Byfuglien granted Leave of Absence

[Dennis]

No details yet. Hopefully all is well.

Sean Reynolds‏@snseanreynolds

The Winnipeg Jets have granted defenceman Dustin Byfuglien a personal leave of absence from the hockey team.

[AngelicAssassin0]

Hopefully he just feels like he doesn't need training camp. Ultimately the team is of no concern. All that matters is that Buff comes through whatever this is healthy and happy.

[Belexus75]

if this is for longer, jets may need to sign connor and line to play defense....

Trouba, Myers and now this....

as owner of Hellybuyck in 2 leagues im really starting to worry about jets...

[Dennis]

Maurice commented this morning

Jets grant Byfuglien leave of absence

Dustin Byfuglien has been granted a leave of absence by the Winnipeg Jets.No timetable for the leave was given by the team, who open training camp on Friday with medicals and on-ice testing at BellMTS Iceplex.

Head coach Paul Maurice, who joined TSN 1290 on Friday morning, stated that the 34-year-old defencemen would be fine, and that there was nothing “sinister” about the leave.

General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff reiterated that saying both Byfuglien and his family are fine, but needed some time. Cheveldayoff said he spoke with Byfuglien on Thursday and granted the leave. Cheveldayoff

Maurice, Cheveldayoff and a selection of players are set to be available beginning at 9 a.m. this morning.

[mounD]

*Chief Wiggum voice*

Nothing to see here, folks. Move along now.

[Mr. Guru]

Hello Josh Morrissey 55+ points

[lucafen4]

sign Ben Hutton.
Need to find a way to add another D or 2 at least.
That was WITH Buff.

[2014olympicgold]

Contemplating his future in the NHL:

Bob McKenzie‏Verified account @TSNBobMcKenzie

Dustin Byfuglien, currently on personal leave from WPG, is believed to be using the time to ponder his NHL future. I’m not saying Byfuglien is retiring; I’m not saying he’s coming back to play. Only that he’s contemplating his options and there’s no timetable for a decision.

https://twitter.com/TSNBobMcKenzie/s...90056867192832

[Eskimo Brother]

Contemplating his future in the NHL:

https://twitter.com/TSNBobMcKenzie/s...90056867192832

That's unexpected, but maybe the news with Andrew Luck gave him a bit of a different perspective?

[Pengwin7]

Hello Josh Morrissey 55+ points

There's certainly some correlation to be considered there... the 8yr Morrissey signing (Sep12) was the day previous to Buff's announced leave (Sep13).
If there was a reason to overpay Morrissey... a possible Buff exit is/was a good-to-great reason.

Chevy: "Hey Morrissey, get yer ass in here, we gonna pay you what you asked!!!"
Morrissey: "Oh, wow, really? Great? Why?"
Chevy: "Don't worry about that, sign this and we're good to go..."

Could this all trickle into a huge Laine-to-CAR trade???


In all seriousness, Buff (for as big as he is) has always struck me as an introverted, solitary type of guy.
He's a very regular guy that, I believe, is absolutely fine fading into the backdrop of some small town - Northern Exposure style.
It wouldn't surprise me to see him go all Barry-Sanders and hang 'em up... stroll out to his little fishing hut on the frozen lakes all winter and go ice-fishing.
I think he'd be plenty happy with that.

Maurice's choice of words carries a lot more stock, for me, that I think most consider: "...nothing sinister..."
Curious phrasing.
Why does one say that?
Well - needing to contemplate the future (possibly retire)... that would fit the bill towards that phrase being merit-able, yes?

The drama with Trouba's departure and the Laine, Connor demands and their young-money-hunger (/complaints) is the perfect distraction for Buff to move on (without his $8m & $6m due).
It's an annoying thing for some people. All that money, that the youth are demanding and receiving. It's hard for any "elder" to feel the youth moving in and the vets slowly moving out.
He's also got the Andrew Luck precedence fresh in people's minds (and the media's) for big-picture "how does this play out" consideration.
And everybody was pretty gentle with Luck's departure - a bigger face of the Indy NFL-team than Buff is for WPG.

There's a lot of signs here.
I'd put him at 50/50... there's a very fair chance he is done with being a pro hockey player.

[ericdaoust]

I won't make any assumptions about what's going on in Buff's head. I'm just glad he's actually taking steps to make that type of decision if that's how he feels. Too many people stick with the status quo despite being unhappy about what they're doing with their lives.

[marsid6687]

One year leagues have to consider where to draft Buff with this news. I'd think this would knock him down at least 3 or more rounds from his current ADP.

[Chico Resch]

I was looking at his numbers.....

Hes going into his 15th season. I think, like any job, at some point in the juncture you just want to stop. He's been playing a long time, so I can't say I blame him if this is the case.

[2014olympicgold]

15yrs in the NHL, 17yrs post drafted, playing since he was like 4or5 so 30yrs.

I would understand if he retired. Guys had his injuries and what not throughout his career, and who knows what his joints are like right now.

[audiopile]

15yrs in the NHL, 17yrs post drafted, playing since he was like 4or5 so 30yrs.

I would understand if he retired. Guys had his injuries and what not throughout his career, and who knows what his joints are like right now.

I can only imagine but would totally understand if he woke up and said "training camp already??? Ugh. Im not up to it. I wish I didn't have to. Oh,,, wait a sec."

There was a bit of drop off last year, and I'd rather remember a player in his prime than struggling to stay with the game.