Byfuglien contemplating NHL future

[FrostyWinnipeg]

4 minutes ago, HardCoreBlue said:

I guess what I'm curious about, and I probably missed it somewhere on the worldwide web, buy what top 6 dman are on the block right now we could make a trade pitch for?

Everyone is signed. Only unsigned is Phaneuf.

[The Unknown Poster]

Yeah they'd have to look at a trade and I dont see them trading for a top 4 D.   Maybe at the deadline if a team is out of it and the Jets aren't doing too poorly.  Hamonic would be the only one I could see really and Calgary might as soon keep him.  The tough part for Jets was not being able to shop the free agency market in the summer.

[bustamente]

Hasn't TNSE always maintain that they would only get near the upper cap went they had a contending team, that's not the case this year and giving up assets to get a good d-man wont change that, I think they fully knew that that team would take a step back this season and they were okay with that, how much of a step back we will find out in 5 or so months.

[The Unknown Poster]

10 minutes ago, bustamente said:

Hasn't TNSE always maintain that they would only get near the upper cap went they had a contending team, that's not the case this year and giving up assets to get a good d-man wont change that, I think they fully knew that that team would take a step back this season and they were okay with that, how much of a step back we will find out in 5 or so months.

To be fair, that was Chipman's position when the Jets first came back when the feeling was the Jets would have to be a budget team to succeed.  They've been profitable every year and never took revenue sharing dollars (they pay into it, in fact).  Even if the Jets only broke even, their the engine that drives the Chipman family empire so I think they're fine paying upwards of the cap now.  I think that would change if the Jets had a few years where they were really bad...they wouldnt want to be pay to the cap if they were bad.  This year, even if its a step back, they are close to the cap because they're a talented team.  

[JCon]

12 minutes ago, bustamente said:

Hasn't TNSE always maintain that they would only get near the upper cap went they had a contending team, that's not the case this year and giving up assets to get a good d-man wont change that, I think they fully knew that that team would take a step back this season and they were okay with that, how much of a step back we will find out in 5 or so months.

If Buff were there, they would be around $1M under the cap. 

[The Unknown Poster]

 

[FrostyWinnipeg]

29 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

 

 

Edited October 31, 2019 by FrostyWinnipeg

[HardCoreBlue]

1 hour ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

Everyone is signed. Only unsigned is Phaneuf.

How about kicking the tires on a guy like Seabrook who has been a healthy scratch in Chicago? Too old, no good, too expensive or veteran presence with skill, good short term pickup that we wouldn't have to sell the house to get?

[FrostyWinnipeg]

2 minutes ago, HardCoreBlue said:

How about kicking the tires on a guy like Seabrook who has been a healthy scratch in Chicago? Too old, no good, too expensive or veteran presence with skill, good short term pickup that we wouldn't have to sell the house to get?

5 years left on his $6.875m/yr contract.

[JCon]

3 minutes ago, HardCoreBlue said:

How about kicking the tires on a guy like Seabrook who has been a healthy scratch in Chicago? Too old, no good, too expensive or veteran presence with skill, good short term pickup that we wouldn't have to sell the house to get?

Wow, no.

He's under contract for FOUR more years after this one. AAV $6.875M. 

[JCon]

He'll get traded to Arizona along with a second round pick. Chicago will get the minimum required to call it a trade. 

 

[bustamente]

Ya that's a hard no on Seabrook, the game has gotten a little to quick for him to handle.

[HardCoreBlue]

3 hours ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

5 years left on his $6.875m/yr contract.

Tires kicked, I've moved on.

[JCon]

 

Not sure if we can trust this source. 

[Noeller]

and this is a really good reason why NHLers wouldn't want to play in a super small (relatively) NHL market like Winnipeg.......seriously, people.

[iHeart]

14 hours ago, JCon said:

 

Not sure if we can trust this source. 

this is really getting out of hand

[Goalie]

5 hours ago, Noeller said:

and this is a really good reason why NHLers wouldn't want to play in a super small (relatively) NHL market like Winnipeg.......seriously, people.

It happens everywhere. Go take a look at any teams fan sites. Bunch of stalkers

Edited November 1, 2019 by Goalie

[Goalie]

Anyways, Jets are taking a step back this year.. That's ok cuz very strong center prospects in draft. Byfield would be insane to get. Or the French kid but i likes Byfield more. 

Why waste assets on D now when its apparent its a reboot year. Colorado has had a few of these. 

 

[The Unknown Poster]

 

[Goalie]

The Jets are being made to look bad but its Buffs issue for sure. 

When i hear stuff like this out of Toronto, i kind of just meh now, they trying to make TNSE look bad.. The Tyler Myers situation along with others leads me to believe Buff is just being i dunno,  maybe hes tired of Maurice or Wheels (rumored to not get along) or his head and heart just wasn't in to playing anymore for the team or just hockey in general. 

The whole weird part is he showed up to pre camp then left.. Was it ankle? Heart? Issues with certain players? All of the above? 

I dont know but... Ill say its likely not a True North taking care of people issue. 

TN helped Myers and others, if something up with Buff they wouldn't **** him over

[FrostyWinnipeg]

Did not Buff skip a summer hockey league in Minnesota that he usually played for with other NHL'ers?

 

[The Unknown Poster]

Probably he made the decision he did because he’s an odd cat and his agent got in his ear and said yo dude, you’re leaving $8 million on the table plus the cost of surgery and rehab.  And so after the fact they went back to TN and wanted to put the genie back in the bottle in terms of IR.  

[Goalie]

On 2019-11-03 at 7:11 PM, The Unknown Poster said:

Probably he made the decision he did because he’s an odd cat and his agent got in his ear and said yo dude, you’re leaving $8 million on the table plus the cost of surgery and rehab.  And so after the fact they went back to TN and wanted to put the genie back in the bottle in terms of IR.  

Buff is certainly a unique individual. His personality is certainly interesting. No way TNSE would **** him tho. 

[Floyd]

Chevy probably wishing he let him retire now...

[The Unknown Poster]

There’s a question I always ask when trying to find out why things occur the way they do: “What don’t I know?” In this case, the answer is “a lot.” This is probably going to arbitration, and, when lawyers are involved, certain information will be kept private until it must be presented.

 

With that in mind, it is foolish to claim I know everything. But here is what I can tell you, from both parties’ perspectives.

 

THE NHL AND THE WINNIPEG JETS

 

There’s a reason Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff is being evasive. The clamps are tight, he’s trying not to pour gasoline on the fire. That edict is from the league itself, which will take the lead on Byfgulien’s file.

 

At issue is Byfuglien’s season-ending physical. Taken after the Jets were eliminated in the first round by the St. Louis Blues, multiple sources indicate it pronounced him “fit to play.” According to Brian Burke, who has some expertise in these matters, these checkups must be signed by the doctor, the medical trainer and the player. There is also something called “Form 25A” — which labels you as “fit” or “unfit” — that must be signed by the doctor. If a player disputes the findings on Form 25A, he can seek a second opinion. 

 

It is, I’m told, the NHL’s position that those results were never disputed during the summer and that, when Byfuglien informed the team that he wasn’t going to play, he said he’d lost his passion for hockey. Therefore, his preference was to retire.

In the reporting of this story, one thing was made clear to me: the NHL will fight hard to protect the integrity of the year-end physical. A player signing it, then successfully disputing it months later would lead to major legal league-wide consequences. 

 

The league also feels Winnipeg did nothing wrong in this situation and should not be penalized.

 

BYFUGLIEN, HIS REPRESENTATIVES AND THE NHLPA

 

During the 2018-19 season, Byfuglien had two lengthy absences due to ankle problems, returning to full-time action with a week to go in the regular season. 

 

You know athletes. They play hurt. They put their bodies on the line, especially at playoff time. He played hard against the Blues, averaging 25:42, with eight points in six games. He feels the Jets were well aware he wasn’t anywhere close to 100 per cent. He didn’t dispute the finding of the physical, and figured that, with a summer of rest, any lingering issues would disappear.

 

Byfuglien didn’t complain about pain during the summer because he didn’t skate. He took it easy, thinking rest was best. It was only when he re-started skating immediately prior to training camp that he realized the ankle hadn’t healed. 
 

He hasn’t spoken on this matter, but, according to a few sources, maintains that this was when he began thinking about retirement. The NHL season is a grind, and Byfuglien wasn’t excited about beginning it in pain. The proof, he feels, is that he moved his family back to Manitoba. If he hadn’t been thinking of playing, he wouldn’t have returned to the provincial capital. 

 

Byfuglien recently had surgery to repair the damage. I’ve been told there was a broken bone in his foot, also fixed in the procedure. However, the timing of that injury is also in dispute. I don’t spend much time in my Twitter mentions, but, apparently, a few people took that to mean he injured it doing something else in the summer. I don’t believe that’s the case. From what I understand, the dispute is whether or not both sides already knew this and it isn’t a revelation. 

 

This is, in the minds of the player, his agency (Octagon), and the NHLPA, a legitimate hockey injury. And they are prepared to strenuously defend that.

 

“DUSTIN BEING DUSTIN”

 

Right from the beginning, other teams questioned why, if Byfuglien was still bothered by his injury, he didn’t just show up to camp, accept a rehab assignment and get paid. 

 

Anyone who knows Byfuglien is well aware of his unique personality. He’s his own man. Some of his friends and teammates have said no one is surprised he’d do the exact opposite of what should be done or what is expected.

“That’s Dustin being Dustin,” they say, with a laugh. 

 

“If he can avoid going to training camp, getting poked and prodded, just resting on his own,” one former teammate added, “I think he’d like that. A lot.”

 

I can totally see that. But it adds extra layers to the dispute.

 

Another said not to dismiss the divides that occurred in the Jets’ dressing room last season, and how Byfuglien felt about all that. He believes those took a toll on the big defenceman, too. The organization has worked hard to address those concerns, from giving Patrik Lainemuch more responsibility, to captain Blake Wheeler promising a change in his leadership, to head coach Paul Maurice pushing a positive environment. 

 

WHAT’S AT STAKE

 

Byfuglien is out until the New Year. At some point, he’ll decide if he wants to play. And, it is very likely an arbitrator will be forced to decide what — or if — he should be paid. 
 

He is in the second-last season of his five-year, $38-million contract. He is scheduled to earn $8 million this season and $6 million next. Because he is suspended, he hasn’t collected any of that. Barring any kind of settlement, what will have to be decided is when he’s eligible to be paid. I’d expect the league to argue it’s not until he agrees to report, and either go on a rehab schedule, or suit up to play. I’d expect the NHLPA to counter that Byfuglien deserves every penny.

 

There’s something else, though. 

 

Let’s say Byfuglien does decide to return. Does he want to go back to Winnipeg? Do the Jets even want him?

 

Cheveldayoff isn’t saying, but the suspicion is the Jets know they are much better with him than without him. As for the player’s choice, well, it’s much less certain.

 

I don’t know who is right, but I know there are hard feelings.