Dustin Byfuglien to end up with the Maple Leafs?!

He is a free agent after all!

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HockeyFeed
Published 3 years ago
Dustin Byfuglien to end up with the Maple Leafs?!
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The Dustin Byfuglien era with the Winnipeg Jets officially ended last week, but it seems possible that a new chapter could be underway for the star defenseman with another NHL team. 

Byfuglien had not played for the Jets, or any team, since April 20, 2019, however, with the blue liner and the Jets “mutually resolving” the grievance he filed last year, his contract has been terminated and he could get a deal somewhere else in the NHL. 

Rory Boylen of Sportsnet has mentioned that Bufyglien could become an ideal candidate to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs. It all depends if Big Buff would be willing to accept a discount. 

“It wouldn’t be easy but the Leafs are here only because, as a Cup hopeful with at least one obvious flaw, they’ll be as aggressive as they can be to fix that. So, any time a right-shot defenseman of significance becomes available, Toronto should have some degree of interest.
To start, this could only happen if Byfuglien wanted to come to the Leafs and took less than likely market value. That’s because the Leafs are already having to deal with a cap crunch and have committed $76.9 million to the 2020-21 roster. That’s without including pending UFAs Tyson Barrie and Cody Ceci, and also without factoring in what RFA Travis Dermott will command. If the cap stays flat, that would leave Toronto with less than $5 million of space to start from.”

As a result of the termination, Byfuglien will not be paid the US$14 million or so he was owed for this past season and next. But he is a free agent and fans will be many to try and guess where he will end up next season.

Source: Sportsnet