Dustin Byfuglien's agent gives update on his client's status

It was recently reported that a few teams have reached out to defenceman Dustin Byfuglien to see if he's interested in coming back to the NHL. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, during Saturday night's Headlines segment, stated one of those teams is the Minnesota Wild. However, Byfuglien's agent told Friedman it's highly unlikely Byfuglien ever plays in the NHL again.

"It's very unlikely Dustin Byfuglien is going to play,” said Friedman.

"Teams have asked. One of the teams that have asked is the Minnesota Wild, they figured because Byfuglien has a lot of ties to Minnesota he'd want to play there and they could use him. They're probably the only team that has a chance. But I checked with Byfuglien's agent, Ben Hankinson, and he said it's doubtful Byfuglien will play again,” Friedman said.

Byfuglien, 35, has never officially announced his retirement. But, given the messy divorce between him and his former team, the Winnipeg Jets, it's no surprise that his view of the hockey world may have soured. In September of 2019, Byfuglien was granted an indefinite personal leave of absence by the Jets. There were reports at the time that he was contemplating whether he wanted to continue his professional hockey career. However, Byfuglien was later suspended by the Jets for not reporting to training camp. He underwent surgery for a high ankle sprain in late October of 2019 without direct involvement of the team. There was then a dispute over who should pay for the surgery, with Byfuglien stating his injuries were suffered near the end of the previous season, as well as in the playoffs, while Winnipeg insisted he was given a clean bill of health by team doctors before the offseason. In February of 2020, the Jets announced that Byfuglien would not return for the remainder of the season. Two months later, the Jets and Byfuglien mutually agreed to a contract termination, making Byfuglien a free agent.

The bruising defenceman hails from Roseau, Minnesota and collected 363 points over 528 career games with the Jets.

Source: Sportsnet

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