What happened to Butcher ?

I thought he had a good rookie season but didn't follow afterwards. Did he get injured or something ?

no, he is what he is.. sheltered 3rd pair d who can play both sides. great hockey sense, great pass, but bad shot, bad skating, small and weak. he can t play pk and last year and half severson was playing over him on pp. then, devils have subban and smith capable of playing pp.. he is just no fit for devils. in any combination.

A couple of things on Butcher...first, his rookie year, the team was a lot better overall...just got into playoffs, Taylor Hall was MVP. He played almost exclusively an offensive role. A lot of PP and very little matching against top lines. That team carried 7 d-men many night. Since then, they have increased his defensive duties and lessened his offensives ones. He lost a lot of power play time (mostly to Subban and Vatanen). He is still a fine puck-mover, not a hard shot, but can puck on net and has improved his defensive positioning (where he is not going to kill you, but is still sub-par). If he can be matched with more stay-at-home defensive partner, he could be useful 2nd/3rd paring d-man for many teams. At his salary, he would likely get a bit higher than 4th pick...probably something like what Vatanen got last year (one B/B+ prospect, one mid pick and maybe lesser roster player if other teams needs to move someone out). MTL is so deep in prospects, I am sure there are needs that could be added.

TB deal - Killhorn is an interesting player for NJD. He would not cost any team a prospect and a 1st round pick however. That said, even at a lower cost, this doesn't appear to be a trade NJD would do. Killhorn is 31-years old this season and the GM has been clear any trades he makes will be for younger players that are part of Hughes/Hischier generation. Kuokkanen is young, versitile play-maker and exactly the type of guy they would be adding at this point.

NYI - Oknotyuk is very highly regarded by NJD and has been since draft. They view him as future 2nd pairing. Leddy and Kmoarov and older vets and players they wouldn't be adding, especially at cost of assets and salary.

Overall - I dont think NJD does any of these types of deals. They are still building their young foundation...not trading from it. And they won't likely be signing people like Dillon to long term contracts.

Fitz won't do any of these trades
He should be able to get more for all, or not make them to start with