What happened to Dustin Byfuglien?

[ps241]

By far my favourite Jets player of the 2.0 era. Hopefully, one day, Emily can talk him into coming back for a night to say goodbye to the fans. I will be in the building that night.

 

[AlexGretzchenvid]

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Omg that’s gotta be the best thing I’ve almost ever seen a hockey player do!!

 

[JianYang]

He made his money, is set for life and is out on a lake somewhere fishing. I cant say I blame him.

I don't blame him for that, but didn't he still have some term left on his contract?

I would have at least liked him to honour whatever was left on the deal.

 

[karnige]

I think his "exit" could have been more professional... then again its Byfuglien.

Hopefully he doesn't end up like Dustin Penner on twitter.

that’s who i was trying to think of. penned. didn’t he suddenly quit hockey to be a bloody dj and party?

 

[El Travo]

I don't blame him for that, but didn't he still have some term left on his contract?

I would have at least liked him to honour whatever was left on the deal.

I'd rather see the guy retire when he knows he is done vs. showing up and him wishing he was elsewhere.

 

[GreatSaveEssensa]

I don't blame him for that, but didn't he still have some term left on his contract?

I would have at least liked him to honour whatever was left on the deal.

I would rather have a player be honest with the fact he had lost the desire to play instead of just going through the motions to collect a big pay check. I respect him more for realizing he had had enough.

 

[Lolonegoal]

I'm pretty sure he retired while he was young enough to pursue his favorite outdoorsman hobbies.

He told Winnipeg he'd lost the desire to play hockey and he apparently told his agent to not have contract talks when the Wild reached out intending to sign him. He has no desire to return to the NHL.

In any case, he made his money and walked away from the sport. Nothing I've heard or read suggests he has any regrets about it.

If he had no desire to play hockey again then why did he still have an agent?

 

[NickyFotiu]

There's not a game that goes by where I don't miss him being out there.

He was truly unique.

I have yet to see another player with his combination of size, speed, and scoring ability.

He would throw big hits from time to time but he was never really a "mad" player. There's about 3 games I remember seeing him play mad and he was absolutely dominant in each game. When he WANTED to be a physical force, he was unstoppable.

He was that ultimate deterrent too. "You want to play rough with us? Alright do you see that T-Rex sized individual over there? Yeah that's what we bring to the table." It hasn't been the same since we lost that.

With all that said, I am happy that he's happy. He deserves it.

Buf did some dirty stuff vs my Rangers but he is the kind of guy we need now.

 

[Chan790]

If he had no desire to play hockey again then why did he still have an agent?

Inertia? It was the same agent he had when playing...it's not like he pays the agent a retainer, so there's no reason to formally terminate that arrangement.

 

[Hollywood3]

There are a lot of Buff sightings from those in the fishing community. One of these days the Jets will have a Byfuglien Night.

 

[Hollywood3]

Didn't want to live in Winnipeg anymore

He's still in Winnipeg! (At least a lot of the time.)

 

[PromisedLand]

he feels sorry for throwing kane's PJs on the wet floor and the guilt that took over

 

[HFBS]

He made his money, is set for life and is out on a lake somewhere fishing. I cant say I blame him.

He's gonna need a bigger boat.

 

[North Country]

Had a beer with him not too long ago. Had a big chew in after a good day of fishing

 

[GrandmaSlices51631]

Gone Fishin

 

[dahrougem2]

I see a lot of people mention he didn't like/enjoy hockey. Is that true? I don't know if I'd believe that. You'd think if he didn't enjoy hockey, he wouldn't put in the time to become as great as he was, or play in leagues like Da Beauty League during the offseason.

Perhaps he didn't enjoy the off-ice preparation to get into hockey playing shape, or the injuries that came with playing professional hockey. But the actual playing of the game itself? From the looks of it when he did play, he seemed to enjoy it very much.

 

[McVespa99]

He probably just lost the motivation to keep playing. He made a lot of money, had a good career. Maybe he joined Dustin Penner for a pancake breakfast and said screw it, this is the life for me.

Im guessing those guys together tip the scales somewhere in the 700lb range In all seriousness though he was a really good player, made a ton of money and didnt want to play anymore. Better to retire too early than too late IMO

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

Not sure if it's been said already but he probably lost the desire to play.

He's made millions.

Old for hockey age.

Loves fishing more than hockey.

On a lake somewhere.

Hard to lose weight.

 

[Jaytee]

Didn't want to live in Winnipeg anymore

That's a stupid thing to say, and it says a lot more about you than it does about either Winnipeg or Dustin Byfuglien, and none of it is good.

Buff loved Winnipeg, because he loved the outdoors, especially northern areas in winter. There probably isn't an ice fisher in Manitoba who didn't encounter Buff somewhere on a day off during hockey season. He's still up here frequently, from what I've been told.

He quit because his ankle was giving him increasing trouble, and at age 34, his style of play was the kind that you can't keep up forever. Players of his size and speed, when they start slowing down, slow down drastically, and fast, and he knew that.

People make reference to his weight, but it was only one or two seasons in Winnipeg, early in his time, that he put on a lot of weight. His last three or four seasons he knew better.

He was never the "best" player in the NHL, but he may have been the most unique player in the NHL, and for sheer entertainment value there was no one better. The only player in another sport that I can compare him to is Troy Polamalu with the Steelers. No one even remotely like him.

I suspect that even if he had stayed, he would have retired a year ago. At 36, I can't imagine that he'd still be able to play even remotely like he did even two or three years ago. We in Winnipeg got his best, and we'll always love him.

I don't know anyone who has bad feelings toward him for the way he left. I wish him a happy life, and hope he comes back for a tribute some day, but knowing Buff, he probably won't. That's just the kind of guy he is.

 

[toewsintangibles]

Most hockey players fall of a cliff in their mid 30's. Most likely he had a bad training season and realised he was done.

 

[Dr Pepper]

I don't know if CBC still does these montages, but 2010 was one of their best ones ever.

Buff makes an appearance at around 2:30......solid post-goal taunt in a road game.

I hope he's enjoying his retirment....or hiatus? Whatever it is he's doing.

 

[sting13]

Buff just seemed like he didn’t really like hockey or maybe the preparation it took to be a NHL player. He just happened to be really good at it.

Well put. I believe he only played for his country once, turning them down many times. I recall a article about him saying he was cut from his high school hockey team and he said it was okay because it gave him more time to go fishing. He also stated he never watches sports. I think there was a reason he wasn't drafted until the 8th round. He had all the skills to play the game but lacked the passion.

 

[TheBloodyNine]

He was a very good defenseman at one point. He was never considered the best the league at any point in his career.

 

[TS Quint]

He was a very good defenseman at one point. He was never considered the best the league at any point in his career.

That would be an oversight. You have to make some pretty big noise to be heard all the way from Winnipeg.

 

[TS Quint]

That's a stupid thing to say, and it says a lot more about you than it does about either Winnipeg or Dustin Byfuglien, and none of it is good.

Buff loved Winnipeg, because he loved the outdoors, especially northern areas in winter. There probably isn't an ice fisher in Manitoba who didn't encounter Buff somewhere on a day off during hockey season. He's still up here frequently, from what I've been told.

He quit because his ankle was giving him increasing trouble, and at age 34, his style of play was the kind that you can't keep up forever. Players of his size and speed, when they start slowing down, slow down drastically, and fast, and he knew that.

People make reference to his weight, but it was only one or two seasons in Winnipeg, early in his time, that he put on a lot of weight. His last three or four seasons he knew better.

He was never the "best" player in the NHL, but he may have been the most unique player in the NHL, and for sheer entertainment value there was no one better. The only player in another sport that I can compare him to is Troy Polamalu with the Steelers. No one even remotely like him.

I suspect that even if he had stayed, he would have retired a year ago. At 36, I can't imagine that he'd still be able to play even remotely like he did even two or three years ago. We in Winnipeg got his best, and we'll always love him.

I don't know anyone who has bad feelings toward him for the way he left. I wish him a happy life, and hope he comes back for a tribute some day, but knowing Buff, he probably won't. That's just the kind of guy he is.

To be fair, Wheeler said he wished Buff would have made a decision sooner.