Byfuglien clears the air about Winnipeg After comments last Friday suggesting he was open to moving on from the Jets, TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Frank Seravalli writes that defenceman Dustin Byfuglien has made it clear that he would like to return to Winnipeg.

Frank Seravalli TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Follow|Archive

If there was any confusion about what Dustin Byfuglien said over All-Star Weekend about Winnipeg, he cleared the air after Tuesday night’s loss.

Byfuglien, 30, said he wants to be back with the Jets.

“Yeah, I’d love to,” Byfuglien told reporters. “I’ve met a lot of good people and now some really good friends. I’ve been here for a long time. You never want to leave home. I’ve been here long enough; my family has been here and I’ve had two kids here.

“It’s somewhere you don’t want to leave.”

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He raised eyebrows in Nashville last Friday when asked if his overall preference was to remain in Winnipeg.

“I just want to put on a jersey, to be honest with you,” Byfuglien replied. “I don’t mind Winnipeg at all. It’s close to home for me - it’s probably the closest I’ll ever get to play by home. There’s so many good things that I like about Winnipeg. I can do my outdoor stuff that I love to do. I have no problem being up there.”

Some suspected Byfuglien used that choice of words, perhaps, as a negotiating ploy in an effort to draw the Jets closer to his demands. The Jets have been in contact with Byfuglien’s agent, Ben Hankinson of Octagon Hockey.

Byfuglien is a pending unrestricted free agent, due another big payday - and the Jets can ill-afford to let either him or fellow free agent Andrew Ladd walk in the summer without a return before this month’s trade deadline. That means one of them is likely to go. And if Byfuglien were to be available, he would top TSN’s annual Trade Bait list.

The truth is ‘Buff’ was probably just being ‘Buff’ in Nashville, with his easygoing and almost shy nature likely clouding his intended impact.

He set the record straight on Tuesday. The proof, of course, will be in Byfuglien’s actions.