If you don’t think Hughes is gonna be hesitant about handing Hutson a wealth contract already, you’re likely not being honest about the situation.. He may ultimately be forced to, but he’ll wake up drenched some nights.
He’s fun to watch but are you putting him on the ice, the last 10 minutes of 1 goal playoff games? As long as that answer remains “no” it’s a big chance you’re taking. If you’re answering “yes” to that question, you just can’t be taken seriously.
Ultimately you roster and ice a team to win Stanley Cups. Not to be super-extra entertaining. You can guarantee Hughes is already searching for a long-term partner, who’ll have at least above average wheels, but is as defensive as they come, to protect Hutson better.
He’s also not 18-19 years old. He’ll be 21 in a month or so. He’s had a couple of years to try bulking up. It’s just almost impossible with a small frame. Nothing to do with height. He could be cut like Arnold Schwarzenegger, and it’s not gonna make much difference with his slender build. He’s nothing like Quinn Hughes in that regard.
That generally equals lots of injuries playing in the NHL. Once again though, they might be forced to hand him one of these wealth contracts. I’m gonna guess they try to bridge him though, if only to protect themselves. Is it fair to him? Yea, it is. If he can’t be trusted to be on the ice during close playoff games, how do you justify giving 9-10% of your cap to him?
It’s always scary giving dmen who need protection, one of these wealth contracts. Byrum doesn’t have one yet, and he’s up after this year. In Hutson’s case, it’s hard to see how this issue is ever NOT going to be an issue. With others you can work on things. Buffalo and Philly are trying to work on those deficiencies with Byrum and Drysdale. Philly is literally breaking Drysdale down, and rebuilding his game.
He’s gonna be in his 23-24 year old season when that new contract takes effect. They’re likely to stall as long as they can before making a final decision. Nobody at this size has EVER had a long, successful career. Their body breaks down. He’s gonna be too young and too competitive to LTIR out with lingering injuries that will start piling up though. Beau Bennett is a great example and he was a bigger player. Not a dman either. The players with slender builds, who can’t put on the weight, start piling up injuries. In Beau’s case the injuries started before he ever played an NHL game, but for years, he was the most talented 1991 born NA player.
So while it’s easy for fans who love stat sheets and exciting play, to just blindly endorse handing him a wealth contract, there’s this big question mark with him, and he hasn’t even been through an NHL schedule yet. Teams will adjust to his strengths as well. They’ll start matching up, to hit and wear him down.
Bottom line, they’re gonna try waiting as long as possible before handing him $65+ million. If it ends up costing them an extra $10 million by waiting, it’s likely a chance they’ll take.