Dustin Byfuglien will move to defense

[Original-Six 254]

My link

....

Im prerrty sure the move wont be permanent but still....wtf...such a waste

Edited September 10, 2010 by Original-Six

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

[Jusek 437]

I don't get that decision. I think he is a good power forward. He shouldn't play defense.

[achildr1 255]

He will as in "might" or he will as in "will"?

If he is gonna play full time D I will be blown away. I thought that deal was bad in the first place, this will make it atrocious.

[toby91_ca 620]

He's not that good of a player, the value he did have was his size and the ability to stand in front of the net, this decision basically removes that value.

[wingfan1991 221]

what jokers

[CenterIce 83]

From the article:

“Dustin Byfuglien will have a chance to play defense,” Ramsay said. “I’ve been told he is a defenseman, he was a defenseman. That was his position and he likes it. He wants to be there. I will give him every opportunity to show us he can play defense. If he can do that, wonderful. That’s great. I look at our defense and I think it can be our strength, a strong point. If Buff can go in and be big and strong on defense, that would be awesome. If it doesn’t work, he’ll go up front. There is no reason we wouldn’t give him every good, solid chance to play the position and find out if he can. That would really solidify us on the back end.”[/Quote]

Edited September 10, 2010 by CenterIce

[Shady Ultima 40]

Apparently, after reading the actual article, Buff used to play D. And he hasn't shown up to work out and keep in shape since winning the cup...

I don't know that this is a good idea. His style was always a wannabe-Homer, which loses everything if he's on D.

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

Craig Ramsay is a genius. Next up: plan the route for the Cup Parade.

[Jersey Wing 1,521]

Effective power forward or tubby pylon. Hmmmmmmmmmmm, which one should he choose?

[McAwesome 754]

I don't know about this move, I don't think I've ever seen the speed that Ramsay alludes to, and for such a big guy he doesn't really play that physical, except in front of the net, so he might be useful at clearing the crease but I can't see him doing very well on the blue-line in his own zone. Hopefully for both of their sakes they give up on this experiment, Atlanta has a much more pressing need for top 6 forwards than they do for defensemen.

On a related topic, Atlanta now has by far the most African-American/Canadian players in the league, Byfuglien, Johnny Oduya, Evander Kane, Nigel Dawes, Anthony Stewart, Akim Ailu. All they need to do is coax Anson Carter out retirement...

Edited September 10, 2010 by McAwesome

[Bring Back The Bruise Bros 1,029]

Atlanta seems set on defense:

Enstrom-Hainsey

Bogosian-Oduya

Sopel-Meyer

Valabik

I think he's more effective as a forward anyway. He's a net presence. Atlanta has next to no net presence other than him.

[toby91_ca 620]

Atlanta has a much more pressing need for top 6 forwards than they do for defensemen.

Don't think he'd be a top 6 forward though.

[McAwesome 754]

Don't think he'd be a top 6 forward though.

Who do they have in their top 6? The only forwards that I would put ahead of him are Kane, Ladd, Antropov, and maybe Peverley.

[Jesusberg 1,256]

Who do they have in their top 6? The only forwards that I would put ahead of him are Kane, Ladd, Antropov, and maybe Peverley.

I'd definitely add Bryan Little to that list, as I think he just had a rough year (51 points in 2008-09). Also, Peverley should get the nod too, as he notched 55 points on a much weaker team. That being said, no one else would be considered "better" than Byfuglien after that. The next guys in line would be Freddy Modin and Nigel Dawes, neither of which have been overly impressive lately.

As someone else has said, their defense looks to be pretty set. The only thing I can see is that maybe they're looking for a better shut-down guy. After Bogosian and Hainsey (blocked shots only), the hitting and blocked shot numbers go down. They could be hoping that Byfuglien could work on the PK, perhaps. Just a guess.

[hooon 1,089]

I know he started on D in chicago. But I agree with you guys, what a waste of his value in the first place. With a decent playmaker on his line, he can be pretty good at what he does. He also has a surprising amount of speed for his size once he gets going, and cannot be moved off the puck.

I think this is all just part of a move to ensure that Atlanta moves to Winnipeg.

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

A good defenseman is more valuable than a good forward, however, Bufflin is not a good defenseman.

As others have said, he belongs at forward, especially in front of the net.

[Bring Back The Bruise Bros 1,029]

Peverley-Antropov-Little

Byfuglien-E.Kane-Modin

Dawes-Slater-Ladd

Boulton-Thorburn-Eager

Enstrom-Hainsey

Bogosian-Oduya

Sopel-Meyer

Valabik

Now, if Byfuglien indeed does move to defense, Boris Valabik could be traded/waived. As far as a replacement for Byfuglien up front, the Thrashers are still in contract talks with Niclas Bergfors. Interesting situation. That being said, Bergfors and the Thrashers seem far from a contract agreement.

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

He's easily "top six"...by weight.

[Shady Ultima 40]

There's actually a guy named Bergfors? At first I thought you somehow messed up Forsberg...

[Buppy 1,720]

Buffy was drafted as a defenseman. Still doesn't make much sense, given that Atlanta's defense is decent while their forwards are about as weak as you can find in the NHL.

What would they do? Dump Valabik, and make Sopel/Buffy the 6 & 7 guys? Either way it really seems to diminish the value of that trade. Atlanta has never been accused of being a well run organization, so I guess it doesn't surprise me.

[NGKEIB 32]

Johnny Oduya is not African-American.

Forsberg = waterfall/rapids mountain

Bergfors = mountain waterfall/rapids

[McAwesome 754]

Johnny Oduya is not African-American.

Forsberg = waterfall/rapids mountain

Bergfors = mountain waterfall/rapids

Fair enough, he is a African-Swede. Kenyan descent

[55fan 5,133]

There's actually a guy named Bergfors? At first I thought you somehow messed up Forsberg...

Breech birth.

They might just be allowing Buffy to play D because he wants to, and they want to give him the opportunity to win the position that he wants to play. If he doesn't compare well to the other D-men, then he goes back to forward. If he does, he gets the job on D.

I don't think that his D skills are there to win the job, but at least they can say they gave him the chance, and it also gives them the opportunity to see what he has there if they need him as an emergency fill-in.

[Travis 576]

Didn't Byfuglien spend a chunk of last year on D in Chicago?