Dustin Byfuglien may not be done with the skates after all - but don’t ask him to pretend hockey is still the center of his world.
The former Jets star, now 41, was out at the 2026 Kenora Bass International last week and finished in the top 30. During an interview at the event, he was asked whether he’d be part of the Winnipeg Jets’ alumni tournament this October, and his first reaction said plenty.
“What one?” he jokingly said. When reminded that it was for the Jets, he said “I don’t know, I didn’t know there was one.”
After being told Winnipeg fans believe he’s on the way back, Byfuglien left the door open with a grin.
“Well we’ll have to look into that … if I’m not shooting ducks,” he said.
He also said his family is excited about heading back to Winnipeg for the event. Byfuglien’s last NHL season came with the Jets in 2018-19.
As for whether he’d be ready to play, he didn’t bother dressing it up.
“Never was in shape.”
Byfuglien spent 15 years in the NHL as both a forward and a defenseman, putting up 177 goals and 348 assists for 525 points along with 1,094 penalty minutes in 869 regular-season games with the Jets, Chicago Blackhawks and Atlanta Thrashers.
He added 50 points in 66 playoff games, including a 2010 Stanley Cup run with Chicago in which he scored 11 goals and five assists for 16 points in 22 games.
A Blackhawks eighth-round pick in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Byfuglien also played parts of three seasons in the AHL, where he had 26 goals, 48 assists, 74 points and 246 penalty minutes in 124 regular-season games.
In four seasons of junior hockey in the Western Hockey League, the Roseau, Minn., native totaled 48 goals, 94 assists, 142 points and 399 penalty minutes in 189 games with the Brandon Wheat Kings and Prince George Cougars.
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