Carter Hutton Talks The Future Of UPL And Goalies Around The League | Buffalo Sabres

Carter Hutton Talks The Future Of UPL And Goalies Around The League | Buffalo Sabres

Former Sabres Net Minder and now Daily Faceoff contributor Carter Hutton joins us here on Sabres Live. Carter, it’s great to see you. How you doing, man? I’m doing well. I I don’t know. Are you ready for two goalies? You’re outnumbered here, buddy. This is uh this is good. Excited to be on. Thanks for having me. Hey, it’s three goalies cuz Duffer is really a goalie, but he catches with the wrong hand. Carter, right-handed catching goalie, so that doesn’t count. I’m pretty much from the original six era, the way my body feels these days. Um, Carter, there are so many intriguing goalie situations across the league. It dawned on me during the break as Marty and I were talking about Vancouver struggles like if a team if is there one organization if they really needed a goalie right now you would contemplate coming out of retirement for? Oh, I don’t know. I don’t think anyone in that organization would uh would want me coming out. But honestly, you know what? I haven’t strapped the pads on since I finished. You know, it’s just one of those things you get away from it and you don’t know if you could come back. The way the the way these kids can shoot the puck now and there’s so much talent. I’m When I first came in, you know, Marty, you could probably understand this. I remember it was like 10 to 12 chances a game that were high quality. Now it feels like it’s 10 to 12 chances every 10 minutes. Everyone is so skilled and the game is so fast. Travels east west. I don’t know. My groins and hips, I’d be smoked. Duffer. Well, I’ll tell you this. I’ve done a few alumni games and the last one I did about 6 months ago I drove back home and 45 minutes later I couldn’t get out of the car. I stepped out and I crumbled to the to the ground. So that that’s what happened. I think I my career may be done but um you mentioned teams like Vancouver while Kevin Lankinan is going to not travel for personal reasons. They don’t have Tasher Demco. Um there’s a few three goalie situations around the league. Buffalo’s one, Carolina’s another. Seattle. Seattle, you got the Oilers that seem to always be looking for goalie. So, Nashville, where Carter played is a bit of a disastrous situation right now. Like, there’s a lot going on. So, where do you think the first domino falls when you think of a team that has to acquire a goalie and will make a move at some point? You know what? I I think the first domino that starts to go is when I look at the Vancouver Conucks right now and just where they’re at cuz they’re kind of in this like middle line where you have some good players but you don’t have any depth. You have Demco where he hasn’t been healthy now Lankin and so it feels like they have a few assets that they can move off of. You talk about Keer Sherwood, Tyler Meyer, some key guys that I’m sure teams would love to add. You think about adding Kefir Sherwood, how he can score and defend and and be a great bottom six player for, you know, an organization maybe trying to make the playoffs. I think about Detroit adding Tyler Myers or a player like that. And as for goalending, it’s tough, right? This is it’s such a volatile position now. And you think of a team like Buffalo, obviously I they’re near and dear to me. My daughter was born there and and obviously my time there didn’t go as planned. But that being said, you know, the depth that they have, they kind of need to win now, too. So, I don’t really think you want to move a guy quickly because some of these other teams, Vancouver has a little bit longer of a leash in my opinion where, you know, they were just good. But now you got to try to start winning again. And as for the Edmonton Oilers, I don’t know what to think anymore with Steuart Skinner. You know, he goes from being the best goalie in the world for 10 games and then the worst goalie for 10. So I could see them moving off of Calvin Pequard pretty soon, right? He is a guy in today’s day and age. I love him. He’s a gamer, but he’s like Marty Duffer, you guys know, he’s clunky, right? He doesn’t really look the part compared to the normal goalies. He’s a puck stopper. and the way that Edmonton at times can just not defend. They give up so many high quality chances when he is in net compared to how they did last year protecting him. So that could be a team where I think there’s a lot of pressure on them when you think of the Conor McDavid window to win here. Yeah, it’s a great point and especially with the Oilers and Skinner because he turned in a really strong just a super physical team effort by Edmonton and beating Florida on Saturday. It was one of the highlight games of the weekend for me just the intensity with which it was played. But you’re right, like you have those moments and Edmonton realizes like we have to keep going. We have to get this stability here. And then, you know, Marty mentioned the three goalie systems around the around the league right now. I I couldn’t It’s his birthday today. Maybe that’s part of why I thought about it. But Philip Grubower is 34. He’s actually posted amazing numbers in his five games this year and he’s got one year left on his deal after this season. And we’ve been saying he’s unmovable. He’s unmovable. But like what if this continues for another month, Carter, where Grubower’s numbers are good and he has the resume like do you think somebody will nibble at that? Yeah, I I think there’s a potential right when you think of a team, you know, say if Buffalo starts racking some wins together and maybe he becomes a piece that gives you a little more stability or, you know, like you think about some of the teams across the league, even Edmonton, if they could just ditch that money and maybe save some cap. My worry in Seattle is they’re still winning. Joey Decord’s playing very well. It’s going to be the health of Matt Murray, right? Matt Murray becomes that X factor because it seems like he can’t stay healthy. And I’m biased. He’s a Thunder Bay boy. He’s been very good this year for them. He doesn’t have the results, per se, but he’s he stops the puck. So, Grubau is one of those guys for me. I’ve I played a lot against Grubau. We played against I was in the I was playing for the Toledo Walleye and he was in uh in the East Coast for the the Stingrays. I’ve always loved his game. He’s a smaller guy. He competes. He just makes way too much money and you’re not going to knock a guy like I would have took as much as I could get too if I’m Philip Grubver. Now they hold that against him but he still has a lot of game left. If he’s in a better situation maybe he’s a piece that moves out but I think that all depends on Matt Murray’s health. What do you think about Uko Pico Lucin and where he’s at now? Like the Sabres are carrying three. One of those guys came from St. Louis on waiverss and Colt Nellis you came over from St. Louis as well. Um, so it’s kind of interesting how things, you know, kind of work their way. Alex Lion’s an experienced more of an established guy that has been in many different organization who’s had a good start, but Lucin now has won two. You played with him a little bit your last year in Buffalo. Um, you know, where do you think Lucinan is at right now when you think of his progression, his contract, and where he needs to deliver? Yeah, you’re kind of at that make or break point for me too, right? When you’re 26 years old. Now I you know what, Marty, I think about my career and I really kind of cut my teeth and came in full-time at 26 and then I went on to play 230 plus games and had like, you know, a good amount of success within those 10 years in the NHL. But that being said, you know, we’re in an era now of hockey where we want kids to be good right away because we see other kids do it. we see other goalies or players come in and have immediate success. So at times I think there is that rush that we forget that he’s only 26 years old and it’s it’s he’s kind of at a point now in my career in his career sorry where if he can stay healthy, continue to play well, there’s still a lot of upside. So you don’t want to just move off a guy, right? Because all of a sudden you move them out and we’ve seen that before with how many Sabres that move out of town and then they have success and goalies are hard to come by if you’re not growing them at home, right? They don’t just go to free agency and get picked up. So for him, I think just giving him a little bit more of a leash and letting him play and then he’s insulated a bit. I think Alex Lion’s done a really good job from what I’ve seen. You guys obviously get to watch it a little more firsthand, but everywhere Alex Lion goes, he’s he’s a great goalie, right? He can play, he can help you be in situations. So maybe insulating UPPL a little bit as he comes back from injury would be a good factor because at the end of the day, if they’re really going to get over this hump, UPL needs to turn into the number one guy that he’s supposed to be. Well, they do have the three goalie carousel and Lion plays six minutes against Colorado. That’s six games ago and you know that’s the last time we’ve seen them. Um when you were here your last year with Buffalo, you had a six goalie carousel because you guys used six goalies that year. So So what’s worse, the three goalie carousel or the six goalie carousel? This or that? I I I think the this or that’s an easy one. I think the six goalie is worse, right? And you know, as I started to get older, you know, he had a few injuries and things went that way. And and honestly, I remember the one co year we had uh JJ was there with us, Jonas Johansson, who’s gone on to have a great career. He’s been doing unbelievable in Tampa Bay. And it was nice sometimes to have a third guy, you know, and and I think maturity-wise sets in where as long as you don’t have anyone who’s really undermining to the group, it’s so important. Like if you just if you all start to understand that you’re really only competing with yourself when you talk about goalending cuz if if the other guy starts playing bad and you’re not taking care of your business, it doesn’t matter anyway because at the end of the day there’s always going to be every team is watching you. You’re trying to grow your own individual stock. But if you can win as a team, it’s going to help everybody, you know. So it’s been a unique situation I think in the NHL now where you see so many so much depth and injuries. But, you know, like you guys have seen obviously in Buffalo, there’s uh you can never have too many good goalies. To me, the most fascinating goalie um most fascinating organization for goalies has been Nashville since their outset and you were a part of it, Carter. You came in and they’ve just been able to produce quality goalenders time after time after time. Jussi Sorrowos is probably the biggest talking point among all goalies right now. He’s in year one of his 8-year deal and it’s going very poorly for him and Nashville again. What happens here? Yeah, that’s a very interesting one now, too, cuz my take on that is is if you are to move off him now, like how bad does that look moving Ascarov, right? Like this was a factor where maybe if this wouldn’t have happened and you could have kept him and like you gave away Ascarov to the San Jose Sharks who is playing unbelievable to boot, right? He is a guy that if you look at the strong goalies under 25 years old in the NHL there’s Ascarov there’s Spencer Knight there’s Sheilaw and then Yper Walad has kind of staked his claim now in Minnesota. So that’s the biggest problem there I think and I think for years you look at you know there was Thomas Vun and then there was Chris Mason had a really good run there. Pekka Renee obviously who I had a chance to play with and now Yussi Sorrowos I remember at one point someone dropped a stat I’m like still way up there in like wins all time and I barely even played because majority of the times I I just kept opening the door for Perenn making sure he had a nice warm glass of coffee in between periods. So you know it just goes to show you how good that team has been for years and Jussi Sorrowos is going to be an interesting piece but they got to figure out how to put the puck in the net and and obviously didn’t fair you know Barry Trotz called out his team last night and they gave up eight so it didn’t go as planned. Yeah, not good. We have less than a minute here to the show. Carter Trey White is back in Buffalo with the Bills. Do you think you want to make another appearance as Carter Sutton on the Three White Goalie Academy? Uh, we can we could use you, man. Yeah, that’s Louisiana’s best hockey school, right, Marty? That was a that was a good little thing that they they got for us for the Trey White goalie academy. I think I still have that hoodie. I have a I have a cabin outside the city and I I wear my Trey White Goalie Academy hoodie with pride. I love it. Will if you come back on this show. That’s a big if after how we, you know, did this. No, I’m just kidding. You need to wear that. You need to find that for us, Carter. We need to have on Zoom as well. Like try to get him on Zoom. That’s awesome. That would be good. Amazing. Um, so you’ll spend uh holidays up there, I I presume. Yeah, this is this is just Thursday for me. I’m in Canada now, so we already had our Thanksgiving. We got the 20 centimeters coming. And uh but I appreciate you guys having me on a lot. [Music]

Former Buffalo Sabres Goalie, Carter Hutton, joined the Buffalo Sabres’ show, Sabres Live, with Brian Duff and Martin Biron on November 25, 2025. They discussed the future they see for Buffalo Sabres goalie, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, as well as other goalies around the league like Stuart Skinner and Philipp Grubauer. Carter also talked about the value of teamwork and being a part of the Tre White Goalie Academy.

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