WINNIPEG — Rick Dudley isn’t one for smiley faces in his text messages, but it’s about all that was missing Friday night.



The man who first got to know Dustin Byfuglien as a prospect in Chicago while working in the Blackhawks front office then traded for the hulking player in June 2010 as GM of the Atlanta Thrashers.



Which, by the way, is where Byfuglien was encouraged to go back to his preferred position on defence after helping the Hawks win a Cup in June 2010 as a power winger.



“I believed he was a good winger, but a great defenceman,” Dudley said via text message Friday night. “And I also believed he was a very good team player. I never had a doubt what position he should play.”



Well, let’s be honest, while he’s a great defenceman, Byfuglien finds himself all over the ice, which is part of his effectiveness as far as the other team having no clue what he’s up to nor how to defend against...