The Winnipeg Jets and Dustin Byfuglien have mutually agreed to terminate the defenseman’s contract, the NHL and NHLPA announced on Friday. The move also resolves Byfuglien’s grievance against the club.
The 35-year-old Byfuglien is now an unrestricted free agent.
Byfuglien was suspended by the Jets after failing to report to training camp in September, as he reportedly weighed retirement. Byfuglien was initially granted a personal leave of absence, but was later suspended without pay to help give the Jets salary-cap relief. The NHLPA filed a grievance on Byfuglien’s behalf in November to challenge that move.
Byfuglien was set to earn $8 million for the 2019-20 season and $6 million for 2020-21.
At issue between Byfuglien and the Jets: the health of Byfuglien’s ankle. The Jets said Byfuglien was deemed fit to play and passed his 2018-19 season-ending physical. Byfuglien, however, underwent surgery in October for a high ankle sprain.
Byfuglien played in only 42 games during the 2018-19 season. He suffered a lower-body injury in December, and appeared in just 10 games after Dec. 29.
Byfuglien, a native of Roseau, Minnesota, has played in 869 regular-season games with the Blackhawks, Thrashers and Jets, tallying 177 goals, 525 points and 1,094 penalty minutes. Byfuglien, an eighth-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2013, helped Chicago win the Stanley Cup in 2010.
He is one of only four active NHL defensemen to record 20 goals and 20 assists in their playoff careers.