Today the airwaves in Winnipeg bristled as the Winnipeg Sun headline made it's rounds about Dustin Byfuglien possible being traded. It originated in a phone/radio comment from the astute and connected Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Just like with Bob MacKenzie, one does not dismiss the comment but is it all that original and enlightening?
No.
Byfuglien has been the source of trade rumours for months if not years. His physical stature and style of play make him an obvious target and as he and the Jets inched towards his contract year with no deal close speculation was only to increase.
Let's be clear, Friedman only confirmed that Byfuglien was offered for Hamonic and at that point no one was sure if it was a straight up deal or part of something more. Yet here we are in Winnipeg all aflutter that big Buff might be leaving.
Byfuglien probably should be moved but that's not what anyone is talking about. The question that no one is asking is this: if Byfuglien is traded why did Chevy wait so long to do it?
Buff's value would have been no higher two years ago in the 2013 off season when he had two year left on his deal and was 28 years old. He had 20 goals and 36 assists for 56 points as a defenseman and was looked upon to be in a class of his own not because of his scoring but because of his size and skill.
Now it appears Jets GM, Kevin Cheveldayoff, is hoping he can turn a UFA to be into a younger cheaper player signed for term. Did I miss a memo about how GMs value players?
The challenge now is how does Byfuglien feel about this? Remember it was not to long ago that Byfuglien's representatives said contract negotiations had not even started. For the Jets fans this looks like very similar to the situation that started with Frolik and ended with nothing. Ask this, at this point after 5 years of service, no complaints and doing whatever has been asked of him on and off the ice, should Buff feel welcomed by Winnipeg after trying to discard him to the Islanders?
Cheveldayoff either knows one of two things, or perhaps both; he can't re-sig Buff or he never had any intention. Again this begs the question, why wait until the the 11th hour to start doing anything?
If keeping Frolik, at the risk of losing him for nothing, (which is what happened) sent a message to Jets core that ownership wants to win what does delaying and attempting to trade say?
Right now the one could argue that the message and decisions out of the Jets front office is pretty much like the team's play on the ice, erratic and reactionary with a whole lot of hope missed in. Hope is never a plan and the best method for success is to plan your work and work your plan. Does anyone see that happening right now with this franchise?
That's how you end up not having a key piece signed to the future or traded by now. Remember, we're only talking about Byfuglien, what if Andrew Ladd doesn't enjoy the way his close friend is being treated? It's one thing to have a name pop up in trade rumours as Byfuglien's has for a some time now but it's entirely different with how and when a name comes up. That's on Cheveldayoff and right now no one really knows what plan he has, and maybe he doesn't either.