CorgisPer60
Barking at the net
Q&A with Jets goalie Michael Hutchinson on asking for a...
There's obviously more in the article, but out of respect for rules and pay walls, I'm not going to post them. These are the salient points, though.
HEXTALL: In your time with the Winnipeg Jets organization, you have had the chance to battle for the starting spot in goal. Why haven’t you been able to be the No. 1 in Winnipeg?
HUTCHINSON: I always find it funny people think I had opportunities to run with it. My first year in St. John’s, I got to play a ton of games and help the team make the playoffs. The next season, I started off the year with the Jets 4-0; had really good numbers and then I didn’t play for two weeks. At the time I get called into the office and the explanation was more the business side of things. So you don’t play for two weeks. Then I get some migraine problems in November and battled through those. By the time you get back to feeling 100 per cent you’re not playing a ton.
That season, Pavs (Ondrej Pavelec) goes down with an injury and Helley (Connor Hellebuck) gets called up. We’re playing back-to-back to start that set. Helley played against Minnesota and won that game and I played against Colorado and lost. Then they went right back to Helley. In that sense, as a goalie, to be given an opportunity you have to play three to five games in a row to get a chance to run with it and establish consistency. After my first year, I don’t think I’ve played more than two games in a row. For me it was frustrating, but the organization saw what they saw in Helley and this year they definitely saw the right thing in him. You can’t argue with that decision.
HEXTALL: Where did the discussion go with the Jets after Mason was signed?
HUTCHINSON: As soon as they signed Mason, we (Hutchinson and his agent) went right in and asked to get moved. I feel I’m an NHL goalie and I feel I can play and be successful at that level. Whether it is to play the games and prove I can be a starting goalie or being in a backup situation. I feel I can contribute in both scenarios in the NHL. I asked the team for a trade.
HEXTALL: You hit the century mark with your 100th NHL start in January. A 3-1 win over Tampa Bay that came with a side of controversy. You preach your goal is to be an NHL goaltender, but yet you’re up with the big club and chose to attend the AHL all-star game the day before you knew you had to start against the top team in the East. Why?
HUTCHINSON: Basically it came down to my eighth year in pro hockey and I had never played in an all-star game. It could be my only chance to play in an all-star game and it was a huge honour. The Jets said it was my decision, explained the travel to get back from the all-star game in Utica the day of my start and that it may be in my best interest not to play. At the same time, the Jets said it was my decision and I took time to think about it.
My decision was to play in the all-star game. It was a huge honour and at the end of my career I didn’t want to be kicking myself.
There's obviously more in the article, but out of respect for rules and pay walls, I'm not going to post them. These are the salient points, though.