At least one opponent is now well-aware that Bryan Bickell is back in the NHL: Dustin Byfuglien.
You don’t see the behemoth of a Winnipeg Jets defenseman on the wrong end of a big hit very often, yet Bickell is on the short list of players who can get the best of Buffy. That’s especially true when Byfuglien doesn’t see it coming, which is what happened here.
As you can hear from the announcers, it’s possible that Bickell caught Byfuglien up high. Only the Jets received a penalty (roughing minor for Byfuglien) during this exchange, but should anything further come Bickell’s way?
However you feel about that, Bickell quite literally made an impact in his return.
Aside: In the game’s other especially noteworthy clip, Trevor van Riemsdyk remarkably shrugged this off (eventually):