Trial set in Byfuglien's impaired boating case

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien (BUHF'-lihn) faces a July trial in a drunken boating case in Minnesota.

Byfuglien's attorney, Mitch Robinson, says a trial date was set for July 23 after he and prosecutors couldn't reach a plea deal Thursday during a pretrial hearing in Hennepin County.

Byfuglien is accused of boating while intoxicated and other charges stemming from an Aug. 31 incident on Lake Minnetonka. He was stopped because the boat's navigational lights weren't on.

Byfuglien, a Minnesota native, was on the Chicago Blackhawks team that won the Stanley Cup in 2010. He was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers in a salary dump, and the franchise was relocated to Winnipeg in the offseason.

Robinson says Byfuglien will attend the trial. He expects it will last about a week.

Updated April 19, 2012