Butcher Scores for Devils in NHL Return

Will Butcher (Denver) hadn't played an NHL game in almost a year. On Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, he made his 2020-21 debut with a goal in the New Jersey Devils' 5-2 triumph over the host New York Rangers.

Butcher's second period goal, a shot from the left corner that deflected in off of New York defenseman Jacob Trouba (Michigan), gave the Devils a 2-1 lead at the time. After the Rangers rebounded to tie the game just before intermission, New Jersey tallied three unanswered goals in the third period for the win. 

It was the Devils' first game in nearly three weeks, after the organization was shut down by COVID-19 concerns. Butcher, who led DU to the 2017 NCAA title on defense while also winning the Hobey Baker Memorial Award himself that year, now has 14 goals in his NHL career. he had been out of the Devils lineup since February 2020 after injuring his thumb and requiring surgery.

In Buffalo, Anders Lee (Notre Dame), captain of the New York Islanders, scored two goals, the game-winner and also an empty-netter, in New York's 3-0 victory over the host Sabres. Lee, who skated for the Fighting Irish from 2010 to 2013, now has seven goals and 10 points in 15 outings so far this season for the Islanders.

Shattenkirk on the Move, Butcher Stays Put

A pair of former NCAA defensemen are heading different ways in the NHL's Atlantic Division.

Kevin Shattenkirk (Boston University) was bought out by the New York Rangers with two years remaining on his four-year, $26.6 million contract, according to Reuters, while Will Butcher (Denver) signed a new three-year deal worth $11.2 million with the New Jersey Devils, according to msn.com.

Shattenkirk, 30, joined the Rangers in the summer of 2017 after splitting the 2016-17 campaign between St. Louis and Washington. In two seasons in Manhattan, the first limited by injury, he notched seven goals and 44 assists for 51 points in 119 regular-season outings.

A 2014 U.S. Olympian, Shattenkirk has registered 75-274—349 points in 609 NHL regular-season games with Colorado, St. Louis, Washington and the Rangers. He also has five goals and 34 points in 64 career Stanley Cup Playoff appearances. A first-round draft choice (14th overall) of Colorado in 2007, and a product of the U.S. National Team Development Program, he totaled 18-60—78 points in 121 contests over three seasons at BU, and was also a member of the Terriers' 2009 NCAA championship team.

Also originally drafted by Colorado (2013, 123rd overall) and trained by the U.S. NTDP, Butcher signed with the New Jersey Devils as a free agent in 2017 after completing a highly-successful three-year stint at DU that culminated in both an NCAA title and the Hobey Baker Memorial Award. In 158 appearances overall with the Pioneers, he collected 28-75—103 points. His totals included seven goals and career-high 37 points as a junior captain in 2016-17, when he was also named a First Team All-America selection.

Butcher, 24, who has represented the U.S. at both the World Junior Championship and the World Championships, has notched nine goals and 74 points in 159 NHL regular-season outings over two seasons with the Devils, and also has four points in five career Stanley Cup Playoff matches. He posted 44 points in 2017-18 to earn selection to the NHL All-Rookie Team that season.

Devils Top Kings, 6-3

The New Jersey Devils snapped a six-game losing streak that stretched back to just after Thanksgiving with a 6-3 win at Los Angeles on Thursday night in NHL action.

Leading the way against the host Kings were former NCAA players Kyle Palmieri (Notre Dame), who scored twice for the Devils, and Travis Zajac (North Dakota), Will Butcher (Denver) and Blake Coleman (Miami), who notched single tallies. Zajac and Butcher also recorded assists as the Devils won for the first time since Nov. 21. Keith Kinkaid (Union) made 29 saves in net for New Jersey, which improved to 10-12-5 overall.

New Jersey will continue its western swing on Sunday night at Anaheim.

Devils Win Game Three Versus Tampa Bay

The New Jersey Devils aren't dead just yet, thanks to several former NCAA standouts.

A third-period goal by rookie defenseman Will Butcher (Denver), his first ever in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, tied the contest at two goals apiece as the Devils ultimately clawed their way back into their NHL Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with a 5-2 victory over the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night at the Prudential Center. Tampa Bay still leads the best-of-seven series, two games to one, with Game Four coming up on Wednesday in Newark, N.J.

Butcher's goal forged a 2-2 tie and was part of a four-goal third period outburst by the Devils. Team captain Andy Greene (Miami) assisted on the game-winning goal by Stefan Noesen, before Blake Coleman (Miami) and Ben Lovejoy (Dartmouth) scored unassisted empty-net goals in the final minutes of regulation, with Tampa Bay goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy having been pulled both times for an extra attacker.

Cory Schneider (Boston College), making his first start in the NHL postseason since 2013 when he was with Vancouver, stopped 34 shots to earn the win for New Jersey. Alex Killorn (Harvard) notched a goal and an assist for the Lightning, which was outshot, 41-36, by the Devils.

ADDENDUM: Tampa Bay ultimately won the series in five games.

Denver's Butcher Sets Devils Record

New Jersey Devils rookie defenseman Will Butcher (Denver) set a franchise record with his first assist in a 4-3 win over Carolina on March 27. It was his 35th assist of the season, which established a new single-season superlative for Devils' rookie defensemen.

Butcher currently has 37 assists on the year, after adding another against Carolina, plus one more in a 4-3 overtime loss to Pittsburgh on March 29. He has also scored three goals so far this season, giving him a total of 40 points in 76 appearances in his inaugural NHL campaign.

A native of Sun Prairie, Wis., Butcher, 23, posted seven goals and 30 assists for 37 points in 43 games a year ago in leading Denver to the NCAA title, while also winning the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the top player in U.S. college hockey. He finished his four-year career with the Pioneers with 28-75—103 points in 158 outings before signing with the Devils as a free agent.

Denver's Butcher to Join Devils

Will Butcher is going from Denver to the Devils.

The 2017 Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner as the top player in NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey this past season, Butcher has signed a two-year contract with the NHL’s New Jersey Devils worth approximately $925,000, as reported at NJ.com. A Wisconsin native who was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the fifth round in 2013 just before enrolling at the University of Denver, he eschewed his drafting club to sign with New Jersey as a free agent.

Butcher scored seven goals and added 30 assists for a career-high 37 points in 43 outings in 2016-17 as Denver won its eighth NCAA hockey championship overall, and first since 2005. He also earned All-America honors on defense for the second consecutive season. In 158 career appearances with the Pioneers from 2013 to 2017, Butcher registered 28-75—103 points, including 15 power-play goals and four game-winners, according to USCHO.com, and helped DU to four NCAA Tournament appearances. He prepped with the U.S. National Team Development Program for two seasons prior to joining the Pioneers.

Alexander Kerfoot of Harvard, a forward who was drafted by the Devils in the fifth round in 2012, has instead signed with the Avalanche as a free agent. Kerfoot, who last year captained the Crimson to its first NCAA Frozen Four appearance since 1994, recorded career highs of 16-30—46 points and eight power-play goals in 37 contests as Harvard claimed both the ECAC regular-season and tournament titles. He finished with 36 goals and 124 points in 122 career games, and also helped Harvard to three consecutive NCAA Tournament berths over his final three campaigns.

Denver's Butcher Wins Hobey Baker Award

University of Denver senior defenseman and team captain Will Butcher is the winner of the 2017 Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the top player in NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey. The honor was bestowed upon Butcher on Friday in Chicago, site of this year’s NCAA Frozen Four. The award is presented by the Decathlon Club of Bloomington, Minn.

Butcher becomes the second Denver Pioneer to win the Hobey Baker Award in its 36-year history, and the first since fellow defenseman Matt Carle in 2005. That was the last year that DU, currently ranked No. 1 in the nation, won its most recent of seven NCAA hockey championships.

A native of Sun Prairie, Wis., and a 2013 draft choice of the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, Butcher leads all Denver blueliners with seven goals and 30 assists for 37 points to go along with 18 penalty minutes in 42 games so far this season. In three years at DU, he has tallied 28-75—103 points and 53 PIM in 157 career outings, along with 15 power-play and four game-winning goals.

Also on Friday, Denver junior goaltender Tanner Jaillet copped the 2017 Mike Richter Award, which is annually awarded to the most outstanding netminder in NCAA men's hockey. In 37 outings so far this season, the Red Deer, Alta. native has posted a 27-5-4 record with a 1.83 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage. Denver head coach Jim Montgomery won the Spencer T. Penrose Award earlier in the week as Division I men's hockey's top coach.

Butcher, Jaillet, Montgomery and Denver will look to cap the 2016-17 campaign with a national title on Saturday night, when the Pioneers meet Minnesota-Duluth in the national title game at the United Center (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).