It's every Winnipeg columnist's dream: a Jets team minus All-Star defenseman Dustin Byfuglien.

And it could be a reality sooner than later.

Byfuglien is entering the final season of his current contract — a five-year deal that pays him at a $5.2 million AAV, and the actual dollar value trending up to this coming season's $6 million — and is already north of 30. The question for the Jets, who have a solid if young defensive corps that seems poised to be built around Tyler Myers for the foreseeable future, is whether they think Byfuglien is going to be worth the significant raise and years-long commitment likely required to retain his services.

This is a rather similar situation to what the Calgary Flames faced vis-a-vis Mark Giordano until they re-signed him to that irrational contract (which is exactly what it is, even if no one in the hockey media seems willing to say that). There are, however, a number of notable exceptions.

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Byfuglien, for as good as he is, he's no Giordano. Byfuglien is an All-Star who should have been an Olympian in Sochi — ah, that USA Hockey decision-making — but Giordano would have a pair of Norris trophies on mantle at home were he able to stay in any way healthy for an 82-game season. For another, Giordano is Calgary's captain, and seen as a Strong Veteran Presence on a team with a lot of good young players. For a third, Calgary had to retain him for the two reasons above, plus the fact that, if they'd entertained the idea of trading him this year, their defense would have gone from being one of the best, if not the clear No. 1, in the NHL to being another screaming garbage heap that gives Deryk Engelland nearly 20 minutes a night; such is Giordano's ability and influence. The Jets have no such problem in terms of the quality of blue liners they have in the pipe, ready to go in the near future.

On the other hand, Byfuglien is a little younger, which probably only increases the dollar-value ask at the negotiating table (there's a lot of informed speculation that Giordano took a discount to “just” $6.75 million because the deal will pay him until he's approximately 200 years old). In addition, his current salary of $6 million likely portends a bump into the $7 million range. His AAV, in fact, is only 34th in the league right now, so it must be said that Winnipeg has gotten something of a bargain these last five years, though his current salary is tied for 18th, which seems just about right.

For the 2015-16 season, Winnipeg has a little less than $40.6 million committed to just 13 players, with some big-name players in the mix as pending free agents. In addition to Byfuglien, there's also Andrew Ladd (currently making just $4.4 million against the cap, and he'll be 30 in December) and Grant Clitsome (whom you can safely leave or take) as UFAs.

Then you get into the RFAs: Matt Halischuk and Adam Lowry are guys who probably won't cost you much; Mark Scheifele, Jacob Trouba, and Michael Hutchinson are the opposite. That doesn't include other guys who might crack the NHL roster by that point, and whose future paydays may therefore have to be considered when extending Byfuglien.

As with signing any player over the age of 30 to a long-term extension, but particularly defensemen, there are many factors to consider when nailing down details. A $7 million price point seems to be in the offing here, at the very least, and that's not so bad given what Byfuglien can currently do on the ice. But as Calgary so wantonly ignored with the Giordano deal, defenders can see their skills diminish pretty quickly in this league around their mid-30s, so any term longer than, say, three or four years becomes a major risk. Especially when considering how his payday impacts future generations of Jets defenders.

Funny as it is to say, Byfuglien, a clear No. 1 defenseman in this league — except when the Jets inexplicably use him as a forward, but that's another discussion entirely — may simply be seen by Winnipeg brass as something of a stopgap or bridge to the Josh Morrisseys and Jan Kostaleks of the world. Indeed, now might be the time for a younger player like Myers or Trouba to start getting more serious ice time. Not that Byfuglien necessarily earned such treatment, but that might be the way the wind's blowing, and he might find himself the odd man out. It is obviously hard to replace D-men of his quality, but they might have to try given their financial considerations.

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