Sabres' Hutton reveals he played with vision disorder during season

Buffalo Sabres goalie Carter Hutton confessed he struggled with an ongoing vision issue during the 2019-20 season.

After seeking treatment, Hutton discovered he suffered from convergence insufficiency, a disorder in which a person's eyes don't move at the same time. He learned his left eye moved slower than his right and attended therapy throughout the season to correct the problem.

"It started to come back around big time in January," Hutton said, according to Buffalo News' Lance Lysowski.

He added, "(Therapy) became part of my daily routine. I would do a ton of different eye training and things to get better at that. In the moment it was obviously tough. Now, moving forward, I learned a lot of skills to help improve that area and make my eye strength better and work on stuff. We weren't sure what it was. It was something I managed throughout the season."

Hutton admitted the vision impairment made it difficult for him to track pucks on the ice, and even routine practice drills became difficult.

The 34-year-old doesn't blame his eyesight for his poor play at times during the season. From Oct. 24 to Jan. 30, the veteran netminder recorded an 0-8-4 record with a 4.04 goals-against average and .872 save percentage.

"I didn't perform as well as I needed to at times, and obviously, I think it was 12 straight I was winless, which is really tough to swallow," Hutton said.

He continued, "It's obviously something that needs to change. During the year, I can't have these lulls and I'll get back to doing what I do best. I've played in the league for a long time. I didn't just forget how to play. I had a rough go with some stuff and we'll get back to it."

Hutton went 12-14-4 with a 3.18 goals-against average and .898 save percentage in his second season with the Sabres.

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