Hutchinson’s ‘roller-coaster ride’ : recalled to Jets for second time this month

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This article was published 19/01/2018 (2850 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Michael Hutchinson was back in the NHL Friday morning and, in an unexpected twist, spoke publicly for the first time about the strain he’s experienced during his roller-coaster season.

Recalled by the Winnipeg Jets for the second time this month as an emergency replacement for an injured Steve Mason, the 27-year-old goaltender admitted being sent to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose out of training camp was difficult to accept.

“I think it’s pretty obvious how anyone would (react),” said Hutchinson, who had declined all previous interview requests this season.

“If you’re demoted in a job, you’re going to be pissed off. Being sent down was getting demoted. There’s no way to sugarcoat it — it sucks. So, I was pissed off. There’s still days you come to the rink where you’re still pissed off that you’re down there.

“There’s two ways you can go about it. You can just sulk and let your game kinda go to crap or you can use it as motivation and prove to people that put you there are wrong and show that you should be up at the NHL level. So that’s what I’m trying to do — prove people wrong and just control what I can control.”

Hutchinson has done anything but sulk in his time with the Moose. He is in the midst of a terrific season, earning AHL all-star honours while posting a 14-2-4 record and leading the league with a .942 save percentage. His 1.94 goals-against average is third in the league and he is tied for third among AHL goalies with 14 wins.

Mason is recovering from his second concussion of the season and is sidelined indefinitely.

Hutchinson will travel with the Jets to Calgary for today’s game against the Flames (2 p.m., CBC, TSN 1290), but finally returning to the Jets after three years of regular duty in the NHL had an odd vibe.

“Hockey’s a funny game,” said Hutchinson, in the midst of his fifth season with the organization.

“It is different, it’s kind of an awkward atmosphere. You know, you get sent down and you get called back up and all season you don’t know what’s going on with you. Sometimes you think you’re on the move, sometimes you think you’re staying. It’s a complete roller-coaster ride.”

Jets head coach Paul Maurice, one of the people he is trying to prove wrong, said Hutchinson has gone about his work in the proper fashion.

“There’s two ways you can go about it. You can just sulk and let your game kinda go to crap or you can use it as motivation and prove to people that put you there are wrong and show that you should be up at the NHL level. So that’s what I’m trying to do — prove people wrong and just control what I can control.”–Michael Hutchinson

“That’s the job,” said Maurice. “That’s the challenge of that job. When you get put to the three-hole in the goaltending you’re not on the team. You can go from first line to fourth line and still be on the team. But there’s not a lot of room with goaltending and you have to play. So that’s the real challenge for Mike. He’s done it right.

“At the end of this, it’s all performance-based. And he’s gone down and done everything he could do to get a chance to be the guy that got called up this time. And then very probably he’s going to get himself into a game, and that’s the chance again.”

Maurice hinted Hutchinson may get some work in short order, although he will back up No. 1 man Connor Hellebuyck against the Flames.

The Jets return home to host the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday at 7 p.m.

“We’ll use him the same way we would consider using Mason at this point,” said Maurice.

“We’ll take a look at (the Vancouver) game, because it’s back-to-back. But it’s a different kind. It’s a day and a half, so that leaves a little bit more of a door open. But we’re going to do a bunch of time zones here in the next four games, so try to be aware of that.”

Hutchinson, who has been the subject of trade speculation this season, is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the off-season.

“Not really thinking about that all right now,” said Hutchinson, on his contract status.

“It’s one of those things that it’s been my mindset all season. You can’t really look too far in advance or else you can lose sight of what you need to do. I’ll cross that bridge in the summer when I come to it, but right now, I’m just here to help any team that I’m on, whether it’s the Moose or Jets or wherever, to help them win games and do my job…

“The business side of it I can’t control. I want to be in the NHL full time and I know I can play in the NHL full time, so the rest of it I can’t control.

“The only thing I can control is showing up at the rink every day and playing well.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @sawa14