- Dustin Byfuglien is back in Winnipeg for the Jets alumni game and says he is “excited just to be around the guys”
- The former Jets defenseman explained why he walked away in 2019 and what he does with his time now
- Read below for what Andrew Ladd, Bryan Little and Claude Noel said about Big Buff
Dustin Byfuglien is back in Winnipeg, and he sounds happy about it.
Byfuglien was asked Saturday about returning for the Jets alumni game against the Canadiens alumni, part of Heritage Classic weekend. The former defenseman kept it short and simple.
“I’m excited just to be around the guys, coming and see faces that you don’t get to see every day,” Byfuglien said. “There’s a lot of memories. We went through a lot of hard times with each other, so it’s fun to come back and be with the guys again.”
The Jets had a little fun with his appearance before puck drop. Check out their post on Buff and the cycle game:
Byfuglien played eight of his 14 NHL seasons in Winnipeg and won a Stanley Cup with Chicago in 2010. He walked away before the 2019-20 season and left $14 million on the table over the final two years of his contract. There was no farewell tour and no lap of honor.
He was asked why he left the way he did. “That’s the way it was, that’s how I picked it,” Byfuglien said. “You just know.” He pointed to injuries, family and the grind of being away from home.
Now 41, he says he doesn’t miss playing. He spends his time with his family, hunting and fishing, and he even competes in pro fishing tournaments. We caught him at one of those back in August, when he told a reporter he “never was in shape” for this game. You can read about it here.
His old teammates were happy to see him. Former Jets captain Andrew Ladd called Byfuglien “a unicorn,” and Bryan Little said “there’s not really anyone that played the game like him.”
Claude Noel, who coached Byfuglien in Winnipeg and is back behind the alumni bench, had a story about the first time he watched him on tape from Atlanta. Watch Noel tell it:
Byfuglien holds the Jets record for goals by a defenseman with 122, and he put up 16 points in 17 games during the 2018 run to the Western Conference Final. He played 609 games for the franchise.
The alumni game is set for 6:30 p.m. CT Saturday at Canada Life Centre. The real thing follows Sunday at Princess Auto Stadium, which we previewed here.
