Butcher played just 13:43 TOI in Thursday's win over the Rangers and will come out of the Devils lineup on Saturday. Connor Carrick will draw back into the Devils lineup and replace Butcher, who is day-to-day as of now.
In his second professional season, Butcher had four goals and 26 assists (30 points) in 78 games. It was a step backwards from his rookie campaign and the Devils’ blueline just got a little more crowded with the offseason addition of P.K. Subban. However, Butcher should still see PP1 time throughout the year and should be a solid No.4 fantasy defenseman option.
The “upper-body” tag was a bit mis-leading as Butcher got his ears cleaned out on Wednesday, then woke up on Thursday with blood in his left ear, unable to hear. He missed yesterday’s practice while he got it cleaned up and is good to go on Friday.
Butcher took part in the morning skate but did not come out for warmups and will not play vs. Montreal. Newly acquired Connor Carrick will replace him in the lineup and is expected to see some power-play time in Butcher’s absence.
Butcher was forced to leave Tuesday’s game vs. the Stars with what the Devils described as a “soft tissue” injury, but will play Thursday. Butcher was on the ice for the morning skate, which suggests he’ll play without any limitations vs. the Avalanche. Butcher has three assists and seven shots on goal while averaging 17:19 TOI/GM through the first four games of the season.
