by J.T. Toth
Photo courtesy of Marqueur.com.
The Penguins signed 28-year-old defenseman, Will Butcher, on Monday night. The signing was under the radar, but Draft 412 thinks it was a nice addition to the organization.
Butcher was drafted in the 5th round of the 2013 draft by the Colorado Avalanche, but he decided to play all four of his collegiate seasons at University of Denver, making him a college free agent. He won the Hobie Baker in 2016-2017, an award given to college hockey’s best player.
Butcher signed with the New Jersey Devils in 2017-2018, playing four seasons for them and one for the Buffalo Sabres before playing last season with the AHL’s Texas Stars. With the Stars, he scored 43 points in 65 games.
Butcher is a 5’10” and 190 lbs. left-handed shooting defenseman. The Penguins signed Butcher to a two-way contract at a $775,000 NHL salary and a $425,000 AHL salary.
Butcher is more of an offensive defenseman with a flare for playmaking but does struggle at times in his own end. He’s proven he can run a power play at the highest levels of the game and is very comfortable with the puck on his stick.
The Butcher signing does provide the Pens with some assurances in the event the team loses Kris Letang for any period of time due to injury. A low risk signing, Butcher adds depth to the 2023-2024 squad, one that can help with a scoring touch from the blue line.
Will Butcher
Defense
Born Jan 6 1995 -- Sun Prairie, WI
Height 5.10 -- Weight 195 -- Shoots L
Selected by Colorado Avalanche round 5 #123 overall 2013 NHL Entry Draft
--- Regular Season --- ---- Playoffs ----
Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017-18 New Jersey Devils NHL 81 5 39 44 8 5 1 3 4 0
2018-19 New Jersey Devils NHL 78 4 26 30 18 -- -- -- -- --
2019-20 New Jersey Devils NHL 56 4 17 21 6 -- -- -- -- --
2020-21 New Jersey Devils NHL 23 1 10 11 2
2021-22 Buffalo Sabres NHL 37 2 6 8 0 -- -- -- -- --
2022-23 Texas Stars AHL 65 6 37 43 16 4 0 0 0 2
2022-23p Texas Stars AHL 4 0 0 0 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NHL Totals 275 16 98 114 34 5 1 3 4 0