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Will Butcher

Blackhawks, Red Wings Not Pursuing Will Butcher

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Craig Custance of The Athletic filled us in on some of the teams that haven’t called on NCAA free agent and reigning Hobey Baker award winner Will Butcher, saying that Detroit, Chicago, Toronto and San Jose all haven’t contacted him. Custance adds Columbus to the list of teams who have reached out, which also includes Buffalo, New Jersey and Vegas. Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post adds that the Flyers also are not pursuing him.

Butcher is expected to start visiting clubs that have reached out in the next few days, and should make a decision before the end of the month. The University of Denver defenseman is coming off a season in which he scored 37 points but still comes with plenty of concerns over his size and ability to transition to the NHL level.

With several teams inching closer to the contract cap, handing out an entry-level contract for a 22-year old fifth-round pick isn’t possible for everyone. That said, his high hockey IQ and growth in the college ranks has enticed at least a few teams that have little to lose. Columbus is an interesting addition, as the Blue Jackets already have a huge pipeline of young defenders. There doesn’t seem to be a clear path to the NHL for Butcher there, though perhaps their evaluation process has led them to believe he can make an immediate impact.

Unlike Jimmy Vesey last year, who nearly the entire league was in agreement with regards to his ability to play at the NHL level (if in a slightly reduced role from the one he was used to at Harvard), there is no guarantee that Butcher ever makes it. While he’s been clear that he is willing to start his professional career in the AHL, it would be foolish to sign with a team without a clear NHL role in the future. Even if his career doesn’t pan out, the opportunity he’s been given right now as one of the top college free agents is one he’ll take his time with and make the best decision for his future.

NCAA Notes: Butcher, Toninato, Clifton

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Today is finally the day that graduating NCAA draft picks shed their former teams and become unrestricted free agents, and Will Butcher has already been linked to a half dozen teams. One team he won’t be talking to? Tampa Bay, who according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times are “not among the early suitors” for the reigning Hobey Baker award winner.

Butcher is expected to sign within the next week, and all along has said he’s open to starting the year in the AHL if it meant coming aboard with a franchise with recent success or at least trending towards a championship. Whether that holds true in the face of an opening day NHL role in places like New Jersey and Buffalo is still to be seen.

  • Dominic Toninato is another name to keep an eye on, after he went unsigned by the Toronto Maple Leafs because of their contract squeeze. Matt Wellens of the Duluth News Tribune reports that the Maple Leafs did in fact offer Toninato an entry-level contract last spring after his junior season, but found themselves without any room this summer. Toninato could be one of the first names off the board, since he was given permission to speak with other teams early. The 6’2″ forward isn’t the usual undersized offering from the college ranks, and has considerable potential in a bottom-six role.
  • Among other names to watch from the college ranks is Connor Clifton, who didn’t sign with the Arizona Coyotes after four years at Quinnipiac. The in-your-face defender took a slight step backwards this year on a worse team, but could still provide some depth on the blueline for a club around the league. He’s still just 22, relatively young for a college free agent, and plays about as physical as you can for a 5’11” 175-lbs player.

Will Butcher To Meet With Buffalo, New Jersey, Vegas

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Though he’s not able to actually sign a contract anywhere until tomorrow, Will Butcher has already set up some visits. Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reports that the DU Pioneers’ captain will meet with the Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils and Vegas Golden Knights among others tomorrow after becoming a free agent. Butcher has been previously linked—however tenuously—to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks.

Butcher has said he won’t rule out Colorado in his free agency, but after being snubbed by the team (and specifically then head coach Patrick Roy) in 2015, still seems like a long shot to end up in Denver. Instead, two of his three teams are obvious choices if he wants to contribute right away. Buffalo and New Jersey both have their eyes set on the playoffs and need huge defensive upgrades if they’re going to get there, and Vegas is looking for core players to build their team around. The 22-year old Butcher will be signing a two-year entry-level deal wherever he signs, though bonus structures can vary.

He and he agent have been clear that immediate opportunity is not the only thing Butcher is looking for, and a winning organization will also be considered, but playing big minutes in your first two years is the only way to get a big raise after your entry-level deal expires. In New Jersey and Buffalo he’d be given that opportunity.

Even though Vegas is the new kid on the block and is probably after any premium free agent, there doesn’t seem to be a great fit there. The Golden Knights already have seven or eight NHL-level left-handed defensemen in their system, and if they can’t move any they’re already in for a roster crunch at the start of the year. Butcher will be waiver exempt when he enters the league and would be the easy choice for them to move to the minors.

Expiring NCAA Draft Rights

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Will Butcher and Alex Kerfoot have graced many headlines over the last few months, as players who will be heading to free agency next week when their exclusive draft rights expire. Since they finished their senior years without an NHL entry-level contract, they can test the market on August 16th and sign wherever they want.

They’re not the only two, and CapFriendly provides us with a full list of players whose rights will expire next week. Several of the names listed have already signed minor league contracts with various organizations for next year, and will be excluded from the list below. The remaining players are as follows:

Sam Kurker – St. Louis Blues (2nd round, 2012)
Taylor Cammarata – New York Islanders (3rd round, 2013)
Chris Calnan – Chicago Blackhawks (3rd round, 2013)
Rhett Holland – Arizona Coyotes (4th round, 2012)
Zach Nagelvoort – Edmonton Oilers  (4th round, 2014)
Will Butcher – Colorado Avalanche (5th round, 2013)
Doyle Somerby – New York Islanders (5th round, 2012)
Dominic Toninato – Toronto Maple Leafs (5th round, 2012)
Evan Campbell – Edmonton Oilers (5th round, 2013)
Connor Clifton – Arizona Coyotes (5th round, 2013)
Teemu Kivihalme – Nashville Predators (5th round, 2013)*
Grant Besse – Anaheim Ducks (5th round, 2013)
Alex Kerfoot – New Jersey Devils (5th round, 2012)
Ben Storm – Colorado Avalanche (6th round, 2013)
Tim Harrison – Calgary Flames (6th round, 2013)
Collin Olson – Carolina Hurricanes (6th round, 2012)
Chris Leblanc – Ottawa Senators (6th round, 2013)
Clifford Watson – San Jose Sharks (6th round, 2012)
James De Haas – Detroit Red Wings (6th round, 2012)
Blaine Byron – Pittsburgh Penguins (6th round, 2013)
Wade Murphy – Nashville Predators (7th round, 2013)
Brendan Collier – Carolina Hurricanes (7th round, 2012)
Jedd Soleway – Arizona Coyotes (7th round, 2013)
Nolan De Jong – Minnesota Wild (7th round, 2013)

*Has signed with Karpat of the Finnish Liiga.

Many of these players spent time in the minor leagues this past spring on amateur tryout contracts, but will become free agents if not signed by end of day on August 15th. That gives teams time to still get them into their system, but in cases like Toninato there may just not be enough room to fit him in on an entry-level contract. Even those on minor league deals will be free agents at the end of their contract, as those do not protect exclusive draft rights.

Chicago Blackhawks Latest To Be Linked To Will Butcher

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Scott Powers of The Athletic reports that the Chicago Blackhawks are expected to be one of the teams chasing Will Butcher this summer, the Colorado draft pick who will become a free agent in two weeks. Already Detroit and Pittsburgh have been linked to the young defenseman, who will have his choice of teams after winning the Hobey Baker and dominating the college circuit last season.

It’s still unclear if Butcher, 22, is ready to step into an NHL role. His offensive production was excellent in college and he’s dominated his competition for some time, but he’s still an undersized defenseman without a standout skill. That can translate into struggles in the league, though Butcher is going to choose his landing spot carefully to provide the best situation for success. He’s said in the past that an immediate role isn’t necessary and that the long-term outlook for a franchise may be more important, but you’d have to think a chance to play with a team just a couple of hours south of his hometown could weigh on his decision.

There will be stiff competition for his services, and a decision won’t have to be made right away. Butcher could wait a few weeks and still be under contract before camp starts. Remember last season, when Jimmy Vesey was in a similar situation that he didn’t sign until August 19th.

NHL Snapshots: Dallas Stars, Zadorov, Butcher

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As announced yesterday, the Dallas Stars will host the 2018 NHL Entry Draft at American Airlines Arena on June 22-23. One key reason they received the honor, according to NHL.com’s Sean Shapiro, is that 2018 will mark the team’s 25th anniversary in Dallas and NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said the way the team has successfully built a hockey community is a main reason for get awarded with the draft.

“I think they’ve done a fabulous job over the 25 years they’ve been here,” Daly said. “The Stars organization has led the way in turning a non-traditional hockey market into a hockey market. Your involvement in promoting and supporting youth hockey in the greater Dallas area comes from rink initiatives and sponsoring youth hockey teams. It’s not only inspiring, but it’s a model that all NHL clubs in non-traditional markets aspire to.”

Stars CEO and president Jim Lites said it has been a two-year commitment to get the draft to come to Dallas. The team has worked hard this year to get back into the playoff picture after a down year for their 25th anniversary. They have hired coach Ken Hitchcock, traded for goaltender Ben Bishop and defenseman Marc Methot and signed several key free agents, including Alexander Radulov and Martin Hanzal.

  • Adrian Dater of BSN Denver, writes that it is highly unlikely that Colorado Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov will return to the KHL next year when his contract is up. Dater writes that the defensive defenseman and Colorado are less and $1MM apart in negotations and believes the Avalanche wouldn’t let the future restricted free agent leave over that little money. Zadorov, who was the key piece in the Ryan O’Reilly trade two years ago, played 56 games last year for the Avalanche and had 10 assists.
  • Joe Haggerty of CSNNE writes the Bruins, who are well-known for going after top college talent, should not consider signing Hobey Baker Award winner Will Butcher. The defenseman, who will become a free agent if he doesn’t sign with Colorado before Aug. 15, is likely to receive multiple offers. However, Haggerty writes that the team doesn’t need another undersized, unproven player on their defense since they already have Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy on the roster.

Detroit Red Wings Will Pursue Will Butcher

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The Colorado Avalanche were unable to convince reigning Hobey Baker award winner Will Butcher to sign with them after his final season with the University of Denver, and he will become a free agent after August 15th. Like last year with Jimmy Vesey, we’ll see plenty of teams reach out to the young defensemen to try and add a prospect to their organization for nothing more than an entry-level contract. We’ve already heard that Pittsburgh will likely be interested in him and that Butcher’s camp would welcome a call from the reigning Stanley Cup champions, and now Craig Custance of The Athletic reports that the Detroit Red Wings will also be involved.

The Red Wings have gone hard after free agents from college and Europe this offseason, trying to infuse as much young talent as they can into their franchise as it begins its next chapter. The Wings missed the playoffs for the first time since 1990 and are in quite the precarious situation salary cap-wise. It looks like the next few years will be a rough patch for one of the NHL’s oldest teams, and adding young cheap talent like Butcher could help that cause. Custance is quick to point out though that some scouts think of Butcher as more of a bottom-pairing player, and it would be tough to assume more than that. It’s rare that top-4 defensemen slip through the cracks and into the fifth round, and even rarer that they’re not offered a contract until their senior year. It’s clear that Butcher has some sort of NHL upside, but he is already 22-years old.

An interesting note is that the Toronto Maple Leafs—often a rival of Detroit in pursuing college free agents—don’t currently have a contract spot open for Butcher if they wanted to go after him. The team has 49 contracts already, and with Connor Brown still to sign they wouldn’t have room for Butcher on an entry-level contract. That’s not to say they couldn’t get him to agree to an AHL deal this year, only to sign him next season but Butcher would be giving up a year of ELC to do that. It would have to be quite a pitch to convince him, especially if teams like Detroit and Pittsburgh are offering more immediate opportunities.

Will Butcher Will Not Sign With Colorado Before Deadline

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According to Adrian Dater of BSNDenver, reigning Hobey Baker award winner Will Butcher will not sign with the Colorado Avalanche before the August 15th deadline, and instead will become a free agent. Dater quotes Butcher’s agent Brian Bartlett as saying they will head to free agency but are “not ruling out the Avalanche as a potential destination.” Like Jimmy Vesey last summer, Butcher will be granted free agency this summer after completing his four seasons in the NCAA.

A fifth-round pick by the Avalanche in 2013, the 22-year old Butcher has developed into a complete two-way defender in the college ranks capable of putting up big point totals and logging huge amounts of ice time. For the University of Denver this year, Butcher put up 37 points in 43 games as a key piece on the nation’s best team. The Pioneers would end up winning the NCAA Championship over UMD on the back of an incredible performance from Jarid Lukosevicius—who scored three goals in a single period to put his team ahead for good—but rode Butcher all year as the best player in the country.

Given the captain’s “C” in his senior season, Butcher was awarded nearly every accolade available for a defenseman including First Team All-American, Conference Player of the Year and Frozen Four Tournament All-Star. His collegiate career ends with 28 goals, 75 assists and 103 points, all three of which will put him in the top-10 all-time among Denver defensemen.

There is no guarantee that Butcher will make an impact at the next level, but he will certainly be pursued by teams around the league hoping his up-tempo style will translate to NHL success right away. He’ll have to sign a two-year entry-level contract, but the bonus structures will be part of what can woo him to a certain market. Teammates Troy Terry, Henrik Borgstrom and Dylan Gambrell are draft picks of Anaheim, Florida and San Jose respectively, though their may not be any leverage gained there since each one could also go this route and become a free agent when their college time is up. For what it’s worth, Butcher is a Wisconsin native who played in Madison growing up before joining the US Development Program and then the collegiate ranks.

NCAA All-American Teams Named

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Prior to the reveal of University of Denver defenseman Will Butcher as the 2017 Hobey Baker Award-winner and ahead of the NCAA championship game tomorrow night, the American Hockey Coaches Association released the rosters of this year’s collegiate All-American Teams. The teams, first and second squads from either side of the country, are listed below with their NCAA teams as well as NHL-drafted or signed organization, if applicable:

East All-Americans

First Team:

RW Zach Aston-Reese, Northeastern (Pittsburgh Penguins)

RW Spencer Foo, Union

C Mike Vecchione, Union (Philadelphia Flyers)

D Adam Fox, Harvard (Calgary Flames)

D Charlie McAvoy, Boston University (Boston Bruins)

G Charles Williams, Canisius

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Will Butcher Wins Hobey Baker Award

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On Friday night, the top player in college hockey was announced as Denver defenseman Will Butcher. Butcher edged out Northeastern winger Zach Aston-Reese and Union College center Mike Vecchione, the other Hat Trick finalists, for the Hobey Baker Award, the highest honor in NCAA hockey. Butcher is the first defenseman to win the award since Boston University’s Matt Gilroy in 2009.

Butcher had an incredible season for the University of Denver Pioneers, and he’s not done yet. Denver, the top seed in the country, is set to take on Minnesota-Duluth for the NCAA National Championship tomorrow night, a reward that Butcher would likely covet even more than the Hobey Baker. However, for now he can relish in the spotlight of being names the top player in college hockey. Butcher scored seven goals and added 30 assists in 42 games this season, good enough for second in scoring among defensemen, and his +27 rating ranked among the top ten in all skaters. Butcher was also named the top offensive defenseman in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference and is also a stout defender in his own end.

Unlike Aston-Reese (7 points in 7 games for the AHL’s Wilke-Barre/Scranton Penguins) and Vecchione (debuted for the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday), Butcher won’t be seeing any NHL action this season. A fifth-round pick of none other than the NHL’s worst team, the Colorado Avalanche, in 2013, Butcher has the option of signing with the Avs after his season ends tomorrow night, but by then Colorado will have just a Sunday matinee remaining in the season. While Colorado certainly hopes that the nation’s best player and a college senior would still sign with the team soon regardless – they could definitely use a top young defenseman – that may not be the case. It is already April and Denver’s success has eliminated any chance that Butcher can make his pro debut this season. He could easily instead choose to hold out until August and test free agency for the best opportunity to both play and win. Colorado has not been very good at the latter, but time will only tell what the next step is for the Hobey Baker winner. His focus right now is on adding another trophy to his collection tomorrow night.

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