Eurolanche

Will Butcher will talk to other teams

Eurolanche.com can confirm Will Butcher will not sign a deal with the Colorado Avalanche before August 15 – and probably not event after that. „We will wait until August 15. We have several teams we will talk to as a free agent,“ said Butcher’s player agent Stephen Bartlett for Eurolanche today. Answering the question if there's any possibility of further negotiating with the Avs at later date, Bartlett said: „Still possible. We have sent a note to the Avalanche. We said we want to talk to other teams before we make a decision on August 15.“

After four years in the NCAA, the reigning Hobey Baker Award-winner, who captained the University of Denver to a National Championship, can't be forced to sign an entry-level deal with the Avs who originally drafted him four years ago. Based on the rules regarding NCAA player, he may opt to sign with the team that drafted him, or he will become an unrestricted agent on August 15. Since April, there were no major updates on his situation and everything indicated that he wouldn't sign a contract with the Avalanche. 

Again, we can only speculate if Patrick Roy's decision to inform Butcher's agent that the team isn't interested in signing him two years ago may have influenced the ongoing situation. Butcher may become the second Hobey Baker Award-winner, who chooses not to sign his first pro contract with the team that originally drafted him.