Jets coach Paul Maurice said the injury is unrelated to a lower-body injury that caused the 33-year-old defenseman to miss 15 games from Dec. 31-Feb. 5. Byfuglien will have tests and not travel on a three-game road trip that begins at the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday (8:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SN, ALT, NHL.TV) and continues at the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday and the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday.
"He's got a new injury," Maurice said Tuesday. "He won't make the trip and then over that five, six-day block we'll evaluate it and hope it settles down and we get good news."
Byfuglien was injured at the end of a 4-1 win against the Avalanche on Feb. 14, Maurice said. He did not play in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 16.
"He's got to get more tests done so that we know exactly what we're looking at," Maurice said. "Listen, so … the right thing for me to do out of the coaches' book is just cut it off because I've given you more information … I'm hopeful it's not long-term
from Manitoba of the American Hockey League on Tuesday. The 25-year-old has one point and one assist in 24 NHL games.
The Jets (36-19-4) are first in the Central Division, three points ahead of the second-place Nashville Predators.
