Frozen Fantasy: Buff Stuff?

Last week, reader @Dust21 asked me about Dustin Byfuglien – was he worth holding or should he be dropped? Easy one. Drop.

Same answer today. But man, has that situation gotten weird.

Saturday night, CBC's Elliotte Friedman revealed the back-story to Big Buff's disappearing act. It doesn't make me want to own him – I still think his value this season in minimal.

But it does make me think about culture, the impact it has on success and what it means to the Jets' future.

By all accounts, Byfuglien loved the 'Peg. He's outdoorsy. It's close to his Minny home. And the city embraced his laid-back personality as much as his elite talent.

The 6-foot-5 wrecking ball is indeed an elite talent. But something tipped the scale for him. The relationship feels broken, based on Friedman's report.

At the end of last season, hard-nosed captain Blake Wheeler snapped at a reporter after they were ousted from the postseason. An Eff-you was leveled. And despite a so-called summer of reflection, the captain was still a little bitter about media accounts of dissention on the team.

But that aside, it's Wheeler's last comment that sticks with me: "I only have two hands. I can't hold everyone's hand all day."

He was referring to his teammates.

Ten teams in the West have a better goal differential than the Jets right now. My usual benchmark for assessing a team's future using that metric comes around Game 20.

I'd like to think the Jets can recover – they're a great story with some really talented players. But I think the Byfuglien saga might be the tip of the iceberg. In business, you'll hear that culture eats strategy for breakfast.

It feels like it's already lunchtime in Manitoba.

Now, let's take a look at who caught my eye this week.

Nick Bonino, C, Nashville (11 percent Yahoo! owned) – Go check out the Preds' scoring list. Sort it by goals. I'll wait. I was as surprised as you were to see Bonino on the top of that list. Nashville has suddenly become offensive and Bonino is thriving as the third-line pivot. He can't keep this up – his shooting percentage is unsustainable. But he does have a 49-point season in his past, so he's not a complete stiff. And he's a solid grab if your league counts faceoffs.

Joel Farabee, LW, Philadelphia (1 percent Yahoo! owned) – Farabee is a keeper, but Saturday night, he got his shot on the Flyers' top line. No, he didn't get any points, but he didn't look out of place. And if there's any chance he sticks with Claude Giroux and James van Riemsdyk, Farabee could be valuable short term, too. It's a long shot, but sometimes those pay mightily.

Alexandar Georgiev, G, NY Rangers (17 percent Yahoo! owned) – Henrik Lundqvist was supposed to be healthy enough to start Saturday night. But low-and-behold, Georgiev was in net again and rang up his second straight win. The heir apparent to King Henrik's throne has now beaten the Bolts and Preds, and his three wins are one better than the grumpy old King. Look, you already know I respect Lundqvist's talent, but can't stand the way he berates his teammates. And his game has been on the decline for say, four or five seasons. This isn't an anti-King rant, but instead we could actually be seeing the changing of the guard. If anything, I'd be sure to own Georgiev if I had the King on my squad. But I'm leaning toward this becoming more than that. Take a chance.

Alex Goligoski, D, Arizona (28 percent Yahoo! owned) – Get on board now. Goligoski's ownership went up 13 percent overnight Saturday and for good reason. People are finally realizing he's a natural in the desert. Goligoski has a three-game, three point streak on the go and eight points - including seven helpers - in his last eight games. Half of those eight have come with the man advantage. Ignore him and the Desert Dawgs at your own peril.

Denis Gurianov, LW/RW, Dallas (1 percent Yahoo! owned) – Gurianov caught my eye Saturday night when he beat the great Carey Price on a penalty shot. Then he drilled home a power-play marker. Gurianov has four goals and an assist in his last five games and if he can keep potting pucks, he might even hit 25 this season. Not bad for a guy hidden among the Stars' stars. He might help in a sneaky way.

Adam Henrique, C, Anaheim (31 percent Yahoo! owned) – I flagged him a couple weeks ago and he just keeps plowing along. Like Nick Bonino (above), Henrique is firing at an absolutely unsustainable pace. But his seven goals in eight games heading into Friday night make him worthy of ownership. He'll slow down, but like Bonino (again), the guy has talent. Henrique put up plenty of points in junior playing with Taylor Hall and now he's dishing to sniper Rickard Rakell. Add two-way stalwart Jakob Silfverberg to that line and you have a solid offensive trio. Henrique is the cheapest of the three. Just saying.

Filip Hronek, D, Detroit (23 percent Yahoo! owned) – The Wings are looking for a number one defender – the team hasn't had a real one since Nik Lidstrom retired and Niklas Kronwall's body started to break down. Hronek looked every bit the part in the last 20 games of last season. Then he became the top scorer from the blue line at the World Championship. This season is a tough slog on a bad team, but Hronek already has seven points in 15 games. His plus-minus might hurt you. But in a deep league, the rest will help.

Wayne Simmonds, RW, New Jersey (31 percent Yahoo! owned) – I thought Simmonds' game had dried up. But then again, the Devils were horrible with zero chemistry. They all looked bad. But Simmonds still has fabulous hands and a great abrasive approach. In his last three games, he's come alive to the tune of five points, including four helpers, and eight each of hits and shots. Last season was a wash for Simmonds, but the three years before that, he averaged 30 goals, 53 points and 172 hits. The game has gotten faster and Simmonds is 31. But it looks like he's still got plenty of gas in the tank.

Brandon Sutter, C, Vancouver (1 percent Yahoo! owned) – Brent's boy has never topped 40 points in a season. And he did that 10 years ago. But Brandon has never looked more comfortable in a uniform than he seems to today. Call it maturity or maybe it's just the right vibe. But something in Vancouver really seems to be working. A good culture, maybe? This Sutter is on a 48-point pace and he has three points, including two goals, in his last four games. He also has a plus-4 rating with four blocks and 14 shots in those four games. It's not overwhelming, but it's steady. And sometimes that's exactly what a fantasy team needs when it's going through tough times.

Back to the Jets.

Let me be clear – I don't have any insider knowledge on the Byfuglien situation.

But, I do understand culture and its critical influence on success.

I'm Canadian. I want the Jets to be successful. But I'm not sure they can anymore, even with their talent.

Conversation north of the 49th parallel seems to center on a new favorite team. No, it's not the Leafs – they seem to have their own culture challenges.

It's the Canucks – that team's culture is helping fuel early success. Hmmmm … seems like there's a trend here.

Until next week.