Jets' Byfuglien pleads to careless boating charge

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien (BUFF'-len) has avoided a trial on drunken boating charges by pleading guilty to careless boating.

Byfuglien reached a plea deal on Monday, the day his trial was to start in Minneapolis.

Byfuglien was charged last August with boating under the influence and refusing to take a chemical test after an incident on suburban Lake Minnetonka. Careless boating is a misdemeanor, and Byfuglien was sentenced to a year's probation, two days of public service, a $1,000 fine and a day in an alcohol education program.

Defense attorney Mitchell Robinson says Byfuglien had a 0.031 blood-alcohol content when tested on the lake, well below Minnesota's limit for driving boats or cars.

Updated July 23, 2012