Blues Re-Sign Defenseman Chris Butler to One-Year Deal

The St. Louis Blues have re-signed defenseman Chris Butler to a one-year, one-way contract worth $675,000. Butler, a Kirkwood native who attended Chaminade College Prep in St. Louis along with now-teammate Paul Stastny and Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Ben Bishop, came to his hometown Blues last offseason after six NHL seasons with the Buffalo Sabres and Calgary Flames.

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Butler, who joined the Blues on a two-way contract last year, began the season with the AHL Chicago Wolves, but he was promoted to the NHL after the Blues traded defenseman Jordan Leopold in November. Though he played only 33 games while rotating with Ian Cole and Petteri Lindbohm and then being relegated to the press box for the most part following the trade deadline, Butler had arguably his most productive season in the NHL with the Blues. He scored a career-high three goals and added eight assists, while registering a plus-minus rating of plus-8, one of the highest ratings of his career and his first plus rating since the 2010-11 season.

Butler should play a similar role in 2015-16, which is great for the Blues. As a hometown guy with a team-first attitude, he’s a good fit for the seventh defenseman role, in which he will be a healthy scratch for most games but will have the opportunity to get into the lineup as injuries or poor performance dictate. In particular, with two defensemen who are “bruisers”, first and foremost, on the third line in Robert Bortuzzo and Petteri Lindbohm, it’s nice to have Butler, a more finesse, nimble defenseman, at the ready when the Blues face quicker, more “high skill”-based teams.

Next: Blues Make Decisions on Restricted Free Agents, Re-Sign Jeremy Welsh

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St. Louis Blues Re-Sign Defenseman Chris Butler to One-Year Deal

By Patrick Karraker | Jul 1, 2015