Who walks away from over 14 million dollars? Dustin Byfuglien that’s who. The one of a kind Minnesotan was a quick fan favourite in Winnipeg right from his very first shift when the team moved to Manitoba from Atlanta back in 2011.
The big man has been under the radar for the most part aside from his popping up on a fishing podcast almost two years ago and being seen in and around Lake of the Woods in some fishing tournaments.
His former agent Ben Hankinson was on The Sota Pod which covers the Wild and was asked about the whereabouts of big number 33 who walked away from hockey and never really looked back.
Interestingly he spoke about the five-year, 38 million dollar extension that his client signed on April 10th, 2015 saying Byfuglien said “he told me when he signed his five-year deal that ‘I don’t want a five-year deal’. Of course he’s just saying that to me. Sure enough he quit with two years left on the deal…..”.
After joking that his kids wouldn’t be able to go to private school he continued
“…..he walked away. He said ‘I told you I didn’t want a five-year deal’. It wasn’t the money at all. All he had to do was basically go, get some rehab and attempt to come back. It was a hockey injury. He just left it on the table and walked which is insane. The more you know him the more you love him. He’s the best.”
Here is the Byfuglien segment from their show:
