The NHL Players Association has officially filed a grievance regarding the Jets suspension of defenseman Dustin Byfuglien.
From source: the NHLPA filed a grievance Wednesday on behalf of Dustin Byfuglien challenging his suspension by the Winnipeg Jets.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) November 20, 2019
Dustin was suspended by the club on September 21 for “failure to report to camp” after he had talks with General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff on September 13 at the start of camp and had requested time away from the team. At the time it wasn’t disclosed what exactly was the nature of the absence from the club, but both GM Cheveldayoff and Jets Head Coach Paul Maurice insisted there was “nothing sinister” about the move.
At the end of October it was revealed that Byfuglien had undergone ankle surgery to take care of an unresolved issue related to the high ankle injury he suffered last season and that the decision for this surgery was made by Byfuglien himself without any input from the Winnipeg Jets.
During that surgery it was revealed that Dustin also had a broken bone inside his foot.
The team suspension without pay seemed to be a mutually agreed and understood matter between the club and player, but it’s been since revealed that their may be a conflict between the two sides and possibly a disagreement on medical status, time of injury and whether or not Byfuglien should have been placed on long term injury reserve and still been eligible to be paid by the team.
With an official grievance filed by the PA, the matter will now be handled by the league and the players association and will go to an independent arbitrator who’s job it will be to sort out this mess.
