If there’s one thing you have to do in a capped league, it’s trade your overvalued entry-level contracts as soon as they come to RFA status. And after Chicago’s Stanley Cup run, nobody could be more overvalued than Dustin Byfuglien. Buf’s contributions at even-strength have been very middling the last two seasons, as he faced mediocre competition alongside average linemates and got a reasonable distribution of zone starts:
Year | Season | Buf’s O-Zone Start% | Team O-Zone Start% | Buf’s Rank on Team | Corsi Rank |
2009-10 | Playoffs | 78.0 | 54.6 | 1 | 1 |
2009-10 | Regular Season | 54.4 | 55.0 | 10 | 15 |
2008-09 | Regular Season | 57.7 | 55.6 | 8 | 12 |
But in the playoffs, Joel Quenneville used Byfuglien in a very specific offensive role, and all of a sudden he became an offensive superstar. Don't get me wrong – this was good coaching – but Buf is nowhere near as good a his numbers suggest. Chicago was wise to dump an expiring contract, and the haul – a #24 pick and a prospect – reflects a league-wide understanding that Buf is just not as good as he appeared to be over the last two months.