In September, 1971 McCutcheon signed a pro contract with the Detroit Red Wings. He played for three teams called the Wings that year, unfortunately none was Detroit. He played with the Fort Worth Wings of the CHL, the Tidewater Red Wings of the AHL and the Port Huron Wings of the IHL and then in 1972-73 it was the Virginia Wings.

In 1973-74 McCutcheon made the decision to play for a season in Britain. He appeared in 71 games with the London Lions, scoring 47 goals and 75 points. Although it was clear the overall talent level was lower than in North America, the strong offensive output did a lot for McCutcheon's lagging confidence in his game.

McCutcheon returned to North America and got his first chance to play in the NHL in 1974-75 with Detroit. He contributed three goals and four points in 17 games. The following year he was called up for another eight games, but saw very little ice time and remained off the scoresheet. He played his final year in the NHL in 1976-77, getting the call for another 12 games as an injury replacement, but again was held pointless.

After his playing days ended, McCutcheon got involved with coaching first in Austria and then with Elmira College, an NCAA Division Three school. From 1987 to 1995 he was back coaching at his alma mater, Cornell before accepting a coaching position with the Los Angeles Ice Dogs. McCutcheon then took the coaching post with the AHL's Rochester Americans from 1997 to 2000, leading the team to the Calder Cup finals in the last two years before being promoted by the Buffalo Sabres where he now serves as the team's assistant coach to head coach Lindy Ruff and associate coach Don Lever.

Courtesy of the Hockey Hall of Fame