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Back To Attack - Sept. 1, 2015 – Ryan Kennedy

THEY ARE TWO OF the most original birds in the NHL, so perhaps it’s fitting that Brent Burns and Dustin Byfuglien also share the distinction of being dual threats. Not many players can succeed as both forwards and defensemen at the NHL level, but that’s exactly what this pair has done.

Burns has delighted writers and fans with his colorful style, a persona punctuated by his beardy, mountain man look in his NHL headshot. Byfuglien elicits chuckles with his dry wit and corpulent build – the latter of which has been summer fodder for followers who play “guess the weight” based on grainy web photos. But when the games are played, the two defensemen are each a valuable piece of their franchise, with unparalleled flexibility in their games.

Perhaps it does take a special mind, after all.

BRENT BURNS

Drafted as a right winger by Minnesota in 2003, Burns has been known more as a defenseman since then. But in 2013-14, the San Jose Sharks found magic by putting him on a line with top-line center Joe Thornton and rookie sensation Tomas Hertl. “He could be a premier forward,” said Sharks director of player development Larry Robinson, who was an associate coach the past three seasons. “He’s got Patrick Kane-like hands around the net, the way he gets his shot off. And who’s going to move him? He’s so big. We needed him up front because we didn’t have any size there.”

But with the Sharks saying goodbye to Dan Boyle and Brad Stuart that summer, Burns went back to shore up the defense and adjustments had to be made again. “It’s not easy,” Burns said. “Playing before helped – you remember certain things. But I knew it was going to take some time to get all the little things, and I knew there were going to be growing pains going back.”

Altering old habits that Burns picked up as a forward was one mission that Robinson – a Hall of Fame defenseman – and assistant coach Jim Johnson were tasked with. There was a lot of film shown to the burly Burns and a lot of frustration. Robinson noted his student was much better when the learning was on the ice, hands-on, and that’s where the coaches made more headway. “We were just trying to improve his positioning,” Robinson said. “His problems mostly come with not being patient enough. He needed to let the play come to him. With his reach, nobody should be able to get around him.”

While the Sharks ended up having a down year – San Jose missed the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade – Burns was recognized for his efforts by being invited to the All-Star Game in Columbus. His 60 points in 82 games ranked second only to Ottawa dynamo Erik Karlsson in scoring by a blueliner, and he finished 17th among defensemen in shot attempts.

Still, it’s a lot more fun to play forward. “Playing in the West, we see Getzlaf and Perry, Kopitar and Gaborik, the big puck possession guys… it’s tough,” he said. “When you’re a winger you don’t have to worry about it that much. You can just hang out and protect your point. When I was a winger I would chirp the ‘D.’ Now that I’m a defenseman, I chirp the wingers. But I love the challenge, I love those games.”

Burns, 30, is not as much of a wild man as he had been known in the past. He has the word “Wild” tattooed on his back (not to mention a Harry Potter scene on his thigh), but that’s a partial reference to the actual menagerie of pets he collected when he lived in Minnesota. That cadre of beasts includes pythons, bearded dragons, lionfish, parrots and Siberian huskies and was often the source of color in articles and TV features about Burns.

But he also has a human family, and his two small children are keeping him honest. For instance, the tattooed dad sometimes finds more graphics on his body from Frozen, the inescapable Disney movie: “I had an Anna and Elsa sticker on me all day yesterday,” he said.

San Jose is a great place for Burns right now. The Sharks have a lot of players with young families, so there’s a whole cohort of guys in the same stages of their lives. On the other hand, the dressing room can get a little chaotic. “It’s interesting when you’re trying to get dressed and there are five four-year-olds trying to smash each other in the room,” he said. “You’re trying to get dressed, and you’re worried about your kid losing his melon.”

If he needs to mellow out from games, kids or whatever, Burns can fall back on guitar, which he began to play a couple years ago. And while strumming can bring him some peace, the one thing Burns hasn’t toned down over the years is his fashion sense. Already a stand-out at 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, Burns also makes his presence known with mind-altering outfits that can include garish suits paired with brightly colored shoes and socks – though the shoes and socks are different bright colors, of course. And naturally there’s a story behind that, as well. “Early on, wearing black or blue got old,” he said. “When I played with Cal Clutterbuck, it was always a race to see who could get the craziest suits. After a couple of those races, all you’ve got is crazy suits. I have fun with it. Guys give me crap about my backpack or my hat. I think it’s a fun part of the game to let loose in.”

For Robinson, it’s a sign that Burns knows who he is. The Hall of Famer respects how Burns sometimes wears camo patterns to honor the armed forces and otherwise doesn’t worry about color co-ordination. “He dresses how he feels,” Robinson said. “You gotta give a guy credit for that and good for him.”

DUSTIN BYFUGLIEN

Fellow Western Conference force Dustin Byfuglien is cut from a different cloth, though like Burns, you need a lot of cloth to begin with. At 6-foot-5, 260 pounds, Byfuglien has always been a match-up problem on the ice. As a member of the Chicago Blackhawks, he tortured goalies such as Roberto Luongo by blocking out the sun as a net-front presence. Like Burns, the Minnesota native was drafted as a right winger, but he also played defense and lined up at both positions as a member of the Winnipeg Jets this past season. You’d think that would require a little re-wiring time, but ‘Big Buff’ doesn’t need much of a lead to turn back into a defenseman: “Thirty seconds,” he said.

Oddly, it’s not the big bruisers that Byfuglien hates dealing with when his job is to clear the crease. It’s players you might not expect. “Some of the older guys, their sticks always seem to find the puck when it comes around, and it’s hard to tie their sticks up,” he said. “Like Ales Hemsky, Erik Cole – their sticks are always there.”

Winnipeg had Byfuglien up on the wing earlier in the season, especially when Evander Kane was out of the lineup. But once Kane was shipped to Buffalo and the return included right winger Drew Stafford, Byfuglien dropped back to the blueline, where he is much more comfortable. He doesn’t actually like playing as a forward. “You’re not in control of things,” Byfuglien said. “You’re chasing it. You can do a lot of good things up there, but on ‘D’ you see the game differently, back on the point.”

And when Byfuglien is on the point, he can unleash his most deadly weapon: a bomb that is as harrowing as it is effective. He had an interesting way of describing what it’s like to really get a hold of one: “It feels good,” he said. “Just like if you hit a golf ball right down the fairway.” And as a follow-up, does he golf often? “No,” he said with perfect comedic pace. “I do not.”

There were a few highs and lows to Byfuglien’s most recent campaign. Like Burns, he was his squad’s representative at the All-Star Game, and he helped the Jets to their first playoff berth since returning to Manitoba in 2011. And while the Kane trade, which also sent Zach Bogosian to Buffalo, bolstered the roster with Stafford and towering defenseman Tyler Myers, it also represented a necessary chemistry change in Winnipeg. Kane infamously didn’t show up for a game in his hometown of Vancouver after an incident earlier in the day when he arrived for a team meeting in a track suit instead of a business suit, as per team rules. Byfuglien reportedly threw Kane’s clothes in the shower soon after and a controversy was born. In the aftermath, other Jets players came out indirectly in favor of Byfuglien, noting team rules had to be followed.

Byfuglien also caused waves in the media during the playoffs, when he took a page out of NFL star Marshawn Lynch’s book by answering nearly every question in a scrum with one phrase, in this case: “As long as we stick together as a team, we’ll be all right.”

Coach Paul Maurice came to his player’s defense at the time, noting Byfuglien had a great sense of humor and actually showed restraint, since his competitive nature probably would have led him to swear a blue streak had he not kept himself in check. Sticking up for his guy would clearly earn Maurice points with Byfuglien, though the defenseman already holds his bench boss up in high regard. “He’s so smart,” Byfuglien said. “The way he thinks helps everything, the team more than anything. You get comfy. Everyone knows their role and how to play the system.”

And if you ask other NHL stars, they’ll tell you how impressive it is for Byfuglien to be able to thrive in two different roles. “He’s one of a kind,” said Chicago’s Duncan Keith, a former teammate of Byfuglien’s with the Hawks. “There’s nobody like him on and off the ice. Nobody does the things he can do. He was a great teammate, more than anything. I used to play a little forward back in the day and even took a practice up there this year. But for him to do it back and forth says a lot about his ability.”

We know Byfuglien doesn’t golf, so what does he do to chill out? As a son of Northern Minnesota, the answer is ice fishing – mainly walleye and trout, using either reels or tip-ups. “I just get out there and enjoy it,” he said.

With Winnipeg playing Anaheim competitively, if not successfully in what was a first-round sweep, and with some very enticing young prospects emerging from the pipeline, Byfuglien should be enjoying his future with the Jets as well. Preferably as a defenseman, of course.

While it’s rare for players with the stature of Burns and Byfuglien to have an impact at the highest level no matter where they line up, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for such “slash” players. Mitch Vande Sompel, an Islanders prospect, bounced between forward and defense in his junior career, but more so because of his slick skating than his carriage – he’s actually a smaller player at 5-foot-10, 181 pounds.

But the template has been set. Burns and Byfuglien weren’t the first to pull off the trick in the NHL, but they’ve certainly elevated the idea.

And they’ve done so with unique personalities