Ray Shero’s Best Moves As New Jersey Devils General Manager

4. Will Butcher signing

Say what you want about Will Butcher now, in the 2017 offseason he was one of the most coveted free agents on the market. He was coming off a championship NCAA hockey season with Denver University. He could have stayed in state and played with the Colorado Avalanche, but something happened with that relationship and he wanted to go somewhere else.

There were a lot of teams in on Butcher, which usually puts the Devils out of contention. Especially this iteration of the Devils, free agents were not trying to come here. Butcher would only be able to sign an entry-level contract, so money wasn’t an issue. Butcher just wanted to play.

The Devils beat out the Los Angeles Kings to get Butcher’s services. There were multiple holes in the Devils’ defense, so adding a young player like Butcher who was ready for the NHL and would have multiple years of control was huge. It was one of the biggest wins for the team in a long time.

Butcher’s career has been up and down, but that rookie year was amazing. He scored 44 points and played all but one game on a playoff team. His contributions to that team absolutely helped them make the playoffs. During the final eight games that counted for the Devils where they got points in every single game, making the playoffs by a point, Butcher had nine points in those games. That includes two goals against the Rangers. This signing was huge for the Shero and the Devils.