Buff becomes NHL’s marathon man

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/10/2016 (3263 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There was a time when many were concerned about Dustin Byfuglien’s fitness level, wondering how the big man might hold up over the rigours of a long NHL season.

Those days are long gone. And good thing, too, as Byfuglien has turned into the league’s marathon man, spending more time on the ice than any other player in the league so far this season.

Byfuglien entered Thursday night’s game averaging a whopping 29:30 per game. That’s more than two minutes more than reigning Norris Trophy winner Drew Doughty, who sits second overall in the NHL.

It’s also, according to his head coach, not sustainable.

“He is a unique man. He’s a really big powerful guy. He can weather it in any one game, he can play those minutes. But when you start stacking back-to-back games I think that’s a lot to ask for anybody,” Paul Maurice said Thursday. He said he has a plan to slowly scale back the reliance on Byfuglien, especially when they have a number of games grouped closely together.

“For me, what’s happening now, is Tyler Myers over the last two or three games is really starting to trend, really starting to play well and get up the ice and skate well. So Tyler will be able to pick up a few more of those minutes and get them both closer to 25 on a regular basis,” said Maurice.

Byfuglien, 31, wasn’t exactly gushing when asked whether he’s enjoying the extra workload.

“Well I guess if I said no I probably wouldn’t play that anymore. It is what it is. I got a job to do, just go out there and do my best, just work,” he said prior to Thursday night’s game. “We’ve got a young team, the older guys gotta step up and just lead, help the kids grow.”

He’s spent much of the season paired with rookie Josh Morrissey, whom he singled out for praise.

“He’s been doing well, he sees the ice well, he goes back, He’s kept it pretty simple. I think he’s getting comfortable every game,” said Byfuglien.

The biggest reason for the extra reliance on Byfuglien is the absence of Jacob Trouba. The restricted free agent has demanded a trade from the Jets and remains on the sidelines without a contract, with no apparent end to the dispute in sight.

Trouba and his agent have long maintained the only reason they don’t see a future with the Jets is the team’s insistence on playing him on the left side of the ice. But a report out Thursday night, courtesy of TSN’s Darren Dreger, suggests there may be more to the story.

Dreger says there has been trade interest from some Canadian teams directed toward the Jets. But any chances of a deal getting done — which would hinge on Trouba agreeing to sign a long-term deal with the new club — were apparently shot down.

“The belief is Trouba doesn’t see a fit in Canada,” Dreger reported.

If so, that would create a major hole in Trouba’s story. And it would appear to narrow the field of potential trading partners. Trouba’s agent, Kurt Overhardt, provided a statement to TSN Thursday night maintaining their original position that the dispute is solely about his usage and nothing else.

Maurice was asked, yet again, about Trouba’s absence and how it may be impacting the club both on and off the ice.

“We saw this one coming down the pipe. He’s not in the room, that has a big factor in terms of the distraction. We’ve got a number of solid defencemen in our lineup,” he said Thursday morning. “Jake’s a great player. I’m looking forward to having him back. We’d like it to get done. But there’s no gnashing of teeth in the room every day they walk in and the stall is empty,”

Byfuglien finished Thursday night’s game logging just 24 minutes of ice time, due largely to the fact he crashed into the boards early in the third period and missed a portion of it while being checked out by medical staff. Myers ended up with slightly more than 26 minutes played.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca