Jets keep a chunk of team’s soul by keeping Buff around

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This article was published 08/02/2016 (3562 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ST. LOUIS — They circled him first, all the while cheering the contract-extension news delivered by coach Paul Maurice. The Winnipeg Jets then smothered Dustin Byfuglien with stinky-glove face washes and playful punches. And in hockey, that represents just about as much affection as one man can get in a single moment without the whole thing turning awkward.

Not surprisingly, the joking, teasing and congratulatory handshakes with the big man would then spill over from the ice into the Jets’ dressing room at the Scottrade Center. And when Byfuglien attempted to put on his serious face for a few moments for a chat with the media, Chris Thorburn promptly interrupted the proceedings with his deep, baritone voice, singing that now Winnipeg-ized version of the LMFAO Party Rock Anthem hit.

“Every day I’m Buff-a-lin’’

Yes, the Jets have their difference-maker back after Monday’s announcement of a five-year contract extension for Byfuglien with an average annual value of $7.6 million. That means more goals, more hits — yes, more penalties — and more Buff-being-Buff moments that have made those No. 33 jerseys such a big hit with the faithful in Jets Nation.

All of that, quite clearly, is the most-critical component of the signing for a hockey team going through an identity crisis this season. As Maurice said: “We look a whole lot different when Dustin’s not in our lineup. It’s a big piece of our future secured.”

But the mob scene with Byfuglien and his teammates on the ice and in the dressing room also speaks of his enormous popularity and of his value to this organization beyond what shows up on the stats sheet and the highlight clips on game night.

Look, Byfuglien doesn’t wear the captain’s ‘C’ like Andrew Ladd or an ‘A’ like Blake Wheeler or Mark Stuart. He’s never going to deliver one of those impassioned ‘look-in-the-mirror’ speeches with the TV cameras rolling. But he is the guy, as was the case Saturday night in Denver, who broke up a Michael Hutchinson media interview — and those in the dressing room — by sticking a jock in front of the goaltender’s face as if it was a microphone.

Now, while that hardly represents leadership, what he brings to the ice and the Jets’ dressing room every day — it’s a kid’s pure joy for the game combined with his wise-ass prankster personality — is also what makes his commitment to the Jets critical. To take this over the top and make it overly-dramatic, the Jets would have not only lost a huge talent if he had been traded or exited via free agency, the team would have lost a chunk of its soul.

Byfuglien’s skill set makes him a unique talent in the National Hockey League, no question. And yet the Jets have also come to understand that his persona means something, too, not just for the marketing department but for the others in the dressing room. It’s an odd combination, but valuable nonetheless. In effect, Byfuglien not only became the highest-paid Jet on Monday, he might now also be highest-paid ‘glue’ guy in the entire league.

“Dustin’s a guy who is connected to everybody in the room,” Maurice explained. “Buff’s kind of like a man of the people. He can go to the All-Star Game and hang out with the best of those guys and then go have dinner with the fourth-line guys. He’s a real regular guy and because of that he has a connection to everybody in the room.

“Buff gives everybody the business, coaches included. That’s a real strength when you are an elite player.”

The evidence of what kind of impact Byfuglien’s signing might have on the Jets in the here and now won’t begin to be known until they hit the ice Tuesday in St. Louis. The trade deadline is now less than three weeks away and the shadow cast by the uncertainty surrounding Ladd is still considerable.

But this is a big signing and that’s why there was a palpable sense of relief around the Jets Monday afternoon, and that mood almost certainly would have spilled over into tonight. After all, a guy signs a new deal with that kind of coin involved — and on the road, no less — and he’s almost obligated to pick up the dinner tab.

“I told them,” Byfuglien said with a grin, “I’d buy them all McDonald’s.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait