Andy Sutton

Andrew Cameron "Andy" Sutton (born March 10, 1975) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. Heplayed for the San Jose Sharks, Minnesota Wild, Atlanta Thrashers, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators Anaheim Ducks and the Edmonton Oilers.

Playing career
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.

He moved with his family to Kingston, Ontario at age 14. Sutton 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. His play with St. Mike's earned him a scholarship to play collegiate hockey for Michigan Tech in the WCHA. Sutton played four seasons with Michigan Tech, where he switched from left wing to defence.

Six weeks before he was to finish his degree in environmental engineering, Sutton was signed as a free agent by the San Jose Sharks on March 20, 1998. Sutton 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 moving to the Minnesota Wild in the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft.

Sutton played parts of two seasons with the Wild before he was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers for Hnat Domenichelli on January 22, 2002. Sutton played over four and a half years with the Thrashers, appearing in 273 games and established himself as an imposing physical defender at the NHL level. In the 2005–06 season, Sutton registered a career high 8 goals and 25 points.

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. In the 2008–09 season, his second year 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 4 goals in 54 games with the Islanders before being traded to the Ottawa Senators for a second round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft on March 2, 2010. TV commentator Don Cherry called it the "biggest" trade of the year in reference to Sutton's size and physical play.

On August 2, 2010, Sutton signed as a free agent to a two-year, $4.25 million contract with the Anaheim Ducks.

On July 1, 2011 Sutton was sent to The Edmonton Oilers in a trade that sent Kurtis Foster to the Anaheim Ducks. On October 28, 2011 Sutton delivered an illegal check to the head on Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog.

On May 22, 2013 Sutton announced his retirement from the NHL

Awards and achievements

 * 1997–98 WCHA Second All-Star Team

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 7th-round choice (Peter Bartos) in 2000 Entry Draft and San Jose's 3rd round choice in 2001 Entry Draft for Minnesota's 8th-round choice in 2001 Entry 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 draft 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.