Will Butcher off to a hot start

[njdevil26]

That pass he made to Stafford in the Ranger game Saturday was awesome.

 

[Binister]

Another thread about Butcher?

 

[cgf]

Who cares about his flaws at this point? Seems like you only keep pointing them out because you're insecure about your team. Nobody expected Butcher to be anything more than a #6 or #7 PP specialist and so far he's been great at it. Even more-so he seems to be getting better and better at even strength play and is much more comfortable in the D zone. In our opener he looked a bit lost at times, but he's already looking more confident and making better decisions. If he continues to develop (which seems very likely) he can easily become a solid 2nd pairing guy, which is fantastic for him and the Devils.

I know the devils haven't had many competent dmen lately, but this seems awfully defensive when discussing a dmen as obviously flawed as Butcher.

 

[Scorcho]

Uh, a Devils fan replied in this thread saying he's not being sheltered, but rather he's playing heavy minutes and quarterbacking the PP.

Empoleon was just showing the stats that he is indeed sheltered in reply to the previous poster.

that devil's fan was not very smart, tbh /shrug

 

[135ace]

I know the devils haven't had many competent dmen lately, but this seems awfully defensive when discussing a dmen as obviously flawed as Butcher.

Seems like the biggest issue you have with Butcher is that he didn’t sign in Colorado. That’s not a flaw against him, but rather a flaw your team/management has.
Get over it already and stop with the “he’s no good. He wouldn’t be playing for us (even though he’s outscoring all of your skaters)” nonsense. The thread is about Butcher not your cellar dweller team that and their incompetent management.

 

[Csonked Out]

His skating is below average and he has questionable play at times in his own zone. He is however and absolutely fantastic passer, is a great quarterback on the power play, and is very good at getting his shot through. He will obviously be sheltered on the bottom pairing and will have a ton of offensive zone starts. At the end of the day, he is gifted enough offensively to give him time to improve in his own zone. He has been getting better positionally and should improve as the year goes on as his hockey IQ is quite high.

The kid has his flaws but he is producing enough to give him a longer leash than most rookies. To get an offensive dman like that for free is a huge win for us. I could care less if he would have made Colorado or not, it is a pointless argument.

 

[cgf]

Seems like the biggest issue you have with Butcher is that he didn’t sign in Colorado. That’s not a flaw against him, but rather a flaw your team/management has.
Get over it already and stop with the “he’s no good. He wouldn’t be playing for us (even though he’s outscoring all of your skaters)” nonsense. The thread is about Butcher not your cellar dweller team that and their incompetent management.

I shoulda realized that given what we've seen from the NJ blueline that this would be a sensitive issue. My bad didn't realize that this thread was exclusively for pumping his tires sans context. But hey keep claiming he isn't sheltered and that most of his points aren't from secondary assists, that seems to be working well for you! ;-)

 

[Csonked Out]

I shoulda realized that given what we've seen from the NJ blueline that this would be a sensitive issue. My bad didn't realize that this thread was exclusively for pumping his tires sans context. But hey keep claiming he isn't sheltered and that most of his points aren't from secondary assists, that seems to be working well for you! ;-)

Secondary assists are important on the powerplay. It was less than 2 years ago that Colorado traded a 3rd round pick for a lesser offensive and defensive player in Eric Gelinas , let's not pretend that he isn't a quality player that teams constantly look for.

Look at the kids vision when making these passes and also pay attention to the way he adjust the speed of his release and power on his shot to get it through. It was the hallmark of his game at the University of Denver and it will be the reason he will have a decent NHL career. He just needs a power skating coach and time to learn defensively.

 

[135ace]

I shoulda realized that given what we've seen from the NJ blueline that this would be a sensitive issue. My bad didn't realize that this thread was exclusively for pumping his tires sans context. But hey keep claiming he isn't sheltered and that most of his points aren't from secondary assists, that seems to be working well for you! ;-)

And you keep claiming that you’re posting here to actually give meaningful feedback on his play. Seems like you’ve never watched him play and only have a stick up your rear end because he gave your franchise the bird.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Secondary assists are important on the powerplay. It was less than 2 years ago that Colorado traded a 3rd round pick for a lesser offensive and defensive player in Eric Gelinas , let's not pretend that he isn't a quality player that teams constantly look for.

Look at the kids vision when making these passes and also pay attention to the way he adjust the speed of his release and power on his shot to get it through. It was the hallmark of his game at the University of Denver and it will be the reason he will have a decent NHL career. He just needs a power skating coach and time to learn defensively.

"Just"?? You say that like those are simple to fix.

 

[Csonked Out]

"Just"?? You say that like those are simple to fix.

They are far easier to fix than what he can do offensively. Please do yourself a favor and just watch a couple of his games. I'm not saying that as an insult, I have watched this kid for over 4 years, and can tell you that his vision is something that can't be taught. Defensive positioning and skating can be. Adam Larsson was a poor skater coming into the league and he is average to above average at this point.

 

[goonybird]

what exactly did he do to be branded so negatively?

 

[Csonked Out]

what exactly did he do to be branded so negatively?

I think the people saying that haven't watched a minute of his game, honestly. I mean the Devils aren't an easy team to find on Tv and I highly doubt they turned on a college hockey game that he played in. Just uneducated opinions is what I assume.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

They are far easier to fix than what he can do offensively. Please do yourself a favor and just watch a couple of his games. I'm not saying that as an insult, I have watched this kid for over 4 years, and can tell you that his vision is something that can't be taught. Defensive positioning and skating can be. Adam Larsson was a poor skater coming into the league and he is average to above average at this point.

I'm not saying they cant be fixed. I just find it odd that you said "he just needs a power skating coach and time to learn defensively". As if it's a simple fix. He's almost 23 years old. You don't think anybody has ever thought to help him improve his skating?

I never questioned his vision. I've seen more than enough of Butcher to know his pros and cons. He's a great player with the puck on his stick and is off to an incredible start to his NHL career. All I did was question you on your thought that he "just" needs a bit of help on some major glaring issues. If a power skating coach and some time to work on his defensive game is all a hockey player needs to completely fix those major issues in their game I'm going back on my decision to give up on my career as a pro hockey player.

 

[AfroThunder396]

what exactly did he do to be branded so negatively?

Sign with NJ.

 

[Csonked Out]

I'm not saying they cant be fixed. I just find it odd that you said "he just needs a power skating coach and time to learn defensively". As if it's a simple fix. He's almost 23 years old. You don't think anybody has ever thought to help him improve his skating?

I never questioned his vision. I've seen more than enough of Butcher to know his pros and cons. He's a great player with the puck on his stick and is off to an incredible start to his NHL career. All I did was question you on your thought that he "just" needs a bit of help on some major glaring issues. If a power skating coach and some time to work on his defensive game is all a hockey player needs to completely fix those major issues in their game I'm going back on my decision to give up on my career as a pro hockey player.

Proper positioning around the net and proper gap control will fix a lot of his defensive zone issues and IMHO he needs a more powerful 1st stride which is a strength issue. I never said it was an easy fix and I doubt he will ever be a shutdown defenseman. All I am in saying is that he may be a 3rd pairing dman that excels on the powerplay for his career and we are perfectly ok with that. People are knocking him down like he shouldnt even be on an NHL roster and that is just a foolish thought based off his current play.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Proper positioning around the net and proper gap control will fix a lot of his defensive zone issues and IMHO he needs a more powerful 1st stride which is a strength issue. I never said it was an easy fix and I doubt he will ever be a shutdown defenseman. All I am in saying is that he may be a 3rd pairing dman that excels on the powerplay for his career and we are perfectly ok with that. People are knocking him down like he shouldnt even be on an NHL roster and that is just a foolish thought based off his current play.

I don't think anybody is doing that right now. Many people (myself included) didn't think he was NHL ready prior to this season. Fortunately he picked a great situation which gave him an opportunity to play NHL hockey from the get go and has absolutely ran with it since.

 

[RealRockNRolla]

Regardless whether his play is sustainable or not, I am enjoying watching him, he certainly has the confidence and skill to play at the NHL level right now. He's slotted in nicely on that Devils D corps and hasn't looked out of place at all. Really hope he can keep it up and continue to improve on his impressive start.

 

[JimEIV]

I shoulda realized that given what we've seen from the NJ blueline that this would be a sensitive issue.

The Devils defense has always been quite good.

Last year was a tough they were 24th in Goals against, but traditionally they've always been in the top half.

2017 24th in GA. - Colorado 30th
2016 8th in GA - Colorado 25th
2015 14th. GA -. Colorado 21st
2013 13th in GA. Colorado 27th
2012 8th in Goals Against. Colorado 15th

In the last 5 years Colorado has been in the bottom of the league in Goals Against every year except 2012 when they finished 15th in the league and in the last 5 years they have never finished ahead of New Jersey, really nowhere close.

I think maybe the blueline is a little bit more of sensitive issue in Colorado than it's ever been in New Jersey.

 

[Bankers Box]

Way too early to rub Colorado's face in the dirt. He has played great so far this season but it is only 5 games, let's see if he can keep it up for a full year at first.

I do think it was a mistake for Colorado's management (Roy's treatment of him?) to let someone of his potential leave. His potential alone is worth holding on to him for.

 

[Jersey Fresh]

Whatever Butcher's flaws, the idea that he couldn't have beaten out some of the scrubs currently suiting up for Colorado is hilarious.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Whatever Butcher's flaws, the idea that he couldn't have beaten out some of the scrubs currently suiting up for Colorado is hilarious.

I disagree. I give Will Butcher full credit for what he has accomplished in 5 games this season. But I don't think there's any chance in hell he's in the NHL right now if he signed with Colorado.

 

[ThePrideofStockholm]

I don't like all the hype the Devils are getting, please keep ignoring us

 

[Brobust]

Well, his team's shooting up 16% and therefore he's piling up secondary assists with his offensive deployment. He probably ends the season at under 30 points.

He's a 3rd pair PP specialist.

 

[PAZ]

I'm not gonna deny Butcher's sheltered, he definitely has been. His instincts are rock solid, so I have faith he'll be able to handle more responsibility as he gains experience, but no doubt he's being sheltered right now.

Maybe I'm misinformed, but I'm not under the impression that Barrie plays the entire power play? Unless you have a Kovalchuk-type freak on your team, every power play has room for two quarterbacks. I don't see anyone who would be blocking Butcher out of your second unit, presuming Barrie plays ahead of him.

Barrie doesn't play the entire PP, but the previous season he wasn't great in his own end (albeit the team was a tire-fire). Having defensemen that can play PK, or give Barrie the prime offensive minutes is more important than having a sheltered PP specialist for the #2 PP unit.

That's the whole point of why Avs fans aren't too upset about losing Butcher, especially since we filled a bigger need with Kerfoot. Most of us are happy for him and while it would be nice to have him in the system, there was uncertainty about if we had enough defensemen that could reliably play defense.

Our D core consists of EJ, Barrie, and a bunch of youngsters who still need to prove what they can do. Butcher most likely wanted some sort of guarantee, and Avs couldn't offer that with Bigras and Mironov, both who were more highly touted and proven more than Butcher did at the time.

In hindsight it might look like a mistake and there's no doubt we have incompetent management, but this isn't one of the moves we care to criticize the management about. This whole situation spawned from Roy who basically destroyed the relationship, whom is no longer with the Avs.