Photo: Tim Garland
The Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired forward Brendan Gaunce from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for forward Cameron Butler.
Gaunce spent the 2024-25 season with the Wild organization, where he tallied 15 goals and 14 assists in 39 games with AHL Iowa as well as one assist in 12 NHL games with Minnesota. He represented the Wild at the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic.
Gaunce was previously with Columbus from 2021 to 2024, serving as captain of the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters in 2023-24. In 382 career AHL contests with Iowa, Cleveland, Providence and Utica, Gaunce has registered 123 goals and 139 assists for 262 points.
Selected by Vancouver in the first round (26th overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft, Gaunce has played 189 games in the NHL with the Canucks, Bruins, Blue Jackets and Wild, registering 13 goals and 16 assists for 29 points.
Butler notched two goals and one assist in 37 games with Cleveland in 2024-25, his second pro season. As a rookie in 2023-24, he recorded two goals and six assists in 51 games with the Monsters and also made his NHL debut with the Blue Jackets on Mar. 30, 2024, vs. Pittsburgh.
