Isn't he the main reason they traded Evander Kane?
Bank it. It's gonna happen. I think teams will pay a lot to get a guy like Byfuglien, and if anything these playoffs show he is expendable. He hurt them more than he helped them against Anaheim.
Not to mention they already have a strong top 4 of Stuart, Trouba, Myers, and Enstrom under contract, solid 5/6 guys in Chariot, Clitsome, Pardy, Postma, Harrison, and Chariot showed he's capable of playing top 4 minutes and being effective. And they have Josh Morrissey on the way. I don't know what exactly the deal will be, but I think it's very likely next season opens with Dustin Byfuglien not on the Jets.
Isn't he the main reason they traded Evander Kane?
they need to upgrade their goaltending. their goalies played well down the stretch but it was clearly an issue in the playoffs. granted they did play against anaheim so perhaps it's not fair to say they sucked but i just don't think pavelec should be their starter if they are serious about making a push in the playoffs.
otherwise byfuglien needs to be traded for a top 6 forward. the jets have a lot of forward depth so they need to make sure they are getting quality back. there arent many D like byfuglien so if he does get traded they need to ensure they get a good return.
Its not a hole at D, but agree with the above. He could be traded, but they would need to upgrade their F group with a star type player. Big Buff brings certain dynamics that are hard to find. I'd say it is possible he gets traded, but I'm not sure it's probable. They definitely need to figure out their G situation 1st.
Buff is a FAR better fantasy contributor than he is real life. I think he hurts the Jets when they play him on defense because he is quite awful at the position.
Myers can play on the top-pair while Trouba can play on the 2nd pair, so this would make sense. They have three very good right-handed shots on the blueline.
Enstrom seems to be more of a 2nd pair player nowadays, and Stuart is a better fit on the 3rd pair. Adding a Top-6 forward is an obvious goal but if they can't do that, they could look for a left-handed shot to play with Myers.
I think Buff is hilarious. The guy doesn't want to be a forward, he wants to be a defenseman.
But when he's a defenseman, he wants to play like a forward.
I honestly don't think that the Jets would miss him all that much. As raytaylor already pointed out their depth at D is actually pretty ridiculous. If they can use him as a trade chip for help elsewhere or simply clear his cap space I don't think that would be the worst thing in the world.
After a successful season, do they rock their core with this kind of deal? Something has to happen though, but this big?
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15-Team Keeper, points only, best 12 fwd, 4 dman, 2 G count. Playoffs count.
F - T. Thompson, Thomas, Nylander, Tarasenko, Arvidsson, Guentzel, Fiala, Quinn, Mittelstadt, Hagel, Zacha, Roslovic, Berggren, Brink, Ostlund
G - Kahkonen, Vejmelka, L. Thompson, Levi, Comrie
D - Hronek, Morrissey, Lundkvist, Girard, Brannstrom, Rathbone, Hanifin, Severson, Durzi