Hutton is definitely not a guy you want as a shutdown Dman. With him, the sum is less than his parts. His underlying stats suggest that he's a good neutral zone defender. He's also pretty good at exiting with possession. But his D down low isn't good. That's why Jordie Benn is seen as a huge upgrade defensively. Hutton has good size but he doesn't play physical. He has a good shot and can carry the puck but somehow he hasn't put things together and put up good offensive production.
Basically, many of us see Hutton as a guy who should be a solid 2nd pairing Dman who can produce offensively. But that never materialized.
Trying to figure out which pairing works for Hutton is a bit difficult as he has never played in a pairing where you can say he made a positive impact.
Yeah. Hutton is not a guy you want anywhere near a "shutdown" role. You want him matched up in manageable, softer minutes with a steady partner. Ideally as a bottom-pairing guy who can slide up if you have injuries.
Some Canucks fans will make way too much of the idea that Gudbranson is the sole reason Hutton struggled. Realistically though, Gudbranson looked better away from Hutton too. It just wasn't a pairing that worked for either of them. But Hutton has really only looked serviceable, when carried by a better/more stable partner who can cover up for some of his mistakes.
He's that kind of awkward "offensive defenceman" who likes to have the puck on his stick, but hasn't really translated that to a lot of tangible offensive results. More so, he's a useful defenceman who is a bit soft and prone to really frustrating mistakes. He'd be a solid bottom-pairing defenceman who can move up in a pinch...but he doesn't really play that type of "easy" and "simple" game coaches typically prefer in those depth defencemen.
There are tools there, and it continues to fool some people into thinking there's a lot more there...but the guy is 26 now, with 4 NHL seasons under his belt, yet he's barely distinguishable from the kid he was when he entered the league. Just no real progression.