More Winnipeg Vapour Trails

Much in the same vein in that I ran Antler Banter articles last season on Wednesday for the Moose, I'm thinking of going with Vapour Trails as the newest Wednesday feature that contains all of the news about the Jets. I'm open to suggestions for other names, but Vapour Trails works well as a weekly recap for all news concerning the Jets. If you have a suggestion, leave your idea for a name in the comments and I'll take a look at them. There's a lot of news surrounding the Jets again today, though, so let's get started.

With the tragic passing of Rick Rypien this past summer, there was a spot opened up in training camp for someone who could chuck knuckles, and the Jets went out and found themselves a guy who could. David Koci will be in town on a tryout contract after playing 35 games with the Colorado Avalanche last season.

Koci can fight, but he doesn't contribute much elsewhere. Unless, of course, it's Red Cross night at MTS Centre and Zdeno Chara is in town. If anything, Koci is best remembered in the NHL as the guy who had his face exploded by Chara.

Wow. Here's hoping Koci can fare better in training camp than he did in 2007 with the Blackhawks.

And then we get to Big Buff. And he's really living up to his name if the reports of his weight are true. Dustin Byfuglien was arrested on charges of boating while intoxicated (BWI), a serious offence when you consider that he needs to cross the border a lot while playing in Winnipeg.

BWI is a serious offence in both Canada and the United States, and there will be an immense amount of paperwork for the Jets and Byfuglien to do if he is convicted of boating while imbibed. I'm sure he'll have a lot of time to think about it as he works off the 40 pounds of weight he added since the Thrashers' season ended last year. According to reports, Byfuglien has ballooned from 245 lbs. to 286 lbs.!

From what the Jets have said, it sounds like everything is on hold with Byfuglien right now. He hasn't been convicted, and I'm all about the "innocent until proven guilty" mantra. In saying that, what was Byfuglien eating this summer to add 40 lbs? The dude added one-sixth of his body weight in six short months!

Start jogging ASAP, Buff. You're going to be in tough in Winnipeg. Head coach Claude Noel took pride in the Moose last year due to their conditioning, and being nearly 300 lbs. is an easy seat in the press box.

Bust your rear, Dustin. We want you in Winnipeg, but the Bombers have a solid offensive line as it is.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!