Reaction

Carter Hutton

This one is a bit puzzling, to be honest. As Anderson even points out, the Islanders can pick up Carter Hutton as a free agent on July 1.

The odd thing is he suggests the Islanders might even want to pursue Hutton beforehand. This kind of trade would tick off a lot of Blues fans, but the sooner we all realize that Hutton is not going to be brought back the better.

He is a backup and the Blues cannot afford to pay Hutton the kind of money he will demand to be their backup. If St. Louis could swing a draft pick in a pre-free agency deal, they would be smart to do so.

From the Islanders perspective, I don’t see this making much sense. Hutton would be a fit there, as they have money and need a steady presence.

However, unless Hutton is predisposed to a certain team already, you’d be giving up a draft pick for negotiating rights. This has worked for some teams in the past. It just seems like being in New York is usually a hot selling point. If you trade something just for the right to negotiate, you seem to be saying you don’t think they would come otherwise.

I understand that you avoid Hutton talking to 30 other teams, but it still seems odd. The Blues would be smart to take such a deal though.