Big Buff back up to snuff

But he won't play tonight against Flames

By: Paul Wiecek Posted: 1:00 AM CDT Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014

He proclaimed himself fit and ready to play.

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He proclaimed himself fit and ready to play.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/10/2014 (4001 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

He proclaimed himself fit and ready to play.

But even as Winnipeg Jets forward Dustin Byfuglien made his long-awaited return to the practice ice at the MTS Centre Friday, he also had to concede a lower body injury that caused him to miss most of training camp has meant he hasn’t had a chance to prepare the way he’d hoped to for a season that will see him transition from a defenceman to an almost full-time forward.

“It’s never easy to jump in and go and just have chemistry right off the hop,” Byfuglien said Friday.

Trevor Hagan / The Canadian Press
Winnipeg Jets Dustin Byfuglien — Trevor Hagan / The Canadian Press Winnipeg Jets Dustin Byfuglien

“And I think it’s kind of a big thing to go into a season not playing forward a lot. And getting some chemistry with a line would have been good, but we’re going to have to go the other route.”

Jets head coach Paul Maurice has big plans for Byfuglien as a forward on a top-six line with Bryan Little and Andrew Ladd, but he repeated Friday those plans have been placed on hold because of how little Byfuglien has played and practiced in camp.

“It’s tougher to come into top-six minutes if you’ve been out of the lineup a long time,” said Maurice. “You’ve got to have a real strong comfort level with your top-six.”

Byfuglien played just one game in the pre-season before he got hurt and that will not change tonight when the Jets play their final pre-season game against the Calgary Flames at the MTS Centre.

Maurice said Byfuglien will not play, despite practicing on Friday. “He needs more than one skate to get back in the lineup,” Maurice told reporters. “And we don’t need him in the lineup tomorrow night. He’s going to get as much out of a hard push on the ice (at practice today) as he would playing in the game…

“We just need him healthy, first. And risking that in a game where he’s only skated once — we’re just not going to do that.”

Byfuglien said he felt good about the state of his game after his first practice back. “That was the first time on the ice in a few days and it felt good. It’s like riding a bike,” said Byfuglien.

“I could go out there and put in a full game — like a normal game — I feel. But would the legs and everything hold up? You just never know. But I feel pretty good and we’ll play it by ear.”

— — —

Other injured Jets who returned to the lineup Friday morning were forwards Blake Wheeler — who’d missed a couple of days with an undisclosed injury — and T.J. Galiardi, who’d been out with an eye injury.

Galiardi said the vision in his left eye is still compromised. “(It’s) still a little blurry, but I think that’s going to be the case for a little while. I’m just going to have to get used to it and we’ll reassess it in a couple weeks.”

Wheeler said the system Maurice will run this season places a premium on fitness. “I think a lot’s been made of the fitness level he’s looking for from us. You need to be at a certain level of shape to succeed in his system.

“It really demands a lot out of players and it forces you to shorten your shifts a little bit. I think if you’re playing fast and aggressive, this is the system that’s going to generate a lot of offence and it’s going to tilt the ice in your favour.”

— — —

Defenceman Zach Bogosian, who left with a lower-body injury midway through his team’s 4-2 loss to the Flames in Calgary Thursday evening, did not practise Friday but Maurice said his injury is minor and Bogosian could be on the ice as early as today.

“I would absolutely expect him to be ready to play (next) Thursday (for Winnipeg’s season opener),” said Maurice.

While the Jets have been victimized by a litany of injuries during camp, Maurice said his team is close to returning to full health. He said Patrice Cormier and Eric O’Dell will be the last to heal and both could be back by midweek next week.

“Everybody else, if they heal the way they’re supposed to, I’m hoping for a full crew Monday,” said Maurice.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @PaulWiecek