The Penguins bolstered their development and scouting staffs with three new hires, Ron Hextall announced Monday.
The Penguins named former NHL defenseman Chris Butler player development coach. Butler, 35, will work with hockey operations advisor Trevor Daley in developing the Penguins defense prospects and will report directly to director of player development Tom Kostopoulos. Butler spent last season as an amateur scout for the Coyotes.
Butler retired in 2019, after an 11-year professional career that included 407 NHL games with the Sabres, Flames and Blues. He spent his final season as captain of the Blues' AHL affiliate in San Antonio. He played 13 regular-season games for the Blues throughout the 2019 season and was on the taxi squad when the Blues won the Stanley Cup.
Butler represented the U.S. twice in the World Championships in his career, winning bronze in 2013.
The Penguins also hired Greg Pateryn as a professional scout and Garrett Peters as a global crossover scout.
Pateryn, 32, will be based in California and primarily scout teams in the Western Conference. He retired this offseason after a 10-year professional career as a defenseman, playing 290 NHL games with the Canadiens, Stars, Wild, Avalanche, Sharks, and Ducks. He split last season between the Ducks and their AHL affiliate in San Diego, playing 10 games in Anaheim and captaining the Gulls in the AHL.
Peters, 35, will primarily scout amateur players in both North America and Europe. He comes to the Penguins after spending the last five years as an amateur scout for the Blues. Peters was a scout for the QMJHL's Halifax Mooseheads for three seasons, prior to joining the Blues. He had a brief three-year professional career after three years in the QMJHL, with stints in the ECHL, SPHL and FHL before retiring as a player in 2014.