Butler was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the fourth round (No. 96) in the 2005 NHL Draft after he had 28 points (six goals, 22 assists) in 60 games for Sioux City of the United States Hockey League.

Butler played the following three seasons with the University of Denver, where he had 66 points (20 goals, 46 assists) in 115 games and was named to the All-WCHA second-team in 2008 and All-WCHA rookie-team in 2006.

He signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Sabres on April 13, 2008.

Butler made his NHL debut and had an assist in a 5-0 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Dec. 19, 2008. He scored his first NHL goal in a 6-4 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on March 20, 2009 and finished the season with six points (two goals, four assists) in 47 games.

Butler played two more seasons for Buffalo before he was traded along with forward Paul Byron to the Calgary Flames for forward Ales Kotalik, defenseman Robyn Regehr and a second-round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft on June 25, 2011.

In three seasons with Calgary, Butler had 39 points (five goals, 34 assists) in 194 games.

On July 16, 2014, Butler signed a one-year, two-way contract with the St. Louis Blues and split the 2014-15 season between St. Louis and Chicago of the American Hockey League. With the Blues, he had nine points (three goals, six assists) in 33 games.

Butler has spent the majority of the past three seasons with Chicago and San Antonio of the AHL, playing in 12 games (zero points) with the Blues.