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Home , Darren Kramer, Dustin Byfuglien, Enforcer (ice hockey), Jansen Harkins, Kale Kessy, Kevin Sawyer

Winnipeg Free Press https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/big-buff-catches-big-fish-while-nursing- small-injury-450503933.html?k=JbGZ6c

Not everyone's buying big Buff's big fish story

By: Jason Bell

VANCOUVER — Conspiracy theorists fishing for something on got no help from Jets head coach Wednesday afternoon.

Byfuglien and some of his teammates spent part of Tuesday — an off day for the NHL club — hauling in some monster sturgeon on the Fraser River.

The didn’t play in on Monday because of a lower-body injury and, according to Maurice, won’t join his teammates when they play the Canucks tonight.

Many in the Twitter world are taking issue with the club’s most recognizable star — always a catalyst for consternation among Jets fans — wearing chest waders and posing with what appears in photos to be about a more-than-two-metre-long, prehistoric-looking sturgeon.

They say it’s evidence Byfuglien was parked in the press box due to his performance in Winnipeg’s first two defeats rather than his health.

Some energy would have been exerted by big Buff — an avid outdoorsman — battling that bad boy (or girl).

But Maurice said he had no problem with Byfuglien’s choice of day-off activity.

"No, he did what he needed to do (treatment). (It’s) a soft-tissue issue," he said. "Just a little bit jealous, but no issue at all."

He said Byfuglien will participate in the team’s morning skate, but will be sidelined for at least one more contest.

"That’ll be the first time he’s been on the ice in a few days and we’ll just be real cautious with it going . It’s day-to-day," Maurice said.

Jets Matt Hendricks, who has yet to play this season and is on the injured-reserved list, was also a member of the fishing party.

Hendricks skated alone Wednesday at Father Bauer Arena on the University of campus, prior to the team’s practice. There’s no timeline on his return.

Winnipeg will ice the same lineup that registered an impressive 5-2 victory over the Oilers. That means will play NHL game No. 2, paired again with Toby Enstrom, while goalie returns to the crease.

Hellebuyck, sensational in Edmonton, stopping 37 shots including 20 in the opening period, said he’s grateful for a second-straight start, but is keeping a level head.

"I know how much work is ahead of me. I’m going to enjoy it, but I have a lot to think about moving forward," he said. "For me, a lot of what’s happening comes down to confidence. If you are confident in yourself, your high games are like, ‘whatever, that’s what I play like’ and the bad games you know you’re better. So, the confidence is going to be key."

The club’s top of centre Mark Scheiflele, and was a force, combining for 10 points — highlighted by Ehlers’ natural hat trick.

Maurice said all his players earned a day away from the rink.

"Just be together," he said. "We get four mandatory days off a month and I like it when they’re on the road because they all get to spend some time together. It’s great early in the season, outstanding," he said. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/baumgartner-still-holds-dear-time-spent- with-moose-450536253.html

Baumgartner still holds dear time spent with Moose

By: Jason Bell

VANCOUVER — Nolan Baumgartner was a leader when he played in Winnipeg and now he’s a leader behind the bench.

The relatively new Canucks assistant coach is having the time of his life working alongside bench bossman Travis Green, and he credits those years he spent manning the Moose blue line with instilling in him much of what he has to offer at the big-league level.

"I was around so many great players, great hockey people — just terrific people, in general — back in the Moose days," Baumgartner said Wednesday, following Vancouver’s practice at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre on the University of British Columbia campus.

The Jets (1-2-0) and Canucks (1-0-1) practised back-to-back on neighbouring rinks, preparing for tonight’s NHL battle at Rogers Arena. Game time is 9 p.m CT.

"We had some great guys back then. Jimmy Roy was a big part of our team and is still a huge part of that organization. What can you say about Mike Keane... wins three Stanley Cups and then comes there and is a mentor to just about everyone," Baumgartner said. "The memories are great. A lot of guys went on to have great NHL careers."

A first-round pick (10th overall) by the , Baumgartner carved out a long, productive pro career — but only a small fraction was spent in the NHL. He made his league debut late in the 1995-96 campaign playing one game for the Capitals, but played in just 18 more games with the club over a four-year stretch.

The bulk of his time was spent with the Caps’ affiliate in Portland and that would be a harbinger of things to come for the product. Baumgartner played 143 NHL contests over 16 years in Washington, three different stints in Vancouver and shorts stops in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Dallas.

The rest of the time, he toiled in the AHL.

Each time he rejoined the Canucks organization, he was more Moose than anything else. He was their workhorse rear-guard for many seasons (2003-05, 2007-11) and wore the ‘C’ for a big chunk of that time.

"My wife (Elizabeth) and I still call ourselves Winnipeggers," he said. The couple lived in the Manitoba capital for nearly a decade and their seven-year-old son, Jake, was born there. "Those were some of the best years of my career."

Baumgartner was a huge part of the Moose defence, finishing with 41 goals and 185 points in 385 AHL games with the team. When the Jets arrived in 2011, the Moose players who belonged to the Canucks organization moved to .

Baumgartner’s pro swan song was the 2011-12 AHL season, playing 60 games for the .

The next winter, he transitioned from veteran player to full-time assistant coach.

"Those final years of my career I was basically playing a leadership role, almost in a coaching way. It was a natural progression and it was exciting," he said. "But it was hard the other way, too, where you still wanted to play the game. It’s always hard hanging the skates up when you want to be out there."

Baumgartner, 41, remained with the Wolves coaching staff for one year and then hooked up with the Canucks’ AHL affiliate, the — coached by Green, who played 970 NHL games, including some tremendous years with the in the mid-90s.

Vancouver promoted Green in late April and Baumgartner was offered an assistant job with the Pacific Division squad six weeks later.

After a few months of preparation and a long training camp — including some pre-season games with the L.A. Kings in China (the Great Wall was "mind-blowing," Baumgartner noted) — they carved out a special ‘welcome to the NHL’ memory together last Saturday, guiding the Canucks to a 3-2 triumph over the .

"No nerves here that night... just excitement. As a coach you strive to be at the highest level, so it’s good," he said. "Travis has been really good to work with. He’s got a smart hockey mind and I’ve learned a ton just being with him the last four years."

Vancouver also has veteran coach and former NHL ironman Doug Jarvis, ex-NHLers Manny Malholtra and along with Newell Brown on its staff.

Baumgartner, who works primarily with the defence and -killing unit, was actually a teammate of Canucks blue-liners Chris Tanev and Alex Edler. He’s been able to bond with Canucks coaches, veterans and younger players because there’s really nothing in the game he hasn’t live through himself.

"I was a high draft pick, I didn’t play all that much in the NHL, mostly in the minor, I’ve cleared waivers and I’ve been traded. Every scenario, I’ve seen it all. A lot of guys go through that and it’s a difficult part of the job, of this life. Just all those experiences I can draw from and give advice." https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/manitoba-moose/coach-skips-first-game-for- sons-nhl-debut-450526313.html

Coach skips first game for son's NHL debut

By: Mike McIntyre

Eric Dubois is one proud papa these days.

The assistant coach missed the team’s season opener Friday in Grand Rapids to take in a once-in-a-lifetime event.

His son, Pierre-Luc, was making his debut for the .

Dubois rented a car and made the nearly four-hour drive from Michigan to Ohio, arriving in time for the opening faceoff.

Pierre-Luc, who Columbus selected with the third-overall pick in the 2016 NHL draft, then made it an extra-special night when he scored his first in the third period of a 5-0 win over the New York Islanders.

● ● ●

The Moose are getting healthy in a hurry.

Five players began the season nursing aches and pains that were serious enough to keep them out of the lineup. Patrice Cormier was the first to recover, dressing for the second game of the year Saturday in Grand Rapids.

Three other wounded teammates are right behind him. Forwards Jansen Harkins and Francis Beauvillier and defenceman Jan Kostalek have been full participants at practice this week and should be good to go, provided head coach Pascal Vincent can find a spot for them in the lineup.

The Moose now have 15 healthy forwards and nine healthy defencemen on their roster.

Vincent said he’s comfortable keeping that many players around "for now," even though it means six scratches every game. Vincent said things can change in a hurry with injuries and call-ups from the Jets having a trickle-down affect.

Only defenceman Nelson Nogier remains on the sidelines.

He was hurt in the first pre-season game and is set to undergo surgery for an upper-body injury that could cost him the entire season.

● ● ●

Manitoba did do some roster shuffling earlier in the week.

Forwards Jimmy Lodge and Kale Kessy were sent down to the ECHL to give them some playing time, as was defenceman Tim Daly.

Forward John McCarron was released from his professional tryout.

The Moose then signed defenceman Charles-David Beaudoin to a 25-game professional tryout.

The 23-year-old played last season with the University of Trois-Rivières before turning pro and playing a handful of games with the of the AHL.

Manitoba still has two players on tryouts in forward Cam Maclise and defenceman Mark Flood.

● ● ●

Darren Kramer’s time in the sin bin is nearly over.

The Moose enforcer was a spectator for the start of the season as a result of a three-game suspension he received in April after the final game of the 2016-17 campaign.

Kramer was seated on the Moose bench when a melee broke out and he reached over and grabbed an opponent who was stirring up trouble with his teammates.

He’ll finish his league-mandated penalty Friday night.

Winnipeg Sun http://www.winnipegsun.com/2017/10/11/hellebuyck-rewarded-with-second-start-in-a-row

Hellebuyck rewarded with second start in a row

BY KEN WIEBE, WINNIPEG SUN

VANCOUVER — Paul Maurice had a good idea where the line of questioning was going.

Shortly after announcing that Connor Hellebuyck would be getting a second consecutive start for the , the head coach was quick to point out he wasn’t operating under a win- and-you’re-in philosophy this early in the season.

Handing out consecutive starts to your backup in the first month of a new campaign isn’t laying the foundation for a goalie controversy.

This is simply about rewarding Hellebuyck for his hard work after he made 37 saves in his first start of the season as the Jets toppled the Oilers in Edmonton on Monday night.

It’s not about riding the hot hand until he loses — not yet anyway.

“No. It’s early in the season, we got off to a rocky start as a team and we a really good performance the other night, so I’m going with the same lineup. That’s all,” said Maurice, whose club worked out at the Doug Mitchell Sports Centre at the University of British Columbia on Wednesday afternoon. “I really liked (Hellebuyck’s) game. It was good to get a win, he’s feeling confident and he deserves to go back in.”

No argument here.

There’s no doubt the Jets were shell-shocked in giving up 13 goals in their first two losses.

Defensively, the Jets were a mess and free-agent acquisition Steve Mason was between the pipes for 11 of those goals against.

It’s true there were a couple of goals that would fall under the category of soft, but Mason wasn’t the biggest reason his team lost in either outing.

Mason stopped the final 16 shots he faced during the third period of the 6-3 loss to the on Saturday, which was something for him to build on.

Three games don’t change how the Jets view Mason, who was brought in to be the starter after inking a two-year deal worth $8.2 million.

There will come a time soon enough – perhaps as early as Saturday when the Jets host the – when Mason will get another chance to get into his rhythm.

But with the Jets sitting 1-2 in the competitive Western Conference, the time was right to go back with Hellebuyck.

After appearing in 56 games last season (including 53 starts), Hellebuyck wasn’t sure what to expect this fall.

He’s not about to get ahead of himself either.

“It’s just one game,” said Hellebuyck. “There was a lot of good, but a lot of things to improve on as well. I see this as a chance for me to go out and continue showing what I can do. Bringing my best in helping this team succeed.”

Getting a vote of confidence from the head coach is always welcome for a goalie, no matter where you sit on the depth chart.

“Absolutely,” said Hellebuyck. “A lot of a goalie’s confidence comes from the head coach. Not only that, but practice habits are huge. You have to come out here and work hard every day. The finer details you work on now are the things that are going to come naturally.

“I feel like myself again. I can trust myself that I can just go out and play my game. I have the right foundation and I just have to keep working at it.”

In his first start, Hellebuyck provided some stability against the high-octane Oilers, making seven saves during a power play in the opening minutes and his teammates seemed to rally around that.

“(Hellebuyck) played awesome for us. He made some big saves early,” said Jets centre , who leads the Jets with three goals and five points in three games. “We need to continue to be good in front of (the goalies) each and every night.”

Most pundits had the Canucks on the outside looking in for their pre-season playoff predictions, but they’ve already picked up three of a possible four points.

The Canucks defeated the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 in their opener and are coming off a shootout loss to the Senators.

“Beating a team of that stature is always big for us,” said Scheifele, referring to Monday’s victory. “It’s big for any team. We can’t rest on that though. It’s almost forgetting about it. It’s one game out of 82. We can’t be complacent at all. We still have things to work on.

“Obviously, we’re happy about it, but it means nothing come the next day. We know this is going to be a tough test and we’ve got to be ready for that.”

Since Hellebuyck doesn’t know when his next start will come, you can be sure he’s going to be ready. http://www.winnipegsun.com/2017/10/11/coach-paul-maurice-has-no-problem-with-injured-jets- going-fishing

Coach Paul Maurice has no problem with injured Jets going fishing

BY KEN WIEBE, WINNIPEG SUN

VANCOUVER - Dustin Byfuglien remains sidelined with a lower-body injury and his “soft-tissue issue” will force him to miss a second consecutive game.

The Winnipeg Jets defenceman didn’t skate for a fourth consecutive day, although head coach Paul Maurice expects him to be on the ice for Thursday’s pre-game skate.

“(Byfuglien) will take the morning skate and that will be the first time he’s on the ice in a few days and we’ll just be real cautious with him moving forward,” said Maurice. “He’s day-to-day.”

When it comes to Jets injuries over the past few seasons, day-to-day can be a relative term, but given how long the soft-tissue injury for Tyler Myers lingered last season, it’s no surprise the Jets are going to try to make sure Byfuglien (who has one assist and six shots on goal in two games this season while averaging 23:41 of ice time) is as close to 100% as possible before he returns to the lineup.

The Jets (1-2) face the Vancouver Canucks (1-0-0-1) on Thursday to close out a three-game road trip against western Canadian teams in the Pacific Division.

Byfuglien had more than 25 minutes of ice time against the Calgary Flames, so there had been some question as to when the injury actually occurred, but that’s been cleared up.

“It’s kind of a slow burn on that one and it just kind of got worse,” said Maurice. “He had it before the Calgary game, but it didn’t get better.”

Speaking of injured players, veteran centre Matt Hendricks continues to progress from a foot injury he suffered in a pre-season game against the on Sept. 27.

Hendricks was on the ice on Wednesday afternoon and is inching closer to returning to game action.

“We’ll slowly work him back,” said Maurice. “He’s day-to-day and I don’t have him in (Thursday).”

Speaking of Byfuglien and Hendricks, they spent Tuesday’s mandatory day off sturgeon fishing in British Columbia and were able to land a big one.

A picture of Byfuglien, Hendricks and the sturgeon was posted on Twitter by @SturgeonSlayers and generated some buzz among fans, but Maurice said he had no issue with his players using the day off to fish.

“No, he did what he needed to do,” said Maurice, referring to his off-ice treatment.

“No issue at all. Just a little bit jealous. We get four mandatory days off a month and I like it when they (occur) on the road because (players) get to spend some time together. It’s great early in the season. Outstanding.”

SCHEIFELE'S TRIBUNE Already an emerging talent on the ice, Jets centre Mark Scheifele had people talking on Wednesday as well as an article he contributed to The Players’ Tribune was posted online.

In the piece, Scheifele (who calls himself “a hockey nerd”) shared his thoughts on his five toughest players to play against — of the Ottawa Senators, Carey Price of the Canadiens, of the , Roman Josi of the and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers.

“It was really fun. They approached me and it went from there,” Scheifele said after Wednesday’s workout. “I had heard about The Players’ Tribune and always wanted to do one. I was excited when I got the chance to try it. You never know how those things are going to turn out. I got a lot of good feedback.”

Narrowing the list to five players was definitely a challenge.

“There’s a lot of good players in this league,” said Scheifele. “But no hard feelings.”

Scheifele isn’t planning to switch careers anytime soon, but he did provide some solid insights in his analysis.

He’s not expecting to branch out to journalism following his career though.

“I wouldn’t call myself a good writer,” said Scheifele. “I pride myself on always being a good student.”

Scheifele has always prided himself on being a student of the game and that’s evident both on and off the ice.

DANO LOOKS FOR MORE Jets forward Marko Dano had the lowest amount of ice time among all players in Monday’s 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers, taking 13 shifts for 6:50.

Dano recorded one hit, but was the only member of the Jets who didn’t record a on goal.

In that contest, the Jets had 43 shots on goal and a whopping 66 shot attempts, including eight shots on goal and 14 shot attempts for Nikolaj Ehlers.

While it’s challenging for players on the fourth line to get into much of a groove when you’re not getting a lot of ice time, when you’re battling to stay in the lineup, all players need to find a way to contribute — whether it’s offensively or in another area.

STUART HEADS OVERSEAS Former Jets defenceman Mark Stuart has found a new place to play.

After attending training camp with the , Stuart was released from his professional tryout offer after playing only one pre-season game.

But on Wednesday, Stuart inked a deal to join in the DEL on a roster that includes former NHLers like Devin Setoguchi, Carlo Colaiacovo and Marcel Goc.

Stuart, 33, spent the past six seasons with the Jets before the organization bought out the final year of his four-year contract in late June.

NBC Sports http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2017/10/12/dustin-byfuglien-matt-hendricks-spend-day-off-capturing- monster-fish-photo/

Dustin Byfuglien, Matt Hendricks spend day off capturing monster fish (Photo)

By Sean Leahy

The Winnipeg Jets had some down time on Tuesday after beating the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 for their first victory of the season. Matt Hendricks and Dustin Byfuglien took advantage and spent the day fishing — and boy did they come home with a catch.

With help from fishing company Sturgeon Slayers, the Jets teammates took to the Fraser River in British Columbia and caught this monster.

The players couldn’t take it home because sturgeon are a threatened species, so the monster was released after posing for some photos.

Of course, this accomplishment didn’t happen without a bit of grumbling from some Jets fans. They were upset that Byfuglien, who sat out Monday’s game in Edmonton with a lower-body injury, was fishing instead of remaining in his hotel room covered in bubble wrap and hot towels. Head coach Paul Maurice, however, did not care.

“He had treatment. [He] did what he needed to do. [It’s a] soft-tissue issue,” Maurice said on Wednesday via the Winnipeg Free Press. “None at all. Just a little bit jealous, but no issue at all.”

Byfuglien will take the morning skate in Vancouver on Thursday but will not play against the Canucks. He’s considered day-to-day. Hendricks has been on injured reserve since the start of the season.

TSN.ca http://www.tsn.ca/jets-sticking-with-hellebuyck-against-canucks-1.882703

Jets sticking with Hellebuyck against Canucks

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Connor Hellebuyck is supposed to be a backup , but he is not playing like one. Hellebuyck will make his second straight start Thursday as the Winnipeg Jets (1-2-0) visit the Vancouver Canucks (1-0-1).

"It means a lot, but I've gotta be ready," Hellebuyck said of his second start after Wednesday's practice. "I've gotta bring my A game."

Jets management did not feel that Hellebuyck brought his A game often enough last season as the starter, so the club signed 10-year veteran Steve Mason as a free agent July 1.

But Mason, who played for the last season, allowed three goals on the first 10 shots he faced as a Jet in their season opener at home against -- and was yanked early in the third period after giving up five in all.

Hellebuyck earned the start against Vancouver start after backstopping the Jets to a 5-2 win over the offensively explosive Oilers in Edmonton on Monday. But he is not putting too much stock in his 37-save effort against Connor McDavid and company.

"It's just one game," Hellebuyck said. "I see this as another chance for me to just go out there and continue showing what I can do, bringing my best and helping the team succeed."

Big things have been expected of the Jets in recent seasons, but they have missed the playoffs in three of the past four years. The goaltender position will come under heavy scrutiny this season tries to live up to expectations.

After the Jets signed Mason, Hellebuyck, a 24-year-old Commerce, Mich., native, embarked on an intense offseason conditioning program. Although Hellebuyck declined to get into specifics about his program, he indicated that improvements in his biomechanics have helped him move quicker and feel better about his game.

"Just every day in practice, I feel like myself again," said Hellebuyck, who went 26-19-4 last season. "I feel good and I feel confident. I can actually go out and play. I have the right foundation and I just need to continue working hard at it."

Jets coach Paul Maurice said Hellebuyck has earned another start.

"I really liked his game (in Edmonton)," Maurice said. "It was good to get a win."

Maurice downplayed his decision to sit Mason out again.

"It's early in the season," Maurice said. "We got off to a rocky start as a team (against Toronto), and we had a really good performance the other night. So I'm going with the same lineup -- that's all."

Top defenseman Dustin Byfuglien will miss his second straight game with an undisclosed lower- body injury. Maurice said Byfuglien, who is with the team, is listed as day-to-day.

While the Jets goaltending might have questions, there is no doubt about their offensive firepower. The Canucks will attempt to hold the likes of Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers, Blake Wheeler and Patrick Laine, among others, in check.

Ehlers had eight shots against the Oilers while producing four points. Scheifele and Wheeler had three points apiece.

"We know they have some highly skilled players, guys who can shoot the puck, guys who can play," Canucks defenseman Chris Tanev said. "We will have to stay out of the (penalty) box against them. They have a good power play."

As they pay close attention to defense, the Canucks will try to produce more offense. They have only managed one power-play goal on 11 extra-man chances thus far.

"It's just (a matter of) execution, I feel," Canucks captain Henrik Sedin said. "Somehow it feels good. We can create off the rush. It's just that last play needs to be made."

It remains to be seen how many games Henrik and his twin brother Daniel, two former NHL scoring champions, get to make during man-advantage opportunities and five-on-five.

Without making much of an announcement on the subject, new coach Travis Green has started limiting their ice time in an apparent attempt to keep the 36-year-olds fresh over the long haul.

"I think that's what you're going to see this season," Henrik said. "There's going to be different guys on the power play, different guys playing more minutes, guys in and out of the lineup. If you buy in, there isn't going to be a problem.

"There are going to be lots of stories. Maybe that's good for you guys, but that's the way it is. We knew this was the way it was Jets going to be." In past seasons, the Sedins have received the majority of playing time on most nights. But several other players received more minutes against the Senators.

"It's a different feeling for us, but we know what's going to happen," Henrik said. "We're going to get some power play time and we need to step up five-on-five." http://www.tsn.ca/maurice-no-issue-with-byfuglien-s-fishing-trip-1.882679

Maurice: 'No issue' with Byfuglien's fishing trip

By TSN.ca Staff

Winnipeg Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien was scratch from the team's Monday night win over the Edmonton Oilers due to a lower-body injury and has been ruled out for Thursday's contest against the Vancouver Canucks.

The extent of Byfuglien's injury was called into question on Tuesday when fishing company Sturgeon Slayers posted photos on Twitter of Byfuglien and fellow injured teammate Matt Hendricks posing with a massive sturgeon in the Fraser River.

Jets head coach Paul Maurice said Wednesday he had no problem with Byfuglien's off-day activity choice, while also shedding some light of the injury. “No, he did what he needed to do (for medical treatment),” Maurice told the Vancouver Province.

“No issue at all. Just a little bit jealous. We get four mandatory days off a month and I like it when they (occur) on the road because (players) get to spend some time together. It’s great early in the season. Outstanding.”

Maurice said Byfuglien would take part in practice Thursday morning but the team is taking a cautious approach with their highest-paid blueliner. "That’ll be the first time he’s been on the ice in a few days and we’ll just be real cautious with it going forward," Maurice said. "It’s day-to-day."

The 32-year-old owns one assist through two games this season. He logged 22:19 of ice time in the team's opener against the and 25:02 on Saturday against the Calgary Flames.

Byfuglien could return to the Jets' lineup Saturday night at home against the Carolina Hurricanes. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/mason-and-hellebuyck-can-lean-on-each-other~1230150 (VIDEO LINK)

Mason and Hellebuyck can lean on each other

While many are expecting Connor Hellebuyck to take the starting gig from Steve Mason after leading the Jets to their first win, Jamie McLennan doesn't see it that way. McLennan believes that Mason and Hellebuyck can feed off of one another, and this is a great opportunity to allow Hellebuyck to grow into an effective starting goalie. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/byfuglien-misses-jets-practice-won-t-play-thursday-in- vancouver~1229483 (VIDEO LINK)

Byfuglien misses Jets practice, won't play Thursday in Vancouver

After missing Monday's game against the Oilers, Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien was absent from practice on Wednesday and won't be in the lineup on Thursday against the Canucks. Paul Maurice also confirmed that Connor Hellebuyck will start his second straight game.

The Athletic Winnipeg https://theathletic.com//122990/2017/10/10/dellow-risk-reward-and-the-dustin-byfuglien- question/?redirected=1

Dellow: Risk, reward and the Dustin Byfuglien question

By Tyler Dellow

Luck's a complicated thing in hockey. I tend to think that hockey people don't weight it enough and analytics people (including me, no doubt) overweight it. I think of what we call luck as being like the darkness in an unlit room with weird angles and some candles fixed in place, although not enough to light all the crannies. If you can find the candles and get them lit, you can shrink the darkness. You'll never be able to get rid of it all though, because pucks hit feet, referees blow calls – luck happens.

(Part of what we perceive as “luck” changes as a result of adjustments too. If a team is doing something that results in some negative outcome, the coaching staff will likely find it and change it. If it's getting away with something that results in some positive outcome, the league will eventually assimilate that information and take it away from them. “Luck” isn't just about bounces; it's about the Darwinian processes in the NHL that push teams back towards narrow norms on certain things.)

Since the Jets moved to Winnipeg, Dustin Byfuglien has one of the worst differences between his on-ice and off-ice save percentages at 5-on-5 in the NHL. When Byfuglien's on the ice, the Jets have put up a .909 since 2011-12. When he's on the bench, they've put up a .924. Only Seth Jones and Jake Muzzin have worse differentials amongst defencemen who've been on the ice for at least 2000 shots in that window. They're both much closer to the 2,000 shot threshold (2,337 shots against and 2,406 shots against) than Byfuglien (3,735 shots against), which means that there's probably more noise in their save percentages than in Byfuglien's.

As a result of this, Byfuglien is one of the unusual players whose Corsi% is quite different than his GF%, even in a large sample. Relative to his team since 2011-12, Byfuglien's Corsi% is 2.4 points better than the Jets when he's on the bench. That's good! His GF% is 1.7 points worse than the Jets when he's not on the ice. That's bad! It's important to note that this is a save percentage problem, not a shooting percentage problem – the Jets have shot 8.2 per cent with Byfuglien on the ice at 5-on-5 in this time and 8.0 per cent when he's on the bench.

If you were to talk to someone well versed in analytics thinking, they'd likely tell you that standard analytics thinking would be that Dustin Byfuglien has suffered from bad luck. In general, I agree with this conclusion. When you see defencemen with big differences between their save percentage and that of their team, it's probably luck, whether good or bad. In Byfuglien's case, I've always suspected that there's something more to it.

Byfuglien plays an extremely aggressive game, both physically and in terms of taking risks for offence. The latter trait was on display in Winnipeg's disastrous game in Calgary on Saturday night. I grabbed a couple of clips to illustrate what I'm talking about.

Clip 1: Byfuglien pinches, with Mark Scheifele covering for him. He kind of dawdles in terms of getting back and Scheifele is left to (poorly) defend Calgary's breakout and ensuing rush.

Clip 2: Byfuglien strolls down the wall into the corner with the puck, looking for a pass. Fair enough, but he gets awfully comfortable once he's there – if the puck had been turned over, Winnipeg's left defending a rush with a defence pair of Nikolaj Ehlers and Toby Enstrom.

Clip 3: The piece de resistance. Byfuglien aggressively leaps to try and keep a puck in the offensive zone rather than retreating. He misses and the puck bounces out into centre, whereupon is left to deal with it on his backhand, with Johnny Gaudreau in his face. Rather that get back and give Morrissey some support, Byfuglien lets a Flames forward go and skates off to the side, hoping that Morrissey can get a pass through to him. Morrissey can't, and although the Flames don't score on the glorious chance, they end up scoring in the subsequent offensive zone sequence.

There's data in support of my suspicion that Byfuglien is unusually aggressive in getting deep into the offensive zone as well. He routinely has one of the shortest 5-on-5 shot distances in the NHL amongst defencemen. Since 2011-12, he has two of the three shortest shot distance seasons amongst defencemen taking at least 100 unblocked 5-on-5 shots, three of the shortest 11 seasons and four of the shortest 44 seasons.

Having a short average shot distance is great, all other things being equal. I've always had a sneaking suspicion that in his case, all other things aren't equal and that his save percentage problem is somehow tied to him being too aggressive, resulting in odd-man rushes or rushes where a Jets' forward is ineptly acting as a defenceman.

Unfortunately, our brains lie to us relentlessly, telling us convincing stories to explain phenomena that we observe. I've known for a long time that Byfuglien has a disastrous on-ice save percentage; it's entirely possible that I'm hyper-aware of his positioning on the ice as a result and that I'm concocting some sort of explanation for something that's purely bad luck.

Bill James had a line about thinking that's always stuck with me (I think it was Bill James; I've read enough of his books that I just assume it was him whenever it's something to do with how to think about a problem): “If this was true, what else would be true?” Thinking about the Byfuglien phenomenon, it seemed to me that it might make sense to check whether it's forwards or defencemen who are lighting him up.

If this is all somehow tied up in Byfuglien being too aggressive and conceding glorious rush opportunities, I'd expect opposition forwards to have particularly benefitted from that, because I'd expect the forwards to be getting much more of those chances than the defencemen. Defencemen do get into the rush but generally, it's more likely that a forward will. Sure enough, this seems to check out. Defencemen have shot 3.0 per cent against the Jets with Byfuglien on the bench and 3.7 per cent with Byfuglien on the ice. Forwards have shot 9.4 per cent and 11.0 per cent respectively. The increase in the shooting percentage enjoyed by forwards is more than double the increase enjoyed by defencemen.

Let's try and parse this information a little more finely. Do specific shift types correspond with Byfuglien getting lit up by opposing forwards? I've looked at this from the perspective of the shooter and calculated their shooting percentage based on two factors: whether Byfuglien is on the ice and how the shift started for the shooter. Here's the breakdown.

The point of looking at things like this is that certain decisions that the defenceman has to make or plays that he has to make are more likely to arise on certain shifts. A defenceman is more likely to have to deal with decisions about pinching when his shift starts with an offensive zone win than he is if it starts with a defensive zone loss. If you see a bad trend, you can consider whether it's just luck or driven by something else.

Let's look at the goals scored when the shooter's shift started with a DZL, an offensive zone win for the Jets. The NHL switched video providers at the All-Star break in 2015-16, which is unfortunate, because we lost easy access to goal videos going back to 2010 or so – they haven't yet put that video back online. (Yet? One can hope because getting a setup to easily do stuff like this is surprisingly difficult.) As a result, we'll look at goals scored by a shooter on a shift starting with a DZL since the 2015-16 All-Star break.

Winnipeg's given up 15 goals to forwards on DZL shifts at 5-on-5 since then. Byfuglien has been on the ice for eight of those. I'm hypothesizing that Byfuglien is somehow connected to more dangerous rush shots where he's off doing who knows what. The video backs it up. Of the 15 goals, Byfuglien was on the ice for eight. Seven of them were off the rush; five of those involved Byfuglien. Of those five, four of them featured Byfuglien getting caught somehow, whether due to a bad read, a bad shot attempt or because he's deep in the zone.

This isn't definitive proof that Byfuglien gets the risk/reward equation wrong, of course. I'm just looking at the plays that turned into goals, not all of the plays. Teams are secretive about their analytics departments and how they're integrated into their operation but the Jets were looking into analytics over the summer. If the Jets have one that has some interaction with the coaches, there's a pretty good question to dig into here – pull all of the shots by shooters on DZL shifts since the Jets came to Winnipeg, sort them by whether Byfuglien is on the ice or not and determine whether more of the ones with Byfuglien on the ice were rush shots. I would bet that the answer is yes. Obviously, that's just one aspect of it. There are some other trouble spots with Byfuglien that could be explored as well, as you can see from the graph above.

The problem with this is that the coaching staff is probably deeply familiar with Byfuglien's game at this point. Charlie Huddy has been in Winnipeg since 2011. He's steered less talented players to reasonably successful seasons in the past. If he hasn't been able to solve whatever it is that results in Byfuglien consistently posting a terrible save percentage, well, I'm not sure that it's a fixable problem. It's unfortunate for the Jets because they've made a significant commitment to him. And he's been less than his underlying numbers would suggest, which is a tough thing to overcome.

TSN 1290 (AUDIO LINKS) http://www.tsn.ca/radio/winnipeg-1290/sawyer-scheifele-s-confidence-shows-in-his-play- 1.882062

Sawyer: Scheifele's confidence shows in his play

Jets on TSN analyst Kevin Sawyer speaks with Kevin Olszewski about the Jets first three games of the year, their play in the win vs. Edmonton and what the Jets need to do to remain successful this season. http://www.tsn.ca/radio/winnipeg-1290/wheeler-time-out-in-edmonton-a-time-to-refocus- 1.882156

Wheeler: Time-out in Edmonton a time to refocus

Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler joins the Afternoon Ride to discuss the 1-2-0 start to the season, what the team learned in the tough times early in the season, and how the time-out taken early in their game in Edmonton helped the team go on to beat the Oilers. http://www.tsn.ca/radio/winnipeg-1290/dreger-byfuglien-s-status-still-nagging-day-to-day- 1.882126

Dreger: Byfuglien’s status still nagging, day-to-day

TSN Hockey insider Darren Dreger joins the Afternoon Ride to discuss the mystery surrounding Dustin Byfuglien’s status after being out of the Winnipeg Jets lineup on Monday. Dreger says his latest information has Byfuglien out day-to-day with an injury. Dreger also discusses how Connor Hellebuyck could be used through the season. www.winnipegjets.com https://www.nhl.com/jets/news/maurice-wont-change-line-up-for-road-trip-finale-in-vancouver/c- 291831064 (INTERVIEWS INCLUDED)

Maurice won't change line-up for road trip finale in Vancouver Byfuglien remains day-to-day; Hendricks skates for first time since injury by Mitchell Clinton @MitchellClinton / WinnipegJets.com

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - The Winnipeg Jets took over the Father Bauer Arena at the University of British Columbia campus on Wednesday, preparing for tomorrow's road trip finale against the Vancouver Canucks.

While the team was in good spirits during the fast-paced 45-minute skate, Mark Scheifele believes the best way to move forward from Monday's 5-2 win over Edmonton is to forget it even happened.

"You can't rest on that game. It's one game out of 82. Obviously we're happy with it, but it means nothing come the next day," said Scheifele. "We have to focus on Vancouver. We know it's going to be a tough test, so we have to be ready for that."

Scheifele's line with Blake Wheeler and Nikolaj Ehlers combined for 10 points in the win, prompting head coach Paul Maurice to say the trio was "on another level" in the team's first win of the season.

"Not that they hadn't been (at a high level) before, but they brought everybody along. Those guys drove the pace of the game for sure," said Maurice.

"We were hard in the areas we needed to be. Our D-zone coverage, our sticks, we only took two penalties. We were very intense, but we weren't slashing, we weren't reaching from behind. It was a good physical game in our end of the ice, and offensively we moved."

Maurice won't make any changes to the line-up going into the game against the Canucks. Dustin Byfuglien remains day-to-day with his "soft tissue" injury, but will take the morning skate tomorrow. Connor Hellebuyck will get his second straight start following his 37-save performance against the Oilers.

"I really liked his game. It's good to get a win. He's feeling confident, and he deserves to go back in," said Maurice, who said Hellebuyck's play during Edmonton's early power play was huge for the team early on.

"They put six or seven shots up on us on there, a couple in the slot. What was most important about those is that the rebound was controlled. As good of a save as it was, we never got into trouble off it. He handled them, put them in the corners, and then we could react aggressively with it."

The 24-year-old Hellebuyck put in a significant amount of work in the off-season improving his "biomechanics" and how he moves in the net. Seeing some early success from all that training s has the Commerce, Michigan native feeling confident.

"Just every day in practice, I feel like myself again. I feel good, I feel confident, and I can just trust myself that I'm just going to go out and play," said Hellebuyck.

"I think there's a lot of good, but there are a lot of things to improve on as well. That's the start of the season, that's what you see from every guy out there. I'm going to be a bit cliche, but you really have to work on those details early on. Later on in the season, they pay off."

WELCOME TO THE NHL Tucker Poolman played 14:30 in his NHL debut Monday night in Edmonton, and used yesterday's off day to answer congratulatory messages from family and friends.

It took him a while.

"I was on the phone for a few hours. I ran out of data," smiled Poolman. "So the phone slowed down the rest of the day, but it was a good day."

Poolman was credited with two shots on goal, two shot blocks, and one hit in his first career game. But it was a hit he was on the receiving end of that he'll always remember.

"I took a pretty big hit from (Oilers forward Milan) Lucic, so that was a pretty good welcome," Poolman said. "After the first shift you kind of settle down. Overall it was good and I had fun out there."

Facing the Canucks tomorrow night also offers an opportunity for the University of North Dakota grad to go up against some former teammates. Poolman played with Vancouver defenceman for two seasons (2015 and 2016) at UND, and two seasons with Brock Boeser (2016 and 2017).

"Maybe a week or so ago, they both texted me, Poolman said, but with Vancouver playing last night against Ottawa, there hasn't been much chatter between the three since the Jets arrived in Vancouver.

ICE CHIPS Forward Matt Hendricks skated today for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury in the preseason. The 36-year-old worked through a few drills with assistant coach Todd Woodcroft for 15 minutes prior to the full team skate.

Maurice says Hendricks won't play tomorrow and is still listed as day-to-day. https://www.nhl.com/jets/news/17-wing-the-wso-and-season-seat-holders-rise-together/c- 291846070

17 Wing, the WSO, and Season Seat Holders Rise Together 17 Wing, the WSO, and Season Seat Holders Rise Together in Jets 2017-18 Team Intro Video by Krista Sinaisky / http://winnipegjets.com

At every Winnipeg Jets home game, the intro video is the pre-game cue for fans to focus their attention to the ice in anticipation of puck drop, rising together with their passion for the Jets and for their community.

It was only natural that the Rise Together mantra that is already resonating with Jets fans would also be the inspiration for the team's intro video for the 2017-18 season.

From the first dramatic pulses of percussion to the fiery flashes of Jet pride, the spirit, excitement and energy of Rise Together was brought to life through a collaborative effort between fans, community partners and our great city.

"Rise Together is all encompassing," said Kyle Balharry, senior director of gameday production and broadcast services with True North Sports + Entertainment. "It's about, players, fans, our city, our province, spirit, unity, being together as one, and that's what we're all here for on game night."

Balharry and his creative production team of Steve Godkin, Dylann Bobei and Aidan Padgett Reimer put their heads together in May to develop the video's concept. While the theme was firmly in place, the rest of it happened somewhat backwards.

"Usually the storyboards are developed first and the score is made to fit," explained Balharry. "This time we put everything in the hands of Shawn Pierce and played off of his composition for the visuals."

This marks the second time that Pierce, a Hollywood composer and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) collaborator, has written the video's song, following last year's successful partnership with the WSO.

"In my world of music for media, its extremely rare that I don't have a picture as a creative and motivational reference," said Pierce, also a native Winnipegger. "I wrote music based on very clear creative direction from Kyle and his team at True North, had it approved and we recorded. Easy right? Not so easy…but in a really good way."

Led by music director, Maestro Alexander Mickelthwate, the WSO brought the notes to life with a full orchestral recording bringing even more drama to the piece.

"The score that Shawn Pierce created is full of emotion - and a full symphony orchestra is the perfect tool to express that emotion," said Mickelthwate. "We loved working with the whole True North team and were thrilled to again record their theme music for this season. Go Jets Go!"

As an avid Jets fan, Pierce notes that working with True North and the Jets has been a career highlight. "I couldn't be more excited or proud of this season's piece and being part of the Rise Together campaign. It was another wonderful experience working with Alexander and the whole WSO team."

True North has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with the Canadian Armed Forces, dating back to the original Manitoba Moose days, and was honoured to have 17 Wing Winnipeg's help in creating the video. Department of National Defence employees, along with Canadian Armed Forces members from the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Army joined shoulder to shoulder with other Jets fans to celebrate the team.

"Teamwork is essential to the success of both the Winnipeg Jets and the Canadian Armed Forces," said Captain Bettina McCulloch-Drake, 17 Wing Winnipeg public affairs officer. "While one person can certainly make a difference, we are stronger when we work together towards a common goal."

While key Winnipeg landmarks were featured throughout the video, Canadian Forces Base Winnipeg helped set the stage for a large portion of the shoot. Filmed in one of the hangars at the base, the Rise Together video featured the celebrated CF-18 Hornet fighter aircraft which is depicted on the Jets logo. (The specific aircraft used in the video flew in from 4 Wing Cold Lake, , on a training flight.)

One hundred and forty men and women representing the Canadian Armed Forces and 200 season seat holders, including super fans Dancing Gabe and Jet, further fuelled the passion of the Rise Together message.

"We're really happy with how it all came together in terms of the community collaboration and representation," said Balharry. "We couldn't have asked for more passion or more energy from anyone involved."

Fans' next chance to see the video is at the Saturday, October 14 home game vs. the Carolina Hurricanes. Tickets are available at winnipegjets.com/tickets.