Andy Sutton

Andrew Cameron Sutton (born March 10, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He has previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Edmonton Oilers, San Jose Sharks, Minnesota Wild, Atlanta Thrashers, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators and Anaheim Ducks in a 14-year career.

For the English cricketer, see Andy Sutton (cricketer).

Andy Sutton
Sutton with the Oilers in 2012
Born (1975-03-10) March 10, 1975
London, Ontario, Canada[1][2]
Height 6 ft 6 in (198 cm)
Weight 245 lb (111 kg; 17 st 7 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for San Jose Sharks
Minnesota Wild
Atlanta Thrashers
New York Islanders
Ottawa Senators
Anaheim Ducks
Edmonton Oilers
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 1998–2012

Playing career

Minor/Collegiate

Sutton was born in London, Ontario, and played most of his youth hockey with the Greater London Hockey Association and the rep London Sabres AAA program.

At the age of 14, Sutton moved with his family to Kingston, Ontario.[2] He played Junior "B" hockey in Gananoque, Ontario, at age 16, later playing in the Metro Toronto Junior Hockey League for St. Mike's B's.[1] His play with St. Mike's earned him a scholarship to play collegiate hockey for Michigan Technological University in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). Sutton played four seasons with Michigan Tech, where he switched from left wing to defence.[2]

Professional

Six weeks before he was to finish his degree in environmental engineering, Sutton was signed as a free agent by the NHL's San Jose Sharks on March 20, 1998.[2] He made his NHL debut with the Sharks in the 1998–99 season and played in 71 games in his two seasons with San Jose before being selected by the Minnesota Wild in the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft.

Sutton played parts of two seasons with the Wild before being traded to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for forward Hnat Domenichelli on January 22, 2002. Sutton spent over four-and-a-half years with the Thrashers, appearing in 273 games and establishing himself as one of the NHL's most physically-imposing defenders. In 2005–06, Sutton registered a career-high eight goals and 25 points.

Sutton (right) and Brendan Witt in 2008

Sutton became an unrestricted free agent after the 2006–07 season and signed a three-year contract with the New York Islanders on August 10, 2007.[3] In the 2008–09 season, his second with the Islanders, Sutton played in only 23 games before a broken foot sidelined him for the remainder of the season.[4]

Sutton returned for the 2009–10 season, scoring four goals in 54 games with the Islanders before being traded to the Ottawa Senators at the NHL trade deadline in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, a pick Ottawa had acquired as part of the trade that sent All-Star Dany Heatley to San Jose. TV commentator Don Cherry called it the "biggest" trade of the year in reference to Sutton's size and the potential impact his physical play could make for the Senators in the post-season.[5][6] Indeed, in Ottawa's first round playoff series Sutton delivered a devastating and much publicized hip-check to Pittsburgh Penguins' defenceman Jordan Leopold, described as one of the most devastating hits in recent memory.[7][8]

On August 2, 2010, Sutton signed as a free agent to a two-year, $4.25 million contract with the Anaheim Ducks.[9] After only one season in Anaheim, Sutton was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Kurtis Foster on July 1, 2011 .

While with the Oilers, Sutton delivered an illegal check to the head on Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog on October 28, 2011. Though Landeskog was uninjured, the illegality of the hit resulted in a five-game suspension for Sutton.[10] Just a few weeks later, on December 8, 2011, Sutton was suspended indefinitely pending a hearing as a result of a hit delivered to Carolina Hurricanes' forward Alexei Ponikarovsky.[11] He ended up receiving an eight-game suspension.[12] Sutton finished the season with three goals and ten points in 52 games.

On May 22, 2013, Sutton officially announced his retirement from professional hockey.[13]

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1994–95 Michigan Technological University WCHA 19 2 1 3 42 — — — — —
1995–96 Michigan Technological University WCHA 32 2 2 4 38 — — — — —
1996–97 Michigan Technological University WCHA 32 2 7 9 73 — — — — —
1997–98 Michigan Technological University WCHA 38 16 24 40 97 — — — — —
1997–98 Kentucky Thoroughblades AHL 7 0 0 0 33 — — — — —
1998–99 San Jose Sharks NHL 31 0 3 3 65 — — — — —
1998–99 Kentucky Thoroughblades AHL 21 5 10 15 53 5 0 0 0 23
1999–00 Kentucky Thoroughblades AHL 3 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
1999–00 San Jose Sharks NHL 40 1 1 2 80 — — — — —
2000–01 Minnesota Wild NHL 69 3 4 7 131 — — — — —
2001–02 Minnesota Wild NHL 19 2 4 6 35 — — — — —
2001–02 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 24 0 4 4 46 — — — — —
2002–03 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 53 3 18 21 114 — — — — —
2003–04 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 65 8 13 21 94 — — — — —
2004–05 ZSC Lions NLA 8 2 2 4 32 1 0 1 1 2
2004–05 GCK Lions NLB 18 8 18 26 58 — — — — —
2005–06 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 76 8 17 25 144 — — — — —
2006–07 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 55 2 14 16 76 4 0 0 0 10
2007–08 New York Islanders NHL 58 1 7 8 86 — — — — —
2008–09 New York Islanders NHL 23 2 8 10 40 — — — — —
2009–10 New York Islanders NHL 54 4 8 12 73 — — — — —
2009–10 Ottawa Senators NHL 18 1 0 1 34 6 0 0 0 8
2010–11 Anaheim Ducks NHL 39 0 4 4 87 1 0 0 0 2
2011–12 Edmonton Oilers NHL 52 3 7 10 80 — — — — —
NHL totals 676 38 112 150 1185 11 0 0 0 20

Awards and honours
Award Year
College
All-WCHA Second Team 1998

Transactions

References
  1. Scanlon, Wayne (April 1, 2010). "Time to drop the past". Ottawa Citizen.
  2. Kennedy, Patrick (March 31, 1998). "Sutton looks to find way to San Jose". Kingston Whig-Standard. p. 20.
  3. "Islanders sign ex-Thrashers defenceman Sutton". ESPN. August 10, 2007. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
  4. Martin, Dan (March 26, 2009). "Islanders go down with fights". NY Post. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
  5. "Senators acquire Sutton from Islanders". NHL. March 2, 2010. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
  6. Coach's Corner broadcast, CBC, March 27, 2010.
  7. "Sutton hit on Leopold livens up series". Toronto Sun. April 17, 2010. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
  8. "Andy Sutton Hits Jordan Leopold". NHLdigest.com. April 17, 2010. Archived from the original on June 6, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
  9. "Ducks ink Sutton to two-year contract". The Sports Network. August 2, 2010. Archived from the original on August 4, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  10. "Oilers' Andy Sutton suspended five games". USA Today. November 1, 2011. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
  11. "Sutton suspended indefinitely, pending hearing". NHL. December 8, 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
  12. "Oilers' Andy Sutton suspended for illegal hit". The Globe and Mail. December 8, 2011. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
  13. "Veteran blueliner Sutton retires from NHL". The Sports Network. May 22, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
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