Out of the free agent defencemen who are still available, I personally believe, other than Jake Gardiner of course, that Ben Hutton is the best option available. The Vancouver Canucks elected not to qualify Hutton when he was a restricted free agent, as they wanted to avoid going to arbitration with him.
Fans were upset about the prospect of losing the young defenceman for nothing, but it’s very possible that Hutton still returns to the Canucks next season — at least, the door is still open. When young defenceman are sought after the way they are in the NHL, it may come as a bit of a surprise that no team has elected to sign Hutton.