Butler began coaching
minor ice hockey in 1985 with
Wexford and led his peewee, bantam and midget teams to four City of
Toronto and three Ontario provincial championships. Butler broke into the OHL when hired by the
Oshawa Generals. In the
1994–95 OHL season the team had a record of 40-21-5 for 85 points and set a CHL record when 10 players were chosen in the
1995 NHL Entry Draft. After the
1995–96 OHL season the Generals won 30 games and tallied 68 points. Butler moved to
Prince George, British Columbia, to coach the
Prince George Cougars for the
1996–97 WHL season. losing in the third round of the
Western Hockey League playoffs after defeating the first place
Portland Winter Hawks and third place
Spokane Chiefs in the first two rounds. Butler returned to the OHL and began his tenure with the
Brampton Battalion as an expansion franchise in the
1998–99 OHL season. The Battalion were led in scoring that season by underage 15–year old
Jason Spezza, and fellow future
NHL player
Raffi Torres. The inaugural Battalion season was one of only two seasons Butler's troops failed to make the playoffs. Butler was inducted to the Brampton Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. Butler moved to North Bay with the Battalion for the
2013–14 OHL season and won the Eastern conference
Bobby Orr Trophy. Butler earned his 600th victory in the OHL on February 1, 2015, with a 3–2 win against the
Niagara IceDogs. Butler earned his 700th victory in the OHL on March 2, 2018, with a 2–1 win against the
Mississauga Steelheads. On December 10, 2019, the team announced that Butler had been reassigned as a special advisor to the team owner.
Adam Dennis was named the new general manager, and
Ryan Oulahen was named the interim head coach. As of that date, Butler had coached 1,660 games in the Canadian Hockey League, and earned 765 wins. He ranked fourth overall in wins by Ontario Hockey League coaches, behind
Brian Kilrea,
Bert Templeton and
Dale Hunter; and ranked third in games coached behind Kilrea and Templeton. Butler became head coach of the
Erie Otters on January 26, 2023, pending immigration to the United States. He remained with the Otters until January 16, 2025, when he took a leave of absence as the organization investigated a breach in "team policy". On January 27, the Otters found that Butler had violated policy and fired him, declining specific comments. Butler concluded his tenure with the Otters with a 57–58–13 record. ==National coaching duties==