On Dustin Byfuglien and the Winnipeg Jets …
- Frank Seravalli of TSN: Dustin Byfuglien when asked if term and money were equal, would he prefer to stay in Winnipeg.
“I just want to put on a jersey, to be honest with you,” Byfuglien said. “I don’t mind Winnipeg at all. It’s close to home for me – it’s probably the closest I’ll ever get to play by home. There’s so many good things that I like about Winnipeg. I can do my outdoor stuff that I love to do.
“I have no problem being up there.”
Seravalli notes, “I have no problem being up there” is different than “I want to be there.”
Byfuglien has told his agent, Ben Hankinson, to not give him updates on contract negotiations and to only let him know when a deal was close to being complete.
“I think my wife’s gotten more emotional about it than I have,” Byfuglien said. “There’s no reason for me to sit there and listen (to contract updates) – it’s just more thinking and more things that I have to worry about and get stressed about and play. It’s not easy. I just go to work every day. If I’m going somewhere else, the internet will tell me probably just as fast as they will.”
- Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun: If the Jets remain in the playoff race in the next few weeks, Dustin Byfuglien will likely remain with Jets. If they don’t, he could be moved at the deadline. He’s blocked out contract talks.
“I’m the guy that just lets it roll,” he said. “It doesn’t bother me at all. It’s business. That date is set and it comes down to that day for everyone. No one is safe. It gets into the back of your head, but it’s nothing that I’m worried about.”
Byfuglien said that he and Andrew Ladd have talked about their situation and how it could have a potential negative effect on the team.
“For both of us being in there from the get go, we had a talk about what this is going to do. But for the most part it hasn’t been kept up in the room… every once in a while the boys ask and stuff, but they know it’s business and we’ll talk when we’re ready to talk.”