He's a very average NHL defenceman, so he's still an asset. We don't give assets away, so sign him. If something comes along that's better, well he's probably worth a 3rd round draft pick.
Give him a 1 year at a slight raise IMO. In the case that he's not flipped at the deadline, Wotherspoon will be close to ready to take his place anyway.
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He's a very average NHL defenceman, so he's still an asset. We don't give assets away, so sign him. If something comes along that's better, well he's probably worth a 3rd round draft pick.
Boston got Meszaros for a 3rd. Butler is not worth a 3rd.
Not really comparable. Philly had been desperate to dump his salary for a year or more.
Not saying Butler is worth as much as even a tarnished Mezsaros, but in a hockey trade, a 3rd is about right.
I'd say signing Streit to a 4 year deal at 5.25 was probably the bigger reason to trade Meszaros. Plus they retained 2m in salary on that deal.
Anyway, I doubt the Flames will regret letting Butler test free agency. The comparable with Meszaros is that he's not really a top 4 guy either, yet he's miles better than Butler is. I suppose it's a conditional 3rd, but I just can't agree.
Last edited by Frank MetaMusil; 03-27-2014 at 08:00 PM.
Let's see how things pan out after college free agent season and the draft. I think there could be some trades in the works there and I'm hoping Burke finds a new home for Wideman. Our depth at D could very quickly become very thin.
As it stands now, sign him this summer as a 5/6/7 defenceman & hope that Wotherspoon outplays him in camp and makes him expendable. Butler has been ok this season. Why Brent Sutter played him so much for his first 2 seasons is anyone's guess, but he's a capable player if he's playing safer minutes against easier opposition.
. . . . However, my view is only re-sign if they are unable to acquire an upgrade in FA.
. . . . signing a bigger, more physical defenseman would be a better option IMO.
This is my feeling.
Regardless of whether Butler has been better or not, or is a good enough 5/6 or not, IMO the Flames are not nearly big enough on the blue line and need to use some of their excess cap space to find a big, punishing, shut-down defenseman.
I wouldn't mind paying a bit extra for a guy like niskanen on a 2-3 year deal. Has played good this year and would be good in our top 4. Butler is good as a 6th d as he can play in the top 4 in a pinch.
Most posters have a hate on when he was playing in the top 4 every night under sutter which he didnt thrive in at the least.
Not a huge fan of Butler, even though I'm rooting for him and he's played better as of late.
Would prefer to fill his spot with someone from outside the organization. If that's not possible, re-sign him and don't play him on the top pairing like sutter did.
Look for a better option in the UFA market. Not sure why everyone is in a hurry to sign him when there will be better options available. If Butler is the best UFA available and wants to play in Calgary, then sign him.
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Blocked shots don't register as shots against though, from my understanding. I also think Chief was alluding to the fact that when Butler is on the ice, the Flames seem to get more shots against than when the other two pairings are on the ice (I haven't checked - just expanding on what I THINK Chief was getting at).
As for re-signing Butler or not - he is just a stop-gap. If the Flames can find someone better through UFA/trade, let him walk. If they win the lottery and are able to draft Ekblad, let him walk. Unless one of those two things happen, they are probably better off re-signing him to a short-term contract and flipping him as soon as someone else is able to over-take him on the team.
Look for a better option in the UFA market. Not sure why everyone is in a hurry to sign him when there will be better options available. If Butler is the best UFA available and wants to play in Calgary, then sign him.
Only players who would interest me are Meszaros, Niskanen, or Nikitin. Niskanen will cost the most since it looks like he could be a #3 1st/2nd PP guy but that's just moving to a different version or Wideman.
I've mentioned this before but I'm curious what it would cost to add McQuaid to our lineup from Boston.
I honestly think it wouldn't affect the Flames one way or another. Butler is the king of average; however, he is the perfect goat for some games. What can I say he preforms that job very well.
Butler's play has improved lately, but I don't see Butler turning into a consistent top 4 d-men, so the only reason I see for people to want to keep him is to somehow justify the Regher trade.
D-man like Butler are easy to replace, so one way or another the Flames will be the same team.
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