Bill Butters

William Joseph Butters (born January 10, 1951 in St. Paul, Minnesota) is a retired professional ice hockey defenceman who played 217 games in the World Hockey Association and 72 games in the National Hockey League. He played for the Minnesota Fighting Saints, Houston Aeros, Edmonton Oilers, New England Whalers, and Minnesota North Stars.

Butters played for the University of Minnesota from 1970 to 1973. He then signed as a free agent with the Toronto Maple Leafs and was assigned to the Oklahoma City Blazers. He played a season and a half for the Blazers and then jumped to the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the World Hockey Association (WHA) in 1974.

Butters played with four different WHA teams in the four seasons in that league. Partway through the 1977-78 season, Butters jumped to the Minnesota North Stars of the National Hockey League. He played there for parts of two seasons then went down to the Oklahoma City Stars where he played until his retirement in 1980.

He was an assistant coach at the University of Minnesota from 1986 to 1995.