Chris Butler Discussion: Sign, or Walk?

[ForeverFlameFan]

The Tyler Wotherspoon thread was taken over by Chris Butler, (partially my fault for starting it). So, I felt this was thread worthy.

Yes, he is a -21, (for those that care about the +/- stat).

However, Chris Butler has been playing better this year and is a great 5/6 defenseman, nothing more, nothing less.

My decision is we keep him if he signs with us at a reasonable price. His contract right now was at an okay price.

Thoughts and reasons whether or not you want to keep him or let him walk?

Updating:

NYR - 3 @ CGY - 4, Butler: 0 G 1 A, +1, 3 BS, TOI: 22:39

CGY - 3 @ OTT - 6, Butler: 0 G 0 A, -1, 2 BS, 3 Hits, 1 TVA, TOI: 23:48

CGY - 2 @ TOR - 3, Butler: 0 G 1 A, +1, 3 BS, 2 GVA, TOI: 19:59

CGY - 4 @ TBL - 1, Butler: 0 G 0 A, -1, 3 BS, 3 GVA, 1 Hit, TOI: 24:18

CGY - 2 @ FLA - 1, Butler: 0 G 0 A, +0, 2 BS, TOI: 19:36

CGY - 1 @ NJD - 0, Butler: 0 G 0 A, +0, 2 BS, TOI: 21:18

LAK - 3 @ CGY - 4 (SO), Butler, 0 G 0 A, -1, 5 BS, 2 Hits, 1 GVA, TOI: 25:30

WPG - 5 @ CGY - 3, Butler, 0 G 0 A, -1, 3 BS, 1 TVA, TOI: 21:49

CGY - 1 @ VAN - 5, Butler, 0 G 0 A, +0, 3 Hits, 2 BS, 3 GVA, TOI: 27:24

[nik-]

sign him cheap, keep him on the bottom pairing. We have no one ready to make the jump yet.

[killer_carlson]

let him walk

please

[jaginla]

Would like to see opportunities for the kids to play, also Wotherspoon has played well so I'd rather him than Butler. But to his credit I've face palmed less

[killer_carlson]

Originally Posted by nik-

sign him cheap, keep him on the bottom pairing. We have no one ready to make the jump yet.

Gio Brodie
Smid Wotherspoon
Russel Wideman

There is no room on the bottom pairing for Butler.

[Yoho]

Walk

[3rd line Grinder]

sign him: worst case senario for him is that he gets pushed out by wotherspoon and he becomes a 7th d we trade at the deadline for a pick

[Da_Chief]

Sign him. Play him and Russell on the first pairing next year. McDavid it is.

[dammage79]

Walk please. Its time to move on. I think my posting history on Butler fully covers all the reasons why he should walk. Besides, I'd lime them to make room for the drafted Flames players.

[CaptainCrunch]

I think he's actually pretty decent in the bottom pairing. Its when you push him up that he gets into trouble.

But at the end of the day, the idea behind a rebuild is about roster turnover to bring in young players to get experience. I'm tempted to say that you almost have to let him walk and hope that Wotherspoon or a guy like Sieloff can step in and play that role and show some upside.

[SuperMatt18]

Sign Him.

He is a good bottom pairing guying, is well liked in the room and will come cheap.

We need to keep some flexibility in the offseason to be able to move a Wideman (maybe even Smid) to gain more assets.

[DOOM]

Sign him. He is much better then lots on here give him credit for.

The Flames don't have anyone on the farm that is NHL ready for d-men. (Besides Wotherspoon, but he still has lots of learning to do and may be better suited to play big minutes in the AHL next year)

[ForeverFlameFan]

My take is I am in the middle, doesn't matter what management does. I am leaning towards keeping him until we have more young ones prove themselves a spot on the D, but for now, I'd sign him for another 1 or 2 years. If we don't, I am pretty sure another team would probably take a stab at him, he's proven enough that he is a decent NHLer.

[FlamesAddiction]

Walk, but not because I don't like him, but rather I would like to see some more size on the blue line.

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Originally Posted by jaginla

Would like to see opportunities for the kids to play, also Wotherspoon has played well so I'd rather him than Butler. But to his credit I've face palmed less

Do not understand this type of point of view................let the kids play? They aren't related discussions, so why do they keep coming up? Butler does not prevent the kids from playing. All a kid has to do is earn their spot versus Butler, and they will play. Re-signed Butler doesn't stop this from happenning or make it less likely that kids will play, especially if Butler is as bad as many on here think.

We don't need to get rid of veterans or older players to "make room" for the youngsters....................I wish people would stop suggesting this is a requirement. If there is a youngster who can't un-seat Butler from his role, then two things are true:

1. Butler isn't as bad as people are saying and should be given a spot on this team cause he's not that old.
2. The youngster isn't ready to make the jump and should stay in the AHL.

[Jiggy_12]

Sign him for sure.

1 or 2 year deal. He'll be cheap and he's been okay this year. Need somebody in the bottom 2 until the younger guys are ready

[Cheese]

Sign Him...he is fine when not called to play top line minutes.
Every team has a Butler.

[Lanny_McDonald]

After looking at his splits, sign him. He's only -6 in his last 33 games. His big hit was in November when he was -11 in 14 games. Butler is good depth on the bottom pairing.

[codynw]

Sign, unless they find a comparable UFA?

Gio, Brodie, Russell, Smid, Wideman, Butler and Wotherspoon makes 7 defencemen. Who else is NHL ready?

[ramizle]

Sign. 2nd in shots blocked in the league. #5-#7 defenseman and he's effective.



It's crazy I didn't realize how much of a shot blocking team we have become compared to the rest of the league.