Will Butcher off to a hot start

[njdevil26]

Butcher wouldn't get as much luxury getting sheltered like he is with the Devils, or being given prime PP opportunity. I have to agree, I don't think he's a guy we'll miss too much.

Hes off to a great start and better than I thought he'd do, but I'm still not sold he'll be more than a #5-6 PP specialist.

I would still love having him in the system, but he's also benefiting from the Devils having a great start and opportunity, similar to how Yakupov and Andrighetto is benefitting from the the opportunity with the Avs. Or similar to how Blandisi got the opportunity with the Devils a few seasons ago.

Do you know what “sheltered” means? He’s not being sheltered in any way. He’s getting major minutes and quarterbacking the power play lol.

 

[Taak19]

5 games in... are you planning a Cup parade as well?

 

[Fear the Wushu]

5 games in... are you planning a Cup parade as well?

Yes but this time it will be in inner city Newark, hopefully no Devs fans get shot or stabbed. It's better than having a parking lot parade at the Meadowlands for our first three cups lol

Fyi, we still hate you fudgers for robbing us of a Dynasty in 01.

 

[Billdo]

Do you know what “sheltered” means? He’s not being sheltered in any way. He’s getting major minutes and quarterbacking the power play lol.

I mean he is being sheltered. His minutes come from being on the power play and he hardly ever starts his shifts in the defensive zone. Going into tonight he's played approximately 65 minutes total. Almost 17 of them are on the power play. He's average 15 mins a night with 4-5 mins being on the power play. However saying he couldn't crack Colorados lineup is silly.

 

[PAZ]

I mean he is being sheltered. His minutes come from being on the power play and he hardly ever starts his shifts in the defensive zone. Going into tonight he's played approximately 65 minutes total. However saying he couldn't crack Colorados lineup is silly.

The Avs have had some great games, but to be honest I expect them to have quite a bit more D zone starts than O zone. In addition, Butcher has Barrie ahead of him for PP time and O zone starts.

Butcher's offenseice prowess would definitely be appreciated, but he is a player with flaws at the moment, and one you don't want starting in the D zone. He could prove me wrong and turn into an all-around player this year, but realistically I don't see it.

 

[Lou is God]

5 games in... are you planning a Cup parade as well?

Who here said anything about a cup? We'll wait buddy.

 

[Fazkovsky]

this is still true today

yeah, I am sure that Mark Barberio guy is an elite defenceman

 

[Machinehead]

As a Flyers fan even I have been rooting for him.

Fn love his name!! Will Butcher anyone!!!!

That's metal.

 

[Avs71]

1 primary assist, 7 secondary assists.

Not ready to say he would have cracked the Avs roster based on that.

Pretty impressive he has made the jump to the NHL though. Don’t think many on the Avs board saw that coming.

 

[Lou is God]

1 primary assist, 7 secondary assists.

Not ready to say he would have cracked the Avs roster based on that.

Pretty impressive he has made the jump to the NHL though. Don’t think many on the Avs board saw that coming.

His has two primary assists including this beauty tonight:



But you guys keep trying to sell him short, the denial is getting comical.

 

[Emperoreddy]

I think quite a few teams would find a spot for a blueliner that can pass like that.

 

[NjDevsRR]

Yes but this time it will be in inner city Newark, hopefully no Devs fans get shot or stabbed. It's better than having a parking lot parade at the Meadowlands for our first three cups lol

Fyi, we still hate you fudgers for robbing us of a Dynasty in 01.

Fake news. The area around the arena in Newark is nice and only getting nicer with each passing year.

 

[Howie Hodge]

Let's rehash this at the midpoint of the season...............

 

[Makar Goes Fast]

Says more about your team then the Avs.

I don't get the bitterness. You guys are off to a good start and got a good free agent pick up on Kerfoot

there isn't any bitterness, colorado's powerplay sucks that is no secret.

 

[Blender]

there isn't any bitterness, colorado's powerplay sucks that is no secret.

So if your power play sucks, why wouldn't Butcher fit in? Guy is fantastic on the power play.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Regardless of the points he’s getting, he looks decent enough defensively (better than Moore already) and very good on the PP. I don’t think he’s a top pairing guy, but he clearly looks like an NHL talent. He doesn’t panic in his own zone and he’s calm, patient and smart with the puck in the offensive zone. I like what I see.

 

[Classic Devil]

Regardless of the points he’s getting, he looks decent enough defensively (better than Moore already) and very good on the PP. I don’t think he’s a top pairing guy, but he clearly looks like an NHL talent. He doesn’t panic in his own zone and he’s calm, patient and smart with the puck in the offensive zone. I like what I see.

He's a good (potentially very good to exceptional) #6 PP specialist right now, and we needed one of those.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Do you know what “sheltered” means? He’s not being sheltered in any way. He’s getting major minutes and quarterbacking the power play lol.

He's getting ridiculously easy zone starts (65% offensive zone starts) and is playing over 4 minutes a night on the PP, with less than 12 minutes a night at ES. His 11:38 a game at ES is by far the lowest among Devils defensemen, by like 2 and a half minutes. That's like textbook sheltered minutes.

He's doing very well and is being used how he should, but let's not pretend he's not being heavily sheltered, because he is.

I think quite a few teams would find a spot for a blueliner that can pass like that.

I think New Jersey is one of the like 5 teams he'd be playing on right now. I don't think there are that many teams where he'd be playing on.

 

[rent free]

he gets most of his points on the powerplay. also, most of the assists he gets are on good goals by the player he passes to. very misconceiving stat.

 

[exporta]

Butcher shopped the UFA market to find a team that offered him the best opportunity for success, and made the right choice with NJ.

Just because he is off to a hot start, doesn't mean he would have been with just any team. One of the most important things in sports, is putting players in a position to succeed. Colborne scores 20 for Calgary, and then goes to COL and is waived in a year.

Yakupov, couldn't find a home and is off to a hot start in COL.

Some players will be drivers, no matter where they play (Crosby, Tavares, Matthews, McDavid, etc) and others need the right spot to succeed.

Good on Butcher for choosing NJ, but to think he would be in the same spot on 30 other teams is insane.

I've only watched one game this season of his, he made some really smart plays. But also, looked slow and was brushed off the puck a few times easily. If you can insulate the flaws, and utilize him for his strengths then he'll be an asset. Most teams aren't capable, or already have someone to fill that role, to insulate Butcher.

But nonetheless, he has been off to an impressive start! New Jersey will surprise this year, if they haven't already.

 

[Foppberg]

His has two primary assists including this beauty tonight:



But you guys keep trying to sell him short, the denial is getting comical.

Nobodies in denial with him, or upset. Just calling a spade a spade, he's off to a great start, however he's heavily sheltered and fed PP time. I hope he does well but he's not this second coming of Makarov.

 

[Classic Devil]

He's getting ridiculously easy zone starts (65% offensive zone starts) and is playing over 4 minutes a night on the PP, with less than 12 minutes a night at ES. His 11:38 a game at ES is by far the lowest among Devils defensemen, by like 2 and a half minutes. That's like textbook sheltered minutes.

He's doing very well and is being used how he should, but let's not pretend he's not being heavily sheltered, because he is.

Of course he's being sheltered. He's a #6 PP defenseman. That's what you do with #6 PP defensemen. Nobody's saying he's a top-4 defenseman and he's playing 20 hard minutes a night and is a defensive stalwart.

But as a rookie #6 PP defenseman, he's been remarkably good.

 

[Super Hans]

If it's any consolation, Kerfoot has looked pretty good so far.

 

[NOTENOUGHJTCGOALS]

Aves fans hating and denial make everyone root for butcher all that harder. One of the feel good stories of the season. Escaping the cesspool of failure in Denver and becoming a legit NHL player after being scorned by the inept Aves management.

 

[AfroThunder396]

I can't understate how huge it was for the Devils to get a young offensive LHD at this point in their rebuild. We had NOTHING in the pipeline on that side and Butcher comes in on a white horse to save us.

He's no Rafalski but he's giving us exactly what we needed - skating and passing, zone exits, and PP production.