Until Tuesday, the UFA defenseman with the most minutes played per game last season was Jake Gardiner.



That honor now belongs to Ben Hutton after the Vancouver Canucks decided not to qualify him at $2.4 million, making him a free agent.



Hutton averaged 22:21 minutes per game this past season, tops among all UFA blueliners. (For the record, I am not suggesting that this makes Hutton the top UFA D target.)



Despite being ahead on ice time, he is of course further down in the free-agent pecking order, behind Gardiner, Tyler Myers and Anton Stralman, among others.



But at 26 years old, Hutton is an intriguing option, depending on the price.



The Canucks informed Hutton’s camp that they would still like to re-sign him, but in the meantime, other clubs have reached out to make inquiries. I’m told Montreal is among those teams, which would surprise no one given the Canadiens’ hope to upgrade on the left side of their blue line. But...