Defenseman Will Butcher saw some similarities between his team at the University of Denver and the Devils.

From talking to Devils coach John Hynes and general manager Ray Shero, Butcher got the sense of what the Devils could offer the defenseman.

"How they want to play in New Jersey kind of reminded me of college hockey and coach (Jim) Montgomery a little bit," Butcher said. "So there's comfortably in the systems a little bit and seeing the game the same way, so I think because of coach Hynes and the team's abilities and just the tour in general made the decision to sign with New Jersey."

Butcher's final list came down to four teams -- the Devils, Las Vegas Golden Knights, Buffalo Sabres and Los Angeles Kings -- before he signed with the Devils on Sunday. The 2017 Hobey Baker winner pointed to his talks with Hynes as a tipping point toward his decision.

Along with Hynes' game strategy, Butcher saw the Devils coach as someone who could help him further develop his game.

"I kind of hit it off with coach Hynes," Butcher said. "I think he he's sound hockey mind, a sound coach. It seemed like a great fit with how they want to play and they saw me being a vital role to what they want to do there."

Butcher became a free agent on Aug. 16 after declining to sign with the Colorado Avalanche earlier in the offseason. It took Butcher 11 days to talk to teams and ultimately sign a deal, and he said the process was drawn out because he focused on skating and training on his usual schedule.

The Devils could offer Butcher a relatively clear path to the NHL, as he will enter training camp for one of the spots on the backend. But playing in the NHL immediately was not Butcher's focus throughout the process.

Although he wants to help out the Devils as soon as possible, there were other aspects that brought him to New Jersey.

"I want to play really well and make the team out of camp," Butcher said. "And if I have that opportunity, then I'll learn from older guys, but I'll also get to play with younger guys, who I can get the puck to, play a fast, up-tempo game, because that just caters to the type of game that I play.

"Just that combination of everything they have going in the right direction is a very good feeling for me."

Chris Ryan may be reached at cryan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisRyan_NJ. Find NJ.com Devils on Facebook.