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Winnipeg Jets: What Happened To Dustin Byfuglien And How Long Is He Out?

By Dylan Paré

WINNIPEG, MB - DECEMBER 29: Blake Wheeler #26 and Mark Scheifele #55 of the Winnipeg Jets help teammate Dustin Byfuglien #33 off the ice during a third period stoppage in play against the Minnesota Wild at the Bell MTS Place on December 29, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images)
WINNIPEG, MB - DECEMBER 29: Blake Wheeler #26 and Mark Scheifele #55 of the Winnipeg Jets help teammate Dustin Byfuglien #33 off the ice during a third period stoppage in play against the Minnesota Wild at the Bell MTS Place on December 29, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Winnipeg Jets defender Dustin Byfuglien, (aka “Big Buff”) will be sidelined at least a whole month with a leg/ankle injury.

As you may have seen already, Dustin Byfuglien seemed to have suffered an injury in the contest against the Minnesota Wild on December 29th. (The game resulted in a 3-1 win for Minnesota). He was hit by Minnesota’s Luke Kunin, leaving the game shortly afterwards.

The Winnipeg Jets placed Buff on injured reserve, however Paul Maurice stated he wouldn’t require surgery.

Dustin Byfuglien has been outstanding this season, scoring 29 points in 32 games, almost a point per game. He’s already only 16 points away from matching last year’s number of points (45) and the Winnipeg Jets are only 39 games in. Surely this will set him back, but he should be able to return from injury without slowing down too much.

The big Minnesota born defender has been affected by injuries multiple times this season. First the D-man was forced to sit out two games with an upper body injury in October, then he missed another four games in December with a concussion, and now this.

Following Byfuglien being put on IR, the Winnipeg Jets called Sami Niku up from the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. Sami Niku has seen a few games with the Jets in this and last season.

Last season, Niku played in his first ever NHL game, and manages to score a goal as well. We’ve seen a bit more of Niku this year as he’s dressed in five games due to our beaten and battered blueline. Niku hasn’t managed a point this season, but will likely get another crack at it a few times at least in the coming month.

With Big Buff out, our defensive core really needs to step up. There’s a good chance we see guys like Tyler Myers and Jacob Trouba getting a few more minutes than usual, and our depth guys will need to step up to make up for his lost presence as well.

Next. Is Mark Scheifele One Of The NHL’s Elite Players?. dark

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Hopefully Byfuglien is able to make a speedy recovery and jump back into our lineup around the beginning of February. However, don’t be surprised if he’s not back for longer than that.

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