Injury Report: Dustin Byfuglien (Warning in OP)

[surixon]

He did. The issue is that the CBA gives the NHL team the right to determine the rehabilitation and treatment of all injuries so if he said this was an issue at his year end physical the Jets would have made him rehab it over the summer or maybe made him have surgery at that time so he'd be ready to go for the start of the next season.

The situation is made worse because he didn't report to camp where he could have said he sustained the injury in the Jets voluntary skate the day before and the Jets medical team would have treated it from there and he would have been paid.

Instead he didn't report and then ultimately didn't follow the CBA in determining how a second opinion is determined and if the Jets medical staff and the Doc giving the second medical opinion disagree the CBA determines how a third medical opinion is used. Then there is a list of approved Doctors to perform the surgeries and give additional medical opinions and Buff didn't do any of this.

The NHL needs to protect the rights for all the teams to determine the rehab and medical treatment their assets should receive to get them back playing the soonest and at the highest level.

IMO if Buff showed up to camp and failed his physical this would have been fine, the fact that he didn't show and didn't follow the prescribed CBA process in dealing with the injury means he has no leg to stand on. I wonder how much the media is ultimately going to be able to leak related to the nature of the grievance and the NHL's response, which they have 10 days to deliver.

Well said. This whole thing is about the NHL protecting the collectively bargained procedure.

 

[RustyCat]

After reading the CBA it appears he violated it and the team was entitled to suspend him, as such, w/o pay. He has a requirement on his end with respect to TC and injuries, so Jets mgmt responded accordingly from what I can tell.

 

[Guardian17]

So what is the normal procedure now:
-Does this go to the league first and then to an arbitrator?
-How long before we can expect a ruling?

 

[Huffer]

He had no need to retire. He was granted an LOA by the team. The team then went publics about how he is such an important member of the Jets Family, we always care about members of our family, blah blah blah. Then they suddenly suspended him 10 days later which in my opinion doesn't match well the public words from the team. If they were forthright, they would have said we always care about members of our family and are happy to grant LOA's when it doesn't cost us anything.

I'm not sure why you are hung up on the words "LOA", and "Suspension". To me they're just 2 sides of the same coin. I don't expect any competent organization to have a player sit at home collecting cheques and counting against the cap. The "suspension" was just CBA procedural to me. And I think it was even reported at the time that it was understood by Buff's camp to be procedural as well.

If Buff wanted to get surgery and collect his pay, he easily could have done that but he chose not to.

 

[Jet]

*patiently waits for ACTUAL facts to come out before spinning out of control and calling anyone names*

 

[Jetfaninflorida]

I'm not sure why you are hung up on the words "LOA", and "Suspension". To me they're just 2 sides of the same coin. I don't expect any competent organization to have a player sit at home collecting cheques and counting against the cap. The "suspension" was just CBA procedural to me. And I think it was even reported at the time that it was understood by Buff's camp to be procedural as well.

If Buff wanted to get surgery and collect his pay, he easily could have done that but he chose not to.

I am not hung up on the words LOA and Suspension. The Jets are. As evidenced by them changing his status from 'Family Member' Leave of Absence to Suspended. I thought he was going to be on a leave of absence for the time he needed, just like the Jets announced publicly to everyone.

 

[ffh]

He had no need to retire. He was granted an LOA by the team. The team then went publics about how he is such an important member of the Jets Family, we always care about members of our family, blah blah blah. Then they suddenly suspended him 10 days later which in my opinion doesn't match well the public words from the team. If they were forthright, they would have said we always care about members of our family and are happy to grant LOA's when it doesn't cost us anything.

i know he didn't retire i was responding to a post that said he did. there was a lot of speculation early on and still he took a loa after he told chevy that he wanted to retire and chevy told him to think about it. the suspension is not that out of the ordinary they certainly wouldn't pay him while he sat at home for what ever the reason. this is the same for any job if you go ask your boss for loa you cant expect to get paid. i don't think anybody expected them to pay him to sit at home for weeks.

 

[surixon]

Thanks.

 

[tbcwpg]

I am not hung up on the words LOA and Suspension. The Jets are. As evidenced by them changing his status from 'Family Member' Leave of Absence to Suspended. I thought he was going to be on a leave of absence for the time he needed, just like the Jets announced publicly to everyone.

If he's on a Leave of Absence, his cap hit counts, if he's suspended, it doesn't. Procedural. You're attaching a deeper meaning to the "suspension" than there is.

The fact that this has come up in response to the suspension is also pretty standard - if the idea is to still get his money by saying he should've gone on LTIR, then they have to go through this process to get it. I don't think that he got his back up because he was "suspended" and is retaliating because he's got hurt feelings.

 

[cheswick]

Keep in mind too that the Jets recent performance has likely killed any negotiating leverage he has. Also I did some back of the envelope analysis and the Jets record over the past couple of years with him out of the lineup is better than him in it. IMHO this team is but better off without him (as unique and talented as a player he is)

Negotiating leverage? What in your mind is Byfuglien negotiating exactly? He has a contract. He either plays for that money or he doesn't. Its not like the Jets could give him anything more to entice him back.

 

[Huffer]

I am not hung up on the words LOA and Suspension. The Jets are. As evidenced by them changing his status from 'Family Member' Leave of Absence to Suspended. I thought he was going to be on a leave of absence for the time he needed, just like the Jets announced publicly to everyone.

They had to move him to suspended due to the CBA.

If he's on a Leave of Absence, his cap hit counts, if he's suspended, it doesn't. Procedural. You're attaching a deeper meaning to the "suspension" than there is.

The fact that this has come up in response to the suspension is also pretty standard - if the idea is to still get his money by saying he should've gone on LTIR, then they have to go through this process to get it. I don't think that he got his back up because he was "suspended" and is retaliating because he's got hurt feelings.

Exactly this.

 

[Jimmyjets]

He had no need to retire. He was granted an LOA by the team. The team then went publics about how he is such an important member of the Jets Family, we always care about members of our family, blah blah blah. Then they suddenly suspended him 10 days later which in my opinion doesn't match well the public words from the team. If they were forthright, they would have said we always care about members of our family and are happy to grant LOA's when it doesn't cost us anything.

Tyler Myers says hi....

 

[KingBogo]

He had no need to retire. He was granted an LOA by the team. The team then went publics about how he is such an important member of the Jets Family, we always care about members of our family, blah blah blah. Then they suddenly suspended him 10 days later which in my opinion doesn't match well the public words from the team. If they were forthright, they would have said we always care about members of our family and are happy to grant LOA's when it doesn't cost us anything.

Everyone knows the suspension was procedural. Likely NHL directed the Jets as a step in protecting their business interests with all 31 teams that any rulings would apply to. Buff would be mature enough to realize this is matter between the NHL and NHLPA.

 

[Jetfaninflorida]

Everyone knows the suspension was procedural. Likely NHL directed the Jets as a step in protecting their business interests with all 31 teams that any rulings would apply to. Buff would be mature enough to realize this is matter between the NHL and NHLPA.

Procedural is not a sufficiently descriptive word. The change from LOA to Suspension was a business decision and has legal and contractual implications. There is a reason why when the LOA was granted, there were public press statements made by Jets management dropping kind words like 'part of the Family' etc. Here is some of Chevy re the granted LOA.

"We certainly granted it. Dustin is a big part of our family here. There's always an open policy for discussions. We always care about people of our family."

This was self serving to the Winnipeg Jets, not to Buf. There were none of these public statements when they Suspended him.

Would it have put the Jets in such positive light if Chevy had said:

"We certainly granted it. Dustin is a big part of our family here. There's always an open policy for discussions. We always care about people of our family. BTW, we are going to Suspend him in about 10 days."

I understand the business of it. What I don't like is the Jets using a micro short LOA as a press / PR opportunity about how important Byfuglien is as a member of the Jets family, knowing that they were going to suspend him shortly thereafter.

 

[mouser]

If he's on a Leave of Absence, his cap hit counts, if he's suspended, it doesn't. Procedural. You're attaching a deeper meaning to the "suspension" than there is.

The fact that this has come up in response to the suspension is also pretty standard - if the idea is to still get his money by saying he should've gone on LTIR, then they have to go through this process to get it. I don't think that he got his back up because he was "suspended" and is retaliating because he's got hurt feelings.

Sort of. If he's absent from training camp with permission then his cap hit doesn't count and he isn't paid until such time as he returns to play. When he does return then 100% of the cap hit counts on the books, even if Buff misses part of the regular season, and only receives part of his salary. The NHL probably implemented this rule to deal with the Scott Niedermeyer "contemplating retirement" situation where the Ducks essentially circumvented the cap.

and fwiw, We do know that Buff isn't both on a leave of absence and suspended. The fact he's suspended confirms that he's not absent with permission.

 

[Gil Fisher]

Procedural is not a sufficiently descriptive word. The change from LOA to Suspension was a business decision and has legal and contractual implications. There is a reason why when the LOA was granted, there were public press statements made by Jets management dropping kind words like 'part of the Family' etc. Here is some of Chevy re the granted LOA.

"We certainly granted it. Dustin is a big part of our family here. There's always an open policy for discussions. We always care about people of our family."

This was self serving to the Winnipeg Jets, not to Buf. There were none of these public statements when they Suspended him.

Would it have put the Jets in such positive light if Chevy had said:

"We certainly granted it. Dustin is a big part of our family here. There's always an open policy for discussions. We always care about people of our family. BTW, we are going to Suspend him in about 10 days."

I understand the business of it. What I don't like is the Jets using a micro short LOA as a press / PR opportunity about how important Byfuglien is as a member of the Jets family, knowing that they were going to suspend him shortly thereafter.

okay then. presumably Buff was expecting a 2 year LOA on a fishing boat and now is right pissed that he has been suspended. No. I'm pretty sure Buff understood that he wouldn't get paid to sit at home and get fat.

 

[Gil Fisher]

Sort of. If he's absent from training camp with permission then his cap hit doesn't count and he isn't paid until such time as he returns to play. When he does return then 100% of the cap hit counts on the books, even if Buff misses part of the regular season, and only receives part of his salary. The NHL probably implemented this rule to deal with the Scott Niedermeyer "contemplating retirement" situation where the Ducks essentially circumvented the cap.

and fwiw, We do know that Buff isn't both on a leave of absence and suspended. The fact he's suspended confirms that he's not absent with permission.

He has permission to be on leave without pay. In the NHL, that's the suspended list.

 

[TS Quint]

Procedural is not a sufficiently descriptive word. The change from LOA to Suspension was a business decision and has legal and contractual implications. There is a reason why when the LOA was granted, there were public press statements made by Jets management dropping kind words like 'part of the Family' etc. Here is some of Chevy re the granted LOA.

"We certainly granted it. Dustin is a big part of our family here. There's always an open policy for discussions. We always care about people of our family."

This was self serving to the Winnipeg Jets, not to Buf. There were none of these public statements when they Suspended him.

Would it have put the Jets in such positive light if Chevy had said:

"We certainly granted it. Dustin is a big part of our family here. There's always an open policy for discussions. We always care about people of our family. BTW, we are going to Suspend him in about 10 days."

I understand the business of it. What I don't like is the Jets using a micro short LOA as a press / PR opportunity about how important Byfuglien is as a member of the Jets family, knowing that they were going to suspend him shortly thereafter.

You’re upset about the Jets phrasing publicly? Do you know what Buff said to the Jets about taking time off? Did he tell them that he was going to be gone for a few days? A week? A month? A year? Forever? If Buff said he wasn’t going to be around for the beginning of the season did the Jets or his agent explain to Buff privately he would be suspended for cap/breach of contract reasons? Or are you thinking this was a surprise to Buff? Or is this just about the wording?

 

[tbcwpg]

Procedural is not a sufficiently descriptive word. The change from LOA to Suspension was a business decision and has legal and contractual implications. There is a reason why when the LOA was granted, there were public press statements made by Jets management dropping kind words like 'part of the Family' etc. Here is some of Chevy re the granted LOA.

"We certainly granted it. Dustin is a big part of our family here. There's always an open policy for discussions. We always care about people of our family."

This was self serving to the Winnipeg Jets, not to Buf. There were none of these public statements when they Suspended him.

Would it have put the Jets in such positive light if Chevy had said:

"We certainly granted it. Dustin is a big part of our family here. There's always an open policy for discussions. We always care about people of our family. BTW, we are going to Suspend him in about 10 days."

I understand the business of it. What I don't like is the Jets using a micro short LOA as a press / PR opportunity about how important Byfuglien is as a member of the Jets family, knowing that they were going to suspend him shortly thereafter.

This seems to be the most pedantic of interpretations.

 

[Jetfaninflorida]

I believe that there is another side to the story of Buf's injury. It will eventually come out. The difference between an LOA and Suspension is not phrasing.

 

[Adam da bomb]

I believe that there is another side to the story of Buf's injury. It will eventually come out. The difference between an LOA and Suspension is not phrasing.

Yea Buf likes getting paid and as soon as he found out he wouldn’t be paid to lounge around he thought it was unfair.

 

[Royale With Cheese]

Procedural is not a sufficiently descriptive word. The change from LOA to Suspension was a business decision and has legal and contractual implications. There is a reason why when the LOA was granted, there were public press statements made by Jets management dropping kind words like 'part of the Family' etc. Here is some of Chevy re the granted LOA.

"We certainly granted it. Dustin is a big part of our family here. There's always an open policy for discussions. We always care about people of our family."

This was self serving to the Winnipeg Jets, not to Buf. There were none of these public statements when they Suspended him.

Would it have put the Jets in such positive light if Chevy had said:

"We certainly granted it. Dustin is a big part of our family here. There's always an open policy for discussions. We always care about people of our family. BTW, we are going to Suspend him in about 10 days."

I understand the business of it. What I don't like is the Jets using a micro short LOA as a press / PR opportunity about how important Byfuglien is as a member of the Jets family, knowing that they were going to suspend him shortly thereafter.

I think you are over thinking this, and adding meaning to words that don't need the extra meaning.

 

[SensibleGuy]

I am not hung up on the words LOA and Suspension. The Jets are. As evidenced by them changing his status from 'Family Member' Leave of Absence to Suspended. I thought he was going to be on a leave of absence for the time he needed, just like the Jets announced publicly to everyone.

The suspension was simple procedure the org had to take in order to get Buff off the cap and I believe it happened some time after the LOA. You are WAY over thinking this. And your efforts to demonize the organization are silly. Buff chose this route and I think it's going to cost him in the end.

 

[Spock]

The player didn't report to camp.

Am I missing something or does the conversation start and end there?

 

[robertocarlos]

The player didn't report to camp.

Am I missing something or does the conversation start and end there?

Something is missing. It's not that black and white.