Lawless On Buff

[The Unknown Poster]

TSN.ca

 

Pick a side, any side. There seem to be endless choices when it comes to Dustin Byfuglien, who just might be the most misunderstood player in the NHL today.

 

He’s Big Buff, one of the most offensively talented defencemen in hockey.

 

He’s the malcontent who would prefer to give media the Marshawn Lynch treatment rather than show the smallest piece of his inner self.

 

He’s the smiling giant, standing in the middle of a Winnipeg classroom with children clinging to linebacker legs looking up to catch his every word.

 

He’s the perpetrator of reckless, violent acts on the ice like last season’s cross-check on Rangers forward J.T. Miller, which resulted in a four-game ban.

 

He’s the dancer, cutting towards the net with extraordinary grace like he did scoring his third goal of the season on Wednesday against Toronto. He’s the chameleon, using stevedore strength to swat away defenders before popping back into finesse mode and deftly flipping the puck over a goalie’s shoulder into the smallest of scoring windows.

 

He’s the dressing room boss, gathering up a teammate’s clothes and tossing them into a cold tub to make a point.

 

He’s the outsider, never quite good enough for Team USA’s liking.

 

He’s the 6-foot-5, 260-pound freak blessed with so much speed and power that even bumping another player while playing the puck can fool the naked eye and result in a call from the Department of Player Safety, like his recent brush with Montreal’s Brendan Gallagher.

 

He’s the King of Winnipeg, where more fans wear his jersey than any other and leap to their feet when he revs up for one of his charges.

 

He’s the sensitive sort, who, while mourning the death of his grandfather, allowed his in-season weight to rise to 302 pounds.

 

He’s the mad photo bomber, always looking to get in on the action when a teammate is being interviewed or photographed.

 

He’s the guy everyone wants on their team and the guy no one wants to play against. He’s the game-breaker who can put his team ahead in an instant but can also lose focus and make a costly error at just the wrong time.

 

He’s no game manager. He’s a home-run hitter who is willing to live with the accompanying strikeouts.

 

Just like Byfuglien is difficult to pin down as a player, he’s also hard to define as a person. And the latter is by design.

 

“He’s a great teammate,” says Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon, who was part of the Chicago Blackhawks management team that Byfuglien joined out of junior. “A guy that really cares about his teammates and his team and winning. He’s a very kind and good-hearted person. He’s one of those Pied Pipers. Guys want to be around him and they want to follow him. He’s got a real nice way about him, a real nice personality. I had him on my team and I loved him.”

 

Byfuglien was born to a single mother in Roseau, Minn., and raised in small-town fashion. His grandfather, Kenny Byfuglien, put him on skates and friends and family taught him the way around a hockey rink, a fishing boat and a deer stand. Byfuglien is as much Survivorman as he is Bobby Orr. 

 

“Buff doesn’t like the spotlight other than when it’s on the ice,” says Ben Hankinson, who has been Byfuglien’s agent for more than a decade. “He loves to be at the heart of a game but not in the middle of a public conversation.

 

“Who is Buff? Who knows Buff? Those are great questions. He’s different things to different people. But at the heart of it all, he’s one of the best people I’ve ever been associated with. He was 18 and I got a call from his mom’s boyfriend asking if I would consider representing him. So I made my calls and I kept hearing he was a trouble-maker. But I also kept hearing he was a once-in-a-lifetime talent. So I drove up to Roseau and spent a lot of time with him before I made a decision. The bad apple stuff? I never saw a bit of it. He keeps his friends forever and he’s got lots of them from many different walks of life. He’s just a really, really good guy and if he lets you in, you can’t help but fall in love with him.”

 

Inside the Jets organization, Byfuglien is beloved. His teammates look to him for leadership. Last season, when former teammate Evander Kane crossed the line of some dressing room codes, it was Byfuglien who took the matter into his own hands, tossing the power forward’s clothes into frigid water and leaving them to soak.

 

"I’m sure you have rules in your household," Byfuglien said of the incident. "And if the kids don’t stick to it, you’ve got to discipline them. It is what it is."

 

Byfuglien, who at one point last season told his agent to let Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff know if he didn’t trade Kane he would someday have to move him, didn’t go rogue. He had the support of his teammates.

 

"There’s a standard that everybody needs to live up to," said Blake Wheeler. "We’re professionals. We make a lot of money. That’s the code we live by. If you don’t like it then there are other places you can go. This is the way we do things."

 

Winnipeg is a small place. He’s the most popular athlete in Winnipeg but he’s found a way to make it work for him. It’s no fishbowl where Byfuglien is concerned.

 

“I was in Winnipeg last year and we went for a beer after a game with (Jets defenceman) Adam Pardy,” recounts Hankinson. “We’re having something to eat and I look up there’s a guy with his phone and he’s filming Buff, waiting for him to take a sip of his beer. I asked him if he wanted me to tell the guy to stop. ‘Nah. I can’t tell people to stop taking pictures or filming me. It’s part of the job.’ He likes to keep his private life separate but he understands the people in Winnipeg have passion. And he thinks the people are generally good people. So it works for him. Winnipeg is a good fit for Buff.”

 

When Paul Maurice arrived in Winnipeg, Byfuglien was playing forward as part of a last-ditch experiment instigated by previous coach Claude Noel. Maurice hadn’t liked all of what he’d seen from Byfuglien on defence and insisted he stay at forward.

 

Over time, however, Byfuglien wore Maurice down and when injuries piled up early last season, the coach gave him his chance, but with the caveat that Byfuglien play the right way or be prepared to go back up front. Maurice wanted some game sound decision-making to go along with the remarkable talent.

 

He got it and Byfuglien since hasn’t spent more than a handful of power-play shifts at forward. Prior to injury and suspension slowing him down last season, he had an outside chance at Norris Trophy votes.

 

Now 30, a husband and a father of two young children, Byfuglien is on the precipice of free agency. The Jets want to keep him but so far talks have been limited. Term is an issue and so is cash value.

 

What’s he worth and for how long? It’s up for debate. Just like all things Byfuglien.

 

He’s unpredictable at times, as reliable as an old friend at others. Byfuglien remains a riddle. Take your pick, there’s no shortage of opinions. But don’t be surprised if before long he has you changing your mind.

 

Frustrating? Yep. Remarkable? Truly.

 

There’s a saying around the Jets dressing room which gets uttered quite often.

 

“That’s just Buff being Buff,” they say.

 

It’s the perfect blanket statement to cover hockey’s most unknowable and unpredictable star.

[The Unknown Poster]

Hadnt heard this before:

 

Byfuglien, who at one point last season told his agent to let Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff know if he didn’t trade Kane he would someday have to move him, didn’t go rogue.

[Rich]

If Buff goes to UFA, we'll know that Buffalo is out of the running.

[The Unknown Poster]

Interesting.  What exactly was the Jets' plan?  had it not come to a head, were they not going to move Kane?  They would had chosen Kane over Buff?

 

Oh well, Im sure if Kane was asked about Buff's feelings he'd say it was just racism.  Right?

[Rich]

I'm more interested in the timing of those comments.  Was it after everything blew up with the track suit of before.

 

Also curious how long Cheveldayoff (prior to that incident) was seriously trying to trade Kane, other than the usual discussions GMs would have on players.

[The Unknown Poster]

I'm more interested in the timing of those comments.  Was it after everything blew up with the track suit of before.

 

Also curious how long Cheveldayoff (prior to that incident) was seriously trying to trade Kane, other than the usual discussions GMs would have on players.

I wonder too.  I recall the 2014 Draft where Chevy said there was some deals discussed that required ownership-level approval.  But the fact they pulled the trigger on the trade so quickly after the Track-Gate incident just makes me wonder if they were hoping they could keep Kane (and Buff) and everything would eventually work out.

[bb1]

When Buff is on he is as dominant as any star in the NHL.When he isn't he can really hurt you defensively. I want Buff but over Myers or Trouba? No.Going to be tough to lose him but I just don't see how we keep him.

[Goalie]

Bob McKenzie seems to think Buff will get 7 years 7 million per on the open market... If that's the case, adios Buff. Trade him now while you can really. Cuz no way I'd give him 7 years. 

[bb1]

Bob McKenzie seems to think Buff will get 7 years 7 million per on the open market... If that's the case, adios Buff. Trade him now while you can really. Cuz no way I'd give him 7 years.

Yeah that's the kind of contract that kills you down the road no way Chevy goes for that kind of term.

[Ducky]

I'd sign Buff for 7x7 in a heartbeat if there were no "no trade clause" or a limited one....he would get more than that on the open market. The Rangers would LOVE to have him, if they could fit him into the cap.

[bb1]

I'd sign Buff for 7x7 in a heartbeat if there were no "no trade clause" or a limited one....he would get more than that on the open market. The Rangers would LOVE to have him, if they could fit him into the cap.

Gotta disagree the cap is going down who knows where it will be in 4 or 5 years you don't saddle yourself for that long of a term not for someone at Buffs age.

[The Unknown Poster]

If someone wants him at 7X7 that's good news. Trade him before the deadline to some team that is dying to have him and soak them for a good return.

[Brandon]

I'm not sure if him playing better is a benefit for us or something that will work against us....  

 

He'll command more of a salary.... but he will also drive up the trading bargaining chips come dead line time...