Byfuglien doubtful to play next season

Dustin Byfuglien appears close to calling it a career.

“It’s very unlikely Dustin Byfuglien’s going to play,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on the latest edition of “Saturday Headlines.”

“Teams have asked,” Friedman continued. “One of the teams that has asked is the Minnesota Wild. They figured because Byfuglien obviously has a lot of ties to Minnesota, he’d want to play there, and they could use him. They’re probably the only team that has a chance, but I checked with Byfuglien’s agent, Ben Hankinson, (and) he said it’s doubtful that Byfuglien will play again.”

The 35-year-old defenseman sat out the 2019-20 campaign amid a contract dispute with the Winnipeg Jets, which stemmed from a difference of opinion over his health entering this season. He and the club agreed to a contract termination in April, which made him an unrestricted free agent.

Byfuglien originally had one year remaining on his contract with Winnipeg and would have received payments through 2020-21.

The gargantuan rearguard would be one of the top free-agent blue-liners if he chose to resume playing, despite his age and his extended NHL absence.

Jets, Byfuglien agree to terminate his contract

Dustin Byfuglien is officially a free agent.

The Winnipeg Jets and the veteran defenseman have resolved their dispute by terminating his contract effective immediately, the NHL and NHLPA announced Friday.

The pact would have expired following the 2020-21 season and would have paid him a base salary of $6 million during that campaign, according to CapFriendly. The deal carried a $7.6-million cap hit.

“Obviously, this was never our desired outcome or ending with Dustin,” general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said, according to The Athletic’s Murat Ates.

Cheveldayoff added: “As you can see, this isn’t about money for Dustin. We wish him well. I look forward to the day when he comes back into the arena and we have a great night for him.”

Byfuglien filed a grievance through the players’ association after the Jets suspended him without pay in September for failing to report to training camp as he contemplated his future.

The 35-year-old underwent ankle surgery in October and reportedly started rehabbing it two months later while consulting with the club.

His camp argued that he suffered the injury last season but it never fully healed. However, the Jets claimed Byfuglien had passed his end-of-season physical following the 2018-19 campaign.

Byfuglien ranks third on the franchise’s all-time assists list, tied for fifth in points, fifth in games played, and eighth in goals.

The imposing rearguard played eight seasons with the Jets after suiting up for one campaign with the Atlanta Thrashers before their move to Winnipeg. He was instrumental in the club’s run to the Western Conference Final in 2018, racking up 16 points in 17 playoff games that spring.

The Jets landed Byfuglien in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks after he helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2010.

Jets GM confirms Byfuglien is out for season

Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff confirmed Monday that defenseman Dustin Byfuglien won’t return in 2019-20, according to The Athletic’s Ken Wiebe.

Cheveldayoff also noted that while trading Byfuglien is still possible, he would need to get creative to generate interest from possible suitors, Wiebe adds.

The Jets suspended Byfuglien without pay for failing to report to training camp in September when he was contemplating his future. He hasn’t played this season.

The 34-year-old underwent ankle surgery in October for an injury he claims was hockey-related. However, Byfuglien passed his routine physical last April, and therefore the club deemed him healthy.

The veteran tallied 31 points over 42 games with the Jets in 2018-19, adding eight points in six playoff contests.

Jets exploring Byfuglien trade options

The Winnipeg Jets are attempting to exhaust all trade options for Dustin Byfuglien, sources told TSN’s Frank Seravalli.

Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff is in contact with interested teams, and talks have picked up in recent days, reports Seravalli.

The veteran blue-liner, who’ll turn 35 in March, is reportedly still a long shot to play this season. He’s sat out the entire campaign amid a dispute with the team over his injury status. The Jets suspended him in September for not reporting to training camp.

Byfuglien and the Jets were working toward terminating his contract in early February but Winnipeg waited to do so while exploring potential deals.

While his $7.6-million cap hit came off the Jets’ books when they suspended him, that number has theoretically been reduced to a prorated $1.84 million with 45 days remaining in the regular season.

Byfuglien is signed through 2020-21 and owed $6 million in base salary next season.

Jets, Byfuglien working to terminate contract

The Winnipeg Jets and Dustin Byfuglien are working toward a mutual contract termination within the next several days, sources told TSN’s Frank Seravalli.

A termination would end the defenseman’s suspension and nullify his grievance against the team. It would also make Byfuglien an unrestricted free agent.

The gargantuan blue-liner has missed the entire 2019-20 season after undergoing ankle surgery in October. The Jets suspended him in September after he didn’t report to training camp, and the NHLPA filed a grievance on his behalf in November.

Byfuglien hasn’t resumed skating since the ankle procedure. The 34-year-old’s camp has argued the injury was a hockey-related ailment sustained during the 2018-19 season and that it never fully healed, but the team deemed him healthy after he passed his end-of-season physical in April.

The veteran rearguard’s ban was procedural in nature and he hasn’t been paid since being suspended. Byfuglien’s contract originally carried a $7.6-million cap hit for both this season and the next campaign, along with salaries of $8 million in 2019-20 and $6 million in 2020-21.

Terminating the deal would bring closure to the dispute while providing the Jets with cap flexibility ahead of the Feb. 24 trade deadline.

Byfuglien not likely to return this season

Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien has yet to resume skating and the “most likely” outcome is he doesn’t play this season, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

In this case, Byfuglien’s future would be re-visited in the summer.

Byfuglien has yet to play this campaign. He was suspended without pay by the Jets for failing to report to training camp as he reportedly mulled his future. The 34-year-old underwent ankle surgery in October for an injury his camp is arguing was a hockey-related ailment from last season that never fully healed. However, Byfuglien was deemed fully healthy by the Jets after passing his routine end-of-season physical last April.

The NHLPA filed a grievance on his behalf, arguing that he should be getting paid this season as any player on long-term injured reserve would. However, Byfuglien hasn’t received any money since he’s remained suspended.

The defenseman reportedly began a post-surgery rehab program in consultation with the Jets in December. However, that rehab program has yet to see him hit the ice.

Winnipeg’s salary-cap situation has essentially been on hold awaiting Byfuglien’s decision. The Jets have room to accommodate the blue-liner and his $7.6-million cap hit if he does return this season, but general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff is free to use that cap room prior to the Feb. 24 trade deadline if he receives word the rearguard won’t return.

Byfuglien, who is signed through next season, was productive in 2018-19, tallying 31 points in 42 games.

Jets, Byfuglien likely headed to arbitration

The Dustin Byfuglien situation appears to have hit another complication.

The veteran blue-liner and the Winnipeg Jets are likely headed to arbitration to settle the ongoing saga, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday’s “Headlines” segment.

Byfuglien was suspended by the team without pay to begin the season as he contemplated retirement despite having two seasons left on his contract. However, he recently underwent ankle surgery to repair unresolved issues from an injury suffered last season.

If Byfuglien had no intention of retiring but was deemed unfit to play to begin the season due to a hockey-related injury, he likely would’ve been placed on long-term injured reserve and been able to collect his salary.

“It’s emotional, it’s heated, and it’s likely going to arbitration,” Friedman said. “… But, from what I understand, (the Jets) feel in the exit physical at the end of last year, Dustin Byfuglien was deemed fit to play. He didn’t let anyone know that he had injuries with his ankle all summer, and made it clear at the beginning of the year he was ready to retire.

“However, Byfuglien – his representatives at Octagon and I assume the Players’ Association, too – their position is Byfuglien was hurt going into the playoffs, everybody knew that, he was playing injured, he took all summer off to heal, he went to Winnipeg because he planned to play, his ankle acted up again when he started skating, and they feel it’s a legitimate hockey injury.

“As part of the surgery, (they) discovered a broken bone in his foot, but there’s also dispute over when that injury occurred and when everybody knew this. So, laying it out that way right now, I think now everybody has a better understanding of why an arbitrator, as we sit here tonight, is probably going to have to decide this.”

Byfuglien has already missed out on roughly $1.4 million of his salary this year, Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston added.

The Jets, meanwhile, have severely missed their minutes leader from the last four seasons. In addition to Byfuglien, the offseason departures of Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers, and Ben Chiarot have left Winnipeg’s blue line shorthanded. Josh Morrissey is the only holdover to play more than 25 games for the Jets last year.

Winnipeg enters Saturday ranked 21st in goals allowed after finishing in the top half of the league the last two campaigns.

Byfuglien recently underwent ankle surgery

Inactive Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien recently underwent surgery to repair unresolved issues from a high ankle sprain he suffered last season, TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports.

Byfuglien didn’t attend training camp and was reportedly contemplating his future in the sport after being granted personal leave from the team. 

He was then suspended by the team without pay, which head coach Paul Maurice confirmed was a procedural decision that Byfuglien was aware of. The Jets were able to remove Byfuglien’s $7.6-million cap hit from their books until his potential return to the club, though McKenzie reports it’s too early to determine whether the defenseman will play this season.

Byfuglien’s recovery is expected to carry into the new year, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Former Jets blue-liners Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers, and Ben Chiarot found new teams over the summer, which, in combination with Byfuglien’s surprising absence, has led to Winnipeg’s depth issues on the back end. The Jets have struggled out of the gate to a 6-7 record and rank 24th with 44 goals against through 13 contests.

Despite being limited to only 42 games in 2018-19, Byfuglien registered 31 points and led all Jets skaters in 24:22 of ice time per night.

Maurice: Byfuglien suspension ‘absolutely procedural,’ he was aware

Paul Maurice did his best to quell any potential speculation about Dustin Byfuglien’s suspension.

On Sunday, the Winnipeg Jets head coach addressed the action the club took toward the veteran defenseman Saturday evening amid Byfuglien’s absence from the team. 

“It was absolutely procedural and Dustin was aware of it,” Maurice told reporters Sunday.

The Jets suspended Byfuglien for failing to report to training camp. If the gargantuan blue-liner doesn’t report by the first day of the season, Winnipeg will lose his cap hit until he returns.

Last Wednesday, TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported Byfuglien was mulling his NHL future while on personal leave, which the club said he’d been granted Sept. 13.

The Jets didn’t provide a reason for Byfuglien’s request, but Maurice said at the time that the rearguard was “going to be fine” and that it was “nothing sinister.”

Although Byfuglien’s contract is temporarily off the books, he has two years remaining on his current deal at a cap hit of $7.6 million.

Jets suspend Byfuglien for failing to report to camp

The Winnipeg Jets have suspended defenseman Dustin Byfuglien for failing to report to training camp, Jets head coach Paul Maurice confirmed Sunday.

If Byfuglien doesn’t report by opening day, the Jets lose his cap hit until he shows up. The team granted the veteran blue-liner a leave of absence as he reportedly contemplates his future in the NHL.

The Jets still want Byfuglien to return, but they need to protect their roster and create cap flexibility until they know his intentions, TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported Saturday night.

Byfuglien has two years remaining on his contract with a $7.6-million cap hit. The Jets now have $23 million in projected cap space as restricted free agents Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine remain unsigned, according to CapFriendly.

The 34-year-old has led the team in average ice time in four straight seasons.