page_title: Andy Sutton
section_title: Professional
hierarchical_section_title: Andy Sutton / Playing career / Professional
caption_attribution_description: English: Brendan Witt and Andy Sutton in 2008
context_page_description: Andrew Cameron Sutton is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He has previously played in the National Hockey League with the Edmonton Oilers, San Jose Sharks, Minnesota Wild, Atlanta Thrashers, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators and Anaheim Ducks in a 14-year career.
context_section_description: 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. 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 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 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, 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. 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.
caption: Sutton (right) and Brendan Witt in 2008
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