The Jets do have a Franchise Player
photo from jets.nhl.com
The challenge since the return of the Jets for all fans has been this: who is ‘the’ Winnipeg Jet? The one who personifies what the franchise is, what it can do, and what it believes. There has been no consensus amongst the fans and not one players has truly been adopted as ‘that guy’. However that may be changing, or at least in this writer’s eyes it should change. Why deny the inevitable, prolong the process, or ignore the obvious, that player is Dustin Byfuglien.
No player on the Jets is having a better season than Byfuglien and no player means more to this team than Byfuglien does. Imagine where the Jets would be without him?
The debate around Byfuglien for the previous three seasons has been challenging as he is almost as divisive amongst the fans as Evander Kane is, but for totally different reasons. Big Buff either didn’t work hard enough, play physical, be defensive minded, compete more, or any of the other narratives that have dogged him. To others he was a possession beast, helped the transition game, logged long minutes, played where he was asked, and scored when needed. Fans wanted more or they said what more can he do?
Byfuglien is loved by his team mates. He brings levels of brevity to tense situations and while he isn’t the most comfortable personality in front of media he provides what he can when he can just like being on the ice.
What has changed in the past month though is the almost unanimous appreciation amongst fans and media for Byfuglien. All this happened once he switched to defense and yet there is still some debate about him but more the ‘chicken and the egg’ kind.
Is Buff the same player thriving in a new and improved system or is he an improved player because of the coach and team system? While some like Troy Westwood would have you believe that Buff was prone to serious defensive gaffes and errors other would say he was part of what the Jets were, an undisciplined group. That’s not to pick on Troy but he held that belief and has defended it with integrity and honesty as part of his mornings on TSN 1290.
The answer will never be known, at least definitively, but is there any player on the Jets who has seen such an improvement as Buff has under Maurice? Remember, Buff started the season as a 3rd line right wing.
The answer may not have to be known either, but only because what we see with Buff matches what his underlying number say- he’s good. The only difference, now that he is on defense, is the physical aspect of his game has come out. When some one of Buff’s size plays fans expect to see hits, bangs, and crashes. Since his move to defense that’s what fans and media are commenting on the most- the physical play.
In 2011-12 Byfuglien had 112 hits, last season he had 213 and now this season he is on pace for 250. It has dramatically affected what everyone calls the ‘eye-test’ as there is no one complaining right now.
However, Buff’s increased value amongst observers is not due to just hits or points, the situation he is in being the #1 defense man is what is most impressive. Only Paul Postma has been on the blue line more than Buff now and the rest of the rear guards are the patchwork quilt defense. Byfuglien has supported rookie Ben Chairot as much as the rookie has adapted to Buff. Maurice trusts Buff so much that he can leave him out longer and with different partners in any situation.
The fact that the usually boisterous and creative MTS Centre fans have not created a cheer or chant for Byfuglien is more than a little surprising. What other Jets player is playing with a tank as full of passion as Dustin Byfuglien? He deserves his due.
The fans of the Winnipeg Jets have wanted that one player to cheer for. The one who stands out above all others, the one that personifies what it means to be a Winnipeg Jet and that player is Byfuglien. Observers may not agree on how he got to this point, did the systems bring out the player or the player thrive in the system? The most obvious change is that through the adversity of losing the top 4 defense plus Evander Kane, all for over a month each, one player emerged and put the team on his back, just like has done before in past seasons.
Maybe we, as fans and media, didn’t realize Byfuglien’s value because the Jets weren’t winning and that may be unfortunate. Not because it wasn’t there, rather we couldn’t see it because the results never came with his game.
Dustin Byfuglien was always a unique, diverse talent within the NHL. Teams dream of finding a player like him let alone getting one for such a price as Atlanta did in the 2010. It’s taken Winnipeg nearly 4 seasons to truly appreciate what the franchise has with Byfuglien but it’s also taken the same amount of time for the Jets to win and compete with consistent success.
It may still be unclear as to whether the emergence of Byfuglien and the Jets is like the chicken or the egg but one thing is certain, the mold that built him was destroyed in the process.