Farewell Butch!

During the pre-concussion era, Butch (as his teammates called him) was one of the top setup guys in the Western Conference. Between his hands, feet, and vision on the ice, Bouchard was a player you loved to watch. You never knew what he was going to do to electrify the crowd on a nightly basis.

Late in the 2008-09 season, Bouchard took a nasty hit while the team was playing the Islanders. He missed the team's remaining games that season, and with the exception of the season opener in 2009-10, was never seen again until December of 2010. He had suffered a nasty concussion. And ever since, he really has not been the same.

In the post-concussion era, Bouchard has never registered more than 26 points in a season. He never looked comfortable on the ice and his performance suffered. He never went to the net, and he never tried to deke around a player for the sake of not getting hit. Everything he had been great at, seemingly had been taken away.

As he departs to Long Island now, Butch finished his Wild career ranking 2nd all time in assists (241) and 3rd in points (347). Had he never suffered that concussion, one could safely assume he would be number one in both those columns.

In an interview with the Star Tribune's Michael Russo yesterday, Butch gave many thanks to the organization and the fans as he heads East. Here are some quotes from Bouchard.

Thank you Butch. You will always be a special player to us.