Will Butcher, the 2017 Hobey Baker Award-winning defenseman from the University of Denver, has signed an NHL entry-level contract with the . The 2013 Avalanche fifth-round draft pick, who turned down Colorado’s offer and became an unrestricted free agent Aug. 16, announced his decision to sign with the Devils on Sunday.
Last week, the Avalanche signed New Jersey-drafted Alex Kerfoot, the four-year Harvard forward who used the same NCAA loophole to gain NHL free agency. So the Butcher-Kerfoot deals were an unofficial trade of draft picks.
Butcher, who served as DU’s captain last season as a senior, also considered the , and expansion Vegas Golden Knights. Ten teams in the NHL showed interest in the 5-foot-10, 190-pound, puck-moving defenseman from Madison, Wis.
Butcher, 22, is the second consecutive Hobey Baker Award winner to play four years in college and become a free agent after rejecting the offer made by the team that drafted him. Harvard’s Jimmy Vesey, a 2012 draft pick of the , signed with the on Aug. 19, 2016.
NHL teams have four years to sign their college draftees, or by Aug. 15 of the year they leave school. The rule may change in the next collective bargaining agreement because it could discourage teams from drafting college players.
