The New Jersey Devils have been fueled on their run to the playoffs by Kyle Palmieri, Taylor Hall and a bunch of rookies. One rookie that might be getting overlooked is Will Butcher.
Coming into the season, the New Jersey Devils had a brand new team on the ice. Out were the Michael Cammalleris, Devante Smith-Pelleys and Jacob Josefsons, and in came the Nico Hischiers, Jesper Bratts and Blake Colemans. Those three rookies replacing players with seriously inconsistent play is one of the big differences from this year to last.
Of course, Taylor Hall going from a sad player who still had some greatness in him to a bonafide Hart Trophy candidate really helped, but he couldn’t do it by himself (no matter how much he tried).
Beyond the rookies, there were a bunch of other players who weren’t here last year. Brian Boyle has been an absolute inspiration, and won a few games himself back in December. Marcus Johansson was supposed to be an integral part of the rebuild, but injuries derailed his season. Drew Stafford was playing very well to start the season, but he’s fallen off a cliff.
Sami Vatanen came via trade with the Anaheim Ducks. He’s been nothing short of fabulous. There is no doubt who the number one defenseman is on this team. The Devils really need him.
Then there are the two deadline trades that brought Patrick Maroon and Michael Grabner to New Jersey.
Even with all these new faces, the biggest acquisition is Will Butcher.
Looking at this season only, what Butcher brought to the table, against what was given up, he’s been beyond expectation. Hischier and Vatanen were great, but when looking at cost against production, getting Butcher for nothing makes him the ultimate acquisition.
Butcher signed as a college free agent in August. All he’s done since he got here is control the top-line power play, collect 40 points and become one of the most reliable defenders on a team that doesn’t have many.
If Butcher’s 20 power play points were on last year’s team, he would lead the team. That’s right, 20 PPP is more than Hall or Kyle Palmieri had last season. That shows his sheer impact on this New Jersey Devils team.
This isn’t looking at his career as a whole. If that’s what were looking at, then Hischier is the biggest acquisition, and it’s not close. However, when looking at the Devils needs and their season as a whole, I put Butcher’s 2017-18 just slightly ahead of Hischier’s.
More from Pucks and Pitchforks
- Should New Jersey Devils Try Load Management With Vitek Vanecek?
- New Jersey Devils Will Prove That Last Year Wasn’t A Fluke
- New Jersey Devils: Luke Hughes’ Playmaking Will Outshine His Mistakes
- New Jersey Devils: Chase Stillman’s Performance Causes Concern
- Can Devils Fans Separate Zach Parise Heartbreak From Achievements?
Then, looking at Vatanen, obviously he’s the better player. However, he cost Adam Henrique, who’s been clutch at times for the Ducks, plus Joe Blandisi and a draft pick. Has he been that much better than Butcher? Again, it’s close, but I give it to Butcher by a hair.
On top of that, he rarely ever takes penalties. Sure, he takes a lot of offensive zone faceoffs, but with how many 2-on-1s the Devils have faced this season it’s a wonder Butcher doesn’t have more hooking penalties. He has eight penalty minutes. That’s the least on this Devils team.
Butcher has been great. At just 23 years old, he shows great poise on the blue line. He’s a huge reason why the Devils are holding onto their playoff lives instead of fighting tooth and nail. The future is bright, and the present seems just as good.