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.

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. 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.

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. 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. 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.

On August 2, 2010, Sutton signed as a free agent to a two-year, $4.25 million contract with the Anaheim Ducks. 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. 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. He ended up receiving an eight-game suspension. 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.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1991–92 Gananoque Islanders EOJBHL 36 11 9 20 — 14 9 21 30 — 1992–93 Gananoque Islanders EOJBHL 38 14 9 23 — 12 16 13 29 — 1993–94 St. Michael's Buzzers MetJHL 48 17 23 40 161 3 0 0 0 20 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 March 20, 1998 - Signed as a free agent by San Jose Sharks. June 12, 2000 - Traded to Minnesota by San Jose with San Jose's seventh-round choice (Peter Bartos) in 2000 NHL entry draft and San Jose's third-round choice in 2001 NHL entry draft for Minnesota's eighth-round choice in the 2001 Draft and future considerations. January 22, 2002 - Traded to Atlanta Thrashers by Minnesota for Hnat Domenichelli. September 24, 2004 - Signed as a free agent by GCK Zurich (Swiss-2). February 22, 2005 - Loaned to ZSC Zurich (Swiss) by GCK Zurich (Swiss-2). August 10, 2007 - Signed as a free agent by New York Islanders. March 2, 2010 - Traded to Ottawa Senators by Islanders for a second-round choice in 2010 NHL entry draft. August 2, 2010 - Signed as a free agent by Anaheim Ducks. July 1, 2011 - Traded to Edmonton Oilers by Anaheim Ducks for Kurtis Foster.