Buff - worth holding a roster spot?

[Canucks13]

Simply what the title says...Jets season opener is today, home opener on the 10th. Is it fair to expect some kind of news on Buff’s front soon out of due diligence for the team? Could be as early as today with Winnipeg kicking off their season.


Is it worth being down a player to stash Buff?

[hockeyrobot]

It doesn't look like you have a huge bench... But if this is a league you normally do well in I would keep him for now.

I had a similar situation with Nylander last year. I normally did well so hung on to him. That didn't work out because he eventually sucked haha... But same concept.

[gogoayane]

Your Ds are pretty good already... I don't see anyone you would drop to hold Buff (maybe Johnsson, but Larkin is back).

Buff is currently suspended and there's no immediate rush for Jets to bring him onboard. Plus, I don't know if he is even keeping up with shape / practicing. Nylander was skating throughout his holdout so it's a bit different (and Buff is much older also).

[Magicstew]

your D is good in this format, so unless you can pur Buff on IR I would stand pat and not waste a spot

[RizzeeDizzee]

In general what do people think would be the criteria for Buff to be owned in a league? How many teams? How large of a roster size? I'm curious as to what folks think.

[lucafen4]

It really depends on how strong your roster is & your matchups to start. As well as size of bench.
I picked him up in a limited keeper - 8 bench - cap league.

The reward is worth it. But it's relative to each team/league.
If you can survive with him on the bench.. I'd hold for a couple weeks at least

[Moses]

I think that no matter the league size or format you have to give Buff *at least* a week to see if any news breaks. He is too valuable to not take a slight risk on.

The Jets start with a 4 game road trip, then one at home, then one on the road, before returning home for a 6 game homestand. I think it is safe to say that Buff will not be joining them on this first road trip. If I were holding Byfuglien (league and format dependent), I would wait out the first 6 games then re-evaluate the situation. By the time the Jets 6 game homestand rolls around, I think the picture is going to much clearer.

[ddp]

I'm holding him in 14 team 5 bench spots keeper league until they tell us something. I'm sure something will be out sooner rather than later. Wouldn't surprise me if it is he's battling something.

[Eleasha]

I think you stay put for a least a week or two into the season. If the news stays the same then you can think of dropping him because then I believe other owners in your league would be less eager to jump right on him.

[anthonybeaty]

Yeah I'm holding onto him too. Yahoo doesn't let me put him in the IR spot, but for his production and PIMs, he is worth holding on to for 1-2 weeks. This is doubly true for me since my D would be so much better with him. Of course given his age and the very high likelihood that he hasn't been keeping in shape, it wouldn't surprise me at all if he comes back and gets injured in pretty short order.

[Canucks13]

Alright then, I took the leap of faith and dropped Ghost for him !

...on the odds someone takes Ghost and Buff doesn’t come back, guys such as Ellis, Hronek, McAvoy, Ekholm, Girard, Toews etc are available in waivers. Just a question of how long they all last there really

[LawMan]

In a head-to-head league I think guys out to start the season whether: suspension, retirement, injury or contract hold-out are worth at least 10 games (3 weeks) of no playing before I get worried. Buff is a great fantasy asset when he plays, I like the move for a few weeks.

[lannymcdonald]

I'm holding him in 14 team 5 bench spots keeper league

I'm literally doing the same, verbatim.

[joe jones]

holding him too. Too cheap in our auction draft ($4) not to!

[Canucks13]

Few updates:

> on Saturday HNIC, Friedman says Buff’s agent said not to jump to conclusions and that this won’t resolve itself anytime soon https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/...rt-nhl-season/

18. Ben Hankinson, who represents Dustin Byfuglien, warns “not to jump to any conclusions” about the defenceman’s future. I’ve heard the Jets have to work to convince Byfuglien to return, but Hankinson said this is going to take some time before we know one way or the other. Winnipeg is clearly hoping he gets bitten by the hockey bug and decides to return. The health of his ankle likely determines all of this.

> Bob McKenzie today on TSN1050: “He reportedly did not skate or train all Summer”



...more uncertainty.

This is pretty bizarre because Buff didn’t even notify the Jets of his plans until training camp and now they’re stuck and ill-prepared having a very suspect blue line without him.

According to the early reports, it caught the Jets off guard and their GM had to convince Buff not to retire as the whole thing came up all of a sudden. Hard to know if that’s true or not but going off the latest reports from hockey’s best reporters, Buff himself doesn’t know and is pondering what to do. You bet it’s an injury as Buff’s agent mentioned his ankle but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s that concussion he got last year too.

Buff sort or blindsided the Jets by not informing them but it’s definitely not like he’s not allowed to prioritize his well being over a game. Sure seems like he was ready to walk away from the game but is giving it some time to see how his body responds. There have been some high profile comebacks mid season in hockey history so you wonder if Buff will add to that or not.



^with all that, I will personally be dropping Buff for the time being. There’s no way he’s back within a month as he’s not even in hockey shape let alone sure on returning. And if he does decide to come back, if anything it will be reported/leaked and then it will be an additional 4-6 weeks before you see him on the ice as he gets back up to speed.

/ this isn’t going to be a 2-3 week thing where you’re holding on to him and hoping he returns immediately just like that. This will be more along the lines of 1-2 months with all things considered.