When it comes to the Boston Bruins and prospect goalies, they have had some good ones. Eighteen years ago, the Black and Gold used a third-round draft pick on a netminder named Michael Hutchinson. It's not a name that might ring a lot of bells for Bruins fans.
That would be understandable, as he never made his way to Boston during his time in the Bruins organization. Instead, he was in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Providence Bruins. During his time with the P-Bruins, he went 39-37-5 before he hit free agency in the summer of 2013 and signed with the Winnipeg Jets, where he got his chance in the NHL. On Monday, the Ontario native announced that he was retiring at the age of 36.
After 11 seasons in the @NHL, Michael Hutchinson has called it a career.
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) July 27, 2026
Congrats Hutch! We can't wait to see you at the Alumni Game in October ✈️ pic.twitter.com/bhowsJMPng
Former Bruins prospect Michael Hutchinson retires
Hutchinson was an emergency call-up for the Bruins a couple of times, but he never got into a game. Instead, the 6-foot-3 goalie would play 11 years in the NHL with six different teams after leaving Boston's organization. After five years with the Jets, Hutchinson also played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings.
He played 102 games for Winnipeg, posting a 43-39-11 record with a 2.65 goals-against average and a .910 SV%. He would play for years for the Maple Leafs with a 10-15-2 record and a 3.18 GAA and a .898 SV%.
Hutchinson left the Bruins when he was 23 years old, and it wasn't surprising that Boston let him walk. They were in the middle of the Tuukka Rask era, and there was going to be no opportunity to play much. After Rask, the Black and Gold moved on to the Jeremy Swayman era, which is going to be a while after he inked an eight-year deal two years ago with an AAV of $8.25 million.
Letting a young goalie walk is a difficult decision, as general manager Don Sweeney found out last summer when Brandon Bussi ended up with the Carolina Hurricanes and played a big role in them winning the Stanley Cup this past spring in six games over the Vegas Golden Knights.
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