Bobby Butler (ice hockey)
Bobby Butler | |
|---|---|
| Born | Robert Butler April 26, 1987 Marlborough, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Ice hockey player, coach |
| Years active | 2000–2023 (player), post-2017 (coach) |
| Known for | Playing in the NHL for Ottawa Senators, New Jersey Devils, Nashville Predators, Florida Panthers; 2011 Calder Cup champion with Binghamton Senators |
Robert "Bobby" Butler (born April 26, 1987) is a retired American professional ice hockey forward. Throughout his career, he competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Ottawa Senators, New Jersey Devils, Nashville Predators, and Florida Panthers. He also secured the 2011 Calder Cup championship with the Binghamton Senators.
Amateur
Butler took part in the 2000 and 2001 editions of the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament, representing the Minuteman Flames and Middlesex Islanders. Prior to enrolling at the University of New Hampshire (UNH), he spent three seasons with the Boston Jr. Bruins in the Eastern Junior Hockey League from 2003 to 2006 and played five years at Marlborough High School (2000–2005), joining the varsity squad as an eighth grader. During the 2004–05 season, Butler contributed to both teams’ championship victories. At Marlborough, he amassed 284 points over 116 games and established a school record by netting 58 goals in just 25 games during his junior year. His father served as Marlborough High’s head coach for 25 years until 2011. Butler’s scoring feats at the high school level are honored at Navin Rink.
While at UNH, Butler served as co-captain and finished second nationally in goals during the 2009–10 NCAA Division I campaign with 29 tallies, earning him a finalist spot for the prestigious Hobey Baker Award. The Wildcats achieved an overall record of 87–49–17 and qualified for the NCAA Tournament each year of his collegiate tenure. On March 24, 2010, he was honored with the Walter Brown Award as New England’s top American-born college hockey player. In addition, Butler received accolades including Hockey East Player of the Year, scoring champion, selection to the All-Hockey East First Team, Player of the Month for November, and was nominated for the 2010 Hockey Humanitarian Award due to his community involvement. Across his college career, he tallied 61 goals, contributed 60 assists, and accrued 88 penalty minutes over 153 games.
Professional
Butler inked a two-year deal with the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League on March 29, 2010. He made his NHL debut on April 1 in a shootout victory against the Carolina Hurricanes, ending 4–3. Following his participation in Ottawa’s 2010 training camp, he was assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Senators.
His first NHL goal came on February 12, 2011, against goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin of the Edmonton Oilers, a game in which he also recorded his initial assist. Concluding that season with Ottawa, Butler amassed 10 goals and 11 assists across 36 contests before returning to Binghamton to play a pivotal role during their Calder Cup-winning playoff run by adding 13 goals and seven assists over 23 games.
On July 14, 2011, after a strong showing in the previous season, Butler secured a two-year one-way contract with Ottawa. However, his output diminished during the following year (2011–12), registering only six goals and sixteen points in fifty-six games. As a result, Ottawa placed him on waivers in July 2012 and subsequently bought out his contract on July 27, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Subsequently, Butler signed a one-year two-way contract with the New Jersey Devils on August 9, 2012. Due to the NHL lockout that season, he was assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Albany Devils. He debuted with New Jersey on February 3, 2013, and scored his sole goal for them on February 9 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. After contributing two points over fourteen games, Butler was placed on waivers and claimed by the Nashville Predators on March 4, 2013.
On June 14, 2013, Butler was traded to the Florida Panthers in exchange for defenseman T.J. Brennan.
On July 15, 2015, Butler agreed to a two-year contract with Swedish outfit Modo Hockey competing in the SHL. After completing one season there, he joined KHL side Medveščak Zagreb, appearing in thirty-seven games while recording six goals and ten assists before transferring mid-season in December 2016 to fellow KHL club Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod.
As an unrestricted free agent following that season, Butler returned to North America by signing a one-year agreement with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals on August 10, 2017. During the 2017–18 campaign, he led Milwaukee with twenty-four goals and ranked second on the team with forty-five points across sixty-two appearances.
Continuing his AHL career, Butler signed a one-year contract with the Hartford Wolf Pack, affiliate of the New York Rangers, announced on July 2, 2018.
While serving as a coach later on, Butler briefly resumed professional play with a single game appearance for the Worcester Railers of the ECHL on January 2, 2022. He earned first-star honors by contributing three points in a victory over the Reading Royals. Subsequently signing for the remainder of that season on January 21, he finished with sixteen points across twenty games.
After captaining the Railers for two seasons, Butler declared his retirement from professional hockey on August 16, 2023.
Coaching career
In the last two seasons of his AHL tenure, Butler shifted his focus to coaching, taking on the position of Director of Player Development with the Boston Junior Bruins from 2017 through 2019. He stepped away from professional play between 2019 and 2022 to assume responsibilities as Director of Hockey Operations for the Worcester Jr. Railers and volunteered as an assistant coach at the NCAA level with the Holy Cross team.
International play
Butler donned the jersey for Team USA at the 2013 World Championship, where he tallied three goals and one assist, playing a key role in securing the bronze medal.
On January 1, 2018, Butler earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic team for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Throughout five appearances, he did not register any points as Team USA concluded the tournament in seventh place.
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2002–03 | Boston Little Bruins | 18U AAA | 35 | 21 | 27 | 48 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Boston Jr. Bruins | EJHL | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Boston Little Bruins | 18U AAA | 7 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Boston Jr. Bruins | EJHL | 59 | 15 | 18 | 33 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004–05 | Boston Jr. Bruins | EJHL | 49 | 18 | 14 | 32 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | University of New Hampshire | HE | 38 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | University of New Hampshire | HE | 38 | 9 | 21 | 30 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 36 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Albany Devils | AHL | 37 | 16 | 11 | 27 | 8 | — | — | — | — | |||
| Nashville Predators | 20 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 4 | — | — | — | — | |||||
| Florida Panthers | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | |||||
| Modo Hockey | 49 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 16 | — | — | — | — | |||||
| Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod | 13 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||||
| Hartford Wolf Pack | 69 | 8 | 12 | 20 | ||||||||||
| Worcester Railers | 63 | 17 | 21 | 38 | ||||||||||
| NHL totals !130 !20 !29 !49 !28 !3 !0 !0 !0 !0 | ||||||||||||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Outcome | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | United States | WC | Template:Bronze3 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2018 | United States | OG | 7th place | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Career senior totals | 13 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Collegiate | ||
| HE All-Tournament Team | 2008 | |
| All-HE First Team | 2009–10 | |
| AHCA East First-Team All-American | 2009–10 | |
| Hobey Baker Award Finalist | 2010 | |
| AHL | ||
| MVP at AHL All-Star Classic | 2011 | |
External links
- 1987 births
- Living people
- AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans
- Albany Devils players
- American men's ice hockey forwards
- Binghamton Senators players
- Florida Panthers players
- Hartford Wolf Pack players
- Ice hockey coaches from Massachusetts
- Ice hockey players from Massachusetts
- KHL Medveščak Zagreb players
- Milwaukee Admirals players
- Modo Hockey players
- Nashville Predators players
- New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey players
- New Jersey Devils players
- Olympic ice hockey players for the United States
- Ice hockey players at the 2018 Winter Olympics
- Ottawa Senators players
- Sportspeople from Marlborough, Massachusetts
- San Antonio Rampage players
- Ice hockey people from Middlesex County, Massachusetts
- Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod players
- Undrafted National Hockey League players
- Worcester Railers players
- 21st-century American sportsmen