Update: forget the rest of this story, it just got weird.

Craig Morgan, an Arizona reporter has the second chapter of this story:

Morgan is saying that the Leafs will loan Hutton back to Arizona (he will play with their AHL team in Tucson) and he won’t have to move. This kind of loan of a player to another team’s AHL franchise is not unprecedented. The Leafs have done it at least twice, once accepting a loan from Buffalo, and one loaning Kasimir Kaskisuo to the Chicago Wolves.

The key point is that the Leafs pay the salary. So the Coyotes gain financially, and in terms of SPC space. A team like them — looking to swing deals to take on cap dumps at the deadline — needs all the space they can make. This is a very clever way to do that, but the question remaining is what is Kyle Dubas buying with this deal?

A sort of update:

The Marlies are not short of goalies.

Note: all of this part of the story is obsolete

The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Carter Hutton today in exchange for what should maybe be called “past considerations”. Hutton, who was waived by Arizona while the Leafs were waiving Ryan Dzingel, cleared today, and that means the Coyotes would have to pay him still, and he’s due $750,000 no matter where he plays.

Because Hutton cleared waivers, he can report directly to the Marlies. Hutton is 36, and his deal expires this summer.

For the Maple Leafs they get a very experienced NHL goalie (235 NHL games) as depth. But where does he fit in the depth chart in terms of ability? That’s a tough question. Once touted as a great goalie, he has one of the best seasons by save percentage in recent years — in 32 starts in 2017-2018, he produced an amazing .931.

Since then, thing haven’t been so rosy. He spent three years in Buffalo before this season in Arizona, and if you believe save percentage is a team stat, you might write off his poor results to the teams he was on.

This season he’s suffered from injury, and was on IR for an ankle injury right before he was waived. He’s only got three games in so far. They haven’t been pretty.

In theory, he’s better than Michael Hutchinson, who has had his own injury and Covid absences, but played today in a thumping of the Laval Rocket.

The very first comment I’ve seen is a leap to the conclusion that the Leafs are looking to trade Petr Mrázek, but that seems extraordinarily precipitous, considering Hutton hasn’t played yet after coming off IR. I think insurance is a better thought to have than leaping to put him in the NHL.

The Coyotes will apparently give away players rather than pay them though, which is not a good look for the NHL. They don’t need another Ottawa.

Maple Leafs Trades