Should New Jersey Devils Make Will Butcher Available In Erik Karlsson Deal?

The New Jersey Devils should be putting the full-court press on the Ottawa Senators in negotiations for Erik Karlsson. The Senators will at one point ask for Will Butcher. How should Ray Shero respond?

The Erik Karlsson sweepstakes is in full swing, with rumors swirling saying his agent is allowed to talk to other teams. That means every single team that could conceivably fit him in their salary cap will make a call to the Ottawa Senators. One of those teams is definitely the New Jersey Devils.

A trade for Karlsson would cost an arm and a leg no matter who is making the trade. One place where the Devils have an advantage is they can afford to take on Bobby Ryan‘s contract and still have room for the future.

That’s obviously where the trade starts. The Devils will take on Karlsson and Ryan’s four-year, $7.25 million per season contract. That’s an albatross of a deal, but honestly if Ryan comes home hopefully he could find something left of his career.

So what could the Devils offer that would make the Senators really pull the trigger?

I’ve seen a plethora of deals being offered by the armchair GMs on Twitter (including yours truly). They all seem to go through the same formula. It starts with Damon Severson. It adds two to three more prospects or young NHL players. Then, throw in a first and second round pick. Whether the deal is Severson, Pavel Zacha, John Quenneville and picks or switch the middle two for Miles Wood, Michael McLeod, Jesper Bratt or Jesper Boqvist.

I think some combination of those players could PROBABLY get it done, but it’s definitely not a lock. The Senators are going to ask for two players when discussing with the Devils; Nico Hischier and Will Butcher. The former is a no deal. End the conversation there. He’s a first-overall pick for a reason, and the future of this franchise along with Taylor Hall. The latter of those two makes things interesting.

I want to start this by saying I love Will Butcher. If you can find a way to make this deal work without losing Butcher, make it happen. However, after hearing the Dallas Stars are involved makes this much harder. Right now, the Stars refuse to make Miro Heiskanen available in the trade talks. If they change their mind on that, it’s all over. He’s the best defensive prospect in the NHL (assuming Rasmus Dahlin is considered an NHL player and not a prospect). The Sens will jump the second the Stars make Heiskanen available in any trade.

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For that reason, Shero may be willing to part with his young defenseman to put pressure on the Senators to make a deal quicker. The big question is, should he? How much more would he have to offer to make it work?

If he offers Butcher, it probably takes Severson out of the equation. Then it could look something like Butcher, a first-round pick, a second and either Zacha or McLeod. It gives the Senators a legitimate defenseman to build around, a few picks and most importantly cap space.

The Devils would lose their power play quarterback, but would gain the best QB in the league in Karlsson. It might actually eliminate the incessant need to have Butcher by gaining a Karlsson. Butcher grew before our eyes, and we all have a connection to him. However, if trading him gets us Erik Karlsson, can we really say no? This isn’t any old defenseman, this is the best defenseman in the league. He’s a top three player in the NHL. Those players cost the best you have.