August 9, 2012
Report: Devils sign Bobby Butler to one-year deal
by Jesse Connolly/Web Editor
Bobby Butler has 37 points in 94 career NHL games. (Getty Images)
According to multiple reports, including confirmation from Dan Cagen at the MetroWest Daily News, the Devils have signed forward Bobby Butler to a one-year, two-way deal. Cagen reports that Butler will earn $105,000 in the AHL and "over $500,000" in the NHL. Butler is expected to formally sign the pact within the next 24 hours.
Butler, 25, was recently bought out by the Senators after a disappointing second season in the National Hockey League. The Marlborough, Mass., native burst onto the scene midway through the 2010-11 campaign after a strong start to the year with the Sens’ farm team in Binghamton.
After finishing the 2010-11 season with 10-11-21 totals in 36 contests for Ottawa, Butler followed it up by notching just 16 points in 56 games in 2011-12, spending many a night as the team's healthy scratch up front. Even more troubling about his struggles was the fact that Butler saw a good chunk of ice time on the top line, playing alongside star center Jason Spezza.
The buyout stemmed from the fact that Ottawa has a number of promising young players expected to vie for NHL spots and, with Butler on a one-way deal ($1.05 million cap hit), the Senators wouldn’t save any money by demoting him to the American Hockey League.
A former standout at the University of New Hampshire, the signing of Butler is certainly a low-risk, high-reward move by GM Lou Lamoriello.
If the 6-foot-1 winger can tap back into the high potential he showed during his rookie season, he could carve out a role on one of the top three – or perhaps top two – lines for Peter DeBoer’s squad. If not, Butler will be given an opportunity to re-prove himself with the Devils’ AHL squad in Albany.
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