Is Dustin Byfuglien sustainable?

[MT319]

Ehh I wouldn't be so overly confident in his long term production as Bogosian is a very serious D option and his emergence could depreciate Byfuglien's value a bit....Byfuglien I don't think legitimately has the skill set to put up 70 points consistently....60 is where i'd draft him at realistically short term....50 longer term...he is a big body but a very poor skater which will hinder him. 60 points short term...50 long term...70 this season.

[sparrowtrini]

Yeah, the PIMs are huge. I would have a hard time drafting him with the expectation of 75 pts though.

Totally agreed.

[fungchen3]

Byfuglien I don't think legitimately has the skill set to put up 70 points consistently....60 is where i'd draft him at realistically short term....50 longer term...he is a big body but a very poor skater which will hinder him. 60 points short term...50 long term...70 this season.

This is a good angle, but I would warn you, a lot of the same things were said about John LeClair when he was traded to the Flyers and he ended up scoring 50 goals 4 seasons in a row.

We need to remember something, Buff is not a typical defenseman. Two weeks ago I saw him score a goal while standing in the other teams crease. Byfuglien is a rover and has the green light, which is a deadly combo.

Point being, Bogosian is a different animal altogether and as long as Buff produces, Bogo is no threat to him. In fact, Enstrom and Byfuglien make the perfect duo on the PP. They remind me a lot of Markov and Souray in 06-07 (maybe better).

But I agree with you, I would draft Buff as a steady 60-pointer (which still makes him an elite D option) and if you get 66-75 gravy out of him so be it. I will say this though, if your D gets a G-bonus, Buff could be the mack daddy of all D.

Some players simply need the right environment and opportunity to blossom, re: John LeClair. To his credit, Big Buff is motivated and having fun. And right now Atlanta is the perfect situation for him as there is no added pressure to cover his end.