His forte was indeed the PP part of the game and not the D part, we agree. I think calling him a 5 on a good team is severe, you don't need to put emphasis on his D that much and the puck moving part of the game was very important in a lower scoring era.
Say you pair him with a Weber... You think he's not a fit for that first pairing? A #2 can be many things yes, but if your #1 is a rock on D, having Streit as a #2 is a very important piece. In other words, he'd have no problems on most first pairings as the "other guy" on that pair, and a luxury on a second pair.
Point still stands, if Hutson becomes a steady NHL producer like Streit and can be insulated with a rock D, we can call that an absolute success. We see eye to eye on the fact that he won't be a #1, but he won't need to be if other parts like Guhle and Rein and whoever else can become that type of minute eating rock D. LH can focus on his PP duties and the puck moving part.