Trade confirmed: Minnesota Wild - Pittsburgh Penguins

Trade Details
Minnesota Wild Acquire: Will Butcher · $0$775,000$425,000 (AHL/JR) Sum: $0$775,000$425,000 Change: $0 Change: -$75,833 Change: +$355,000	Pittsburgh Penguins Acquire: Maxim Cajkovic · $0$850,833$70,000 (AHL/JR) Sum: $0$850,833$70,000 Change: $0 Change: +$75,833 Change: -$355,000

Depth D for an AHLer with maybe slight potential, this feels like a slight Minnesota win (though all in all this is basically a nothing trade)

Minnesota win. They get a good depth defensemen for a player that probably won’t play in the NHL or if he does plays minimum games

Hot stove is burning guys oh my lord

Pittsburgh wins.

The player they get is a lot younger while Minnesota gets a player who was not good enough to be claimed off waivers and who probably won't play in the NHL again.

FWIW, New Jersey once paid a draft pick to dump Butcher.

But either way, it's a nothing burger.

Pittsburgh likely gets NHL Games while Minnesota doesn't.

I just hope both teams have fun.

dude for dude

What happened to Butcher, didn’t he used to be good?

Plan the parade in Wheeling WV.

Anyone remember when Will Butcher was supposed to be the next great defensemen?

He had a solid NCAA career and great rookie year, but was always somewhat limited as a power play specialist. The old system in NJD with Hynes covered him up in d-zone. It had dmen staying close to home, wingers roaming, centers down low. The new system, under Lindy, asks dmen to leave net front often and dig puck out of corners (wings along the wall, centers roaming)…and with all that movement, Butcher fell apart. He is quite slow.

I know Minnesota need a PP qb at one point, so maybe returning to play with Hynes gets him another shot. But probably more of AHL/depth piece.

Yes…around same time Taylor Hall was playing Hart trophy level of hockey. Eons ago.

44 points to AHL a few years later

What a twist

Minnesota got a player who has played in the NHL and might return.
Pittsburgh got a player who was playing in the ECHL this year.

Minnesota wins, but it is a (mostly) meaningless trade.

Mostly meaningless.

I'd say Minny wins, but it doesn't really matter.

yeah actually I do he had a pretty good rookie season right?

Blockbuster! I still remember when Butcher was an exciting rookie; what happened?

See comment #12 above

Cajkovic has spent the majority of his time in the ECHL in all 3 years of his ELC with the last 2 years significantly leaning toward ECHL vs AHL. It's doubtful he sees the NHL when he can't even be a consistent player in the AHL. Definitely speaks volumes that while our AHL team has been picked clean by injuries in both the NHL and AHL this year, he still has barely seen the ice in Des Moines.

I'm not saying Butcher will play here at all, but to say it's likely Cajkovic plays NHL games is strictly playing the age game without considering how he's actually played so far in his career.

Yeah I definitely said the wrong team

I think the real motivation for Pittsburgh is that Butcher has a relatively high minor league salary for somebody on a 2-way contract. Cajkovic’s is much lower, especially if his signing bonus has probably already been paid. If neither player plays in the NHL again, Pittsburgh wins by trading the remainder of Butcher’s contract for Cajkovic’s. Sad to see a guy who once was a promising rookie traded for an ECHL guy just to save a few bucks. I guess Minnesota thinks he may still have something. They win if they can get a few NHL games out of him.

I was also one of many who had high hopes for Cajkovic. He failed because of severe attitude problems.