The Jets would be in trouble if Byfuglien walks away
Jared Clinton of The Hockey News: If Dustin Byfuglien decides to walk away from hockey, it would leave the Winnipeg Jets thin on the right side of their blue line.
Their left side to start the season consists of Josh Morrissey, Dmitry Kulikov and Nathan Beaulieu. On the right side without Byfuglien would consist of Neal Pionk, Sami Niku and Tucker Poolman.
If Byfuglien retires, his $7.6 million salary cap hit would come off the books. They still need to re-sign RFAs Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine, with currently about $15.45 million in cap space.
Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk could be a trade option. Other trade options could include Buffalo Sabres Rasmus Ristolainen, Calgary Flames Travis Hamonic, and Vancouver Canucks Chris Tanev.
Murat Ates of The Athletic: The Winnipeg Jets blue line took some losses with the departures of Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot, but the loss of Dustin Byfuglien would be massive.
If/when the Jets re-sign Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine, they’ll be forward heavy compared to their blue line.
Trading for Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk is a possibility, with Sabres Rasmus Ristolainen another.
Trading a forward like Nikolaj Ehlers for Faulk – though taking from a position of strength to fill a weakness – may not be enough to solve the Jets issues without Byfuglien.
TVA Sports: The Winnipeg Jets could be without Dustin Byfuglien if he decides to not play this season, which would leave a big hole on their right-side.
Jean-Charles Lajoie and Yvon Pedneault wondered if the Montreal Canadiens could use defenseman Jeff Petry as a bargaining chip.
Pedneault thinks the Canadiens should look at Jets RFA forward Patrik Laine.
If right-handed defenseman Cale Fleury is NHL ready, Petry’s name could be added to any talks.
“The name of Max Domi has been circulating all summer,” added Pedneault. “Would Canadians be ready to take a step on this side? I doubt it very much. “