25 January 2024
The Wild on Thursday acquired Will Butcher, a veteran defenseman who has been playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, the team announced.
Butcher, 29, has 114 points in 275 career NHL games with New Jersey and Buffalo. In exchange, the Wild sent minor league forward Maxim Cajkovic to Pittsburgh.
Cajkovic, 23, has 12 goals and 18 points in 20 games with the Wild’s ECHL affiliate in Coralville, Iowa. He has 1 goal and three points in five games with the Wild’s AHL team in Des Moines.
Butcher, 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, played 37 games for Buffalo in 2021-22. He started this season on Pittsburgh’s injured non-roster list with a non-disclosed injury and was released on Nov. 28. In 14 games with AHL Wilkes-Barre, he had three goals and seven points.
The Wild learned this month that veteran defenseman Jared Spurgeon, 34, is out for the season with back and hip injuries.