Reports surfaced on Monday that the Winnipeg Jets and defenseman Dustin Byfuglien may be coming to the end of a lengthy standoff in what could be a mutual contract termination.
Despite Byfuglien's uncertainty surrounding the direction he to take with his pro hockey career, many speculated early on that we would see Big Buff at some point this season. The picture became a little more blurry when the big-bodied blueliner underwent surgery to repair some damage done to his ankle late in 2019. When that injury developed into a battle with the Jets over who would be footing the bill for his long layoff and recovery, his future in the NHL began to look grim.
Late last month, the hockey world was rich with rumblings of a potential retirement announcement, however those rumours were shut down when Monday's report surfaced that he and the team were at work on a mutual contract termination, indicating that he may yet return at some point, albeit in a new sweater.
The silver lining in this situation is that if and when the Jets organization and Byfuglien agree to part ways, it will provide the Jets with much cap relief. If it happens before the deadline - and it really looks like it could go that way - GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and company will have some money to spend at the deadline to help in the Jets pursuit of a playoff berth.
As Byfuglien's teammate over the past three seasons Patrik Laine points out, this money could have been put to use much earlier this season.
"He makes a lot of money," said Laine "and boy, if he doesn't want to play we probably could have used it for something else. But that's just the way it goes sometimes... that can't be an excuse."
Laine didn't pull any punches in how he felt about Buff handcuffing the organization, but he also did not use it as an excuse for the team's current position in the standings, trailing the Arizona Coyotes by 3 points for the 2nd wild card spot in the West and 6 points behind the Colorado Avalanche for 3rd in the Central Division, though the Avs have 3 games in hand.
The Jets have 29 games remaining this season, which is plenty of time to go on a run and make the playoffs, but as Laine indicated to reporters, Buff's $7.6M may have been of more value to the team in the summer when pursuing another impact player in free agency was an option. At least that way, it would only have cost the team cap dollars and not the actual assets it may require to bring another body or two in at the deadline.
Either way, this is an interesting development in Winnipeg. You have to imagine if Laine feels the way he does about the situation, there are others in the locker room who may echo his sentiments.
-
