Traditionally, Kevin Cheveldayoff hadn’t been a big mover at the deadline. Then last year he dealt a first-round pick and prospect Erik Foley for rental centre Paul Stastny and the payoff couldn’t have gone much better. It was the first time in seven years at the helm Cheveldayoff was a factor at the deadline.
Could he go even bigger this season?
In the last Stanley Cup push the Jets will have before big contracts are expected to get handed out to Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor and Jacob Trouba, this might be Cheveldayoff’s best chance to throw everything on the table and go completely all-in on a Stanley Cup run. They made it to the Western Conference final last season with the group already in place, but have the cap room to add just about anything they want in 2019.
From here on out they figure to start bumping against the cap ceiling. Heck, even a year from now Jack Roslovic and Josh Morrissey will be the next in line for pay increases. Winnipeg may be the most intriguing team to watch at this year’s trade deadline because on the one hand, pulling off one (not to mention two) massive trades would go against Cheveldayoff’s history, but on the other, the timing to do just that is perfect.
They’ve been connected to a number of high-end players. How will the GM act?
[snippet ID=3322139]
Needs:
Sure the Jets have cooled off lately, but they’ve also been stung with injuries to some key players, notably Dustin Byfuglien and Nikolaj Ehlers, who hasn’t played since Jan. 4. The latter should return soon.
The bottom six has been in need of improvement for most of the season, though it is worth pointing out that the third line of Mathieu Perreault, Adam Lowry and Brandon Tanev has been very effective lately. Still, to be as relentless up and down as they can, a trade similar to last year’s to bring in a second-line centre who would bump Bryan Little down would be a welcomed addition.
At the same time, Winnipeg would do well to acquire another defenceman to both guard against injury and play over rookie Sami Niku and possibly veterans Ben Chiarot and Dmitry Kulikov. None of those are bad options, but with a number of blue-liners rumoured to be available, the Jets could pick up a top-four defenceman if they really do go all-in.
They’ve also been connected to Mark Stone in rumours, and though adding a winger isn’t a necessity, if they bring one in without sacrificing a roster player, perhaps the current third line becomes the de facto fourth and the Jets come at their opponents with three super-skilled lines and a heavy checking unit.
Pending free agents, age, salaries:
RFAs:
• Andrew Copp, 24, $1 million
• Patrik Laine, 20, $925,000
• Kyle Connor, 22, $925,000
• Nic Petan, 23, $874,125
• Brendan Lemieux, 22, $839,167
• Jacob Trouba, 24, $5.5 million
• Laurent Brossoit, 25, $650,000
• Joe Morrow, 26, $1 million
UFAs
• Brandon Tanev, 27, $1.15 million
• Tyler Myers, 29, $5.5 million
• Ben Chiarot, 27, $1.4 million
Potential assets to move:
Draft picks: This is obvious and Winnipeg’s first-round pick is very much on the table. It’s what they had to give up to get Stastny last year and that will be the starting point for any major pickup in 2019 as well. The Jets have drafted very well over the years, which gives them some room to push chips in now.
Jack Roslovic: Skill is of course important, but so is versatility, and the 22-year-old Roslovic can play wing or his natural centre. He hasn’t stayed there for any prolonged period in Winnipeg yet, but there’s also been no need to rush him there at the NHL. His point totals don’t stand out, but that could be because Roslovic has been relegated to a bottom-six role on a deep Jets roster. He had 35 points in 32 AHL games last season and is a high-end prospect that would be hard to part with, but might be necessary to pull off a blockbuster.
Kristian Vesalainen: The 24th overall pick in 2017, Vesalainen is big (six-foot-four, 207 pounds) and Jets fans have been drooling at the prospect of him playing opposite countryman Laine one day. Vesalainen returned to Finland to play for the KHL’s Jokerit midway through the season and has that league’s highest points per game rate among under-20 players at 0.57 with 17 points in 30 games. The preference would be to keep him, but if Cheveldayoff is going to swing big, this is the kind of player he may have to part with.
Draft picks:
2019: 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th
2020: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th
One bold move the team could make:
As my Tape to Tape co-host Ryan Dixon pondered last week, what if the Jets went really big and moved Laine? No one is banking on Laine’s struggles continuing forever and it’s only a matter of time before he regains his 40-goal touch, but given he’s as streaky as he is and doesn’t add much on the defensive side yet, would it be plausible to float him for a huge return that makes the Jets even stronger in their Cup bid?
Maybe more realistically, Winnipeg could go for either of the bigger wingers available in Artemi Panarin or Mark Stone, which would cost a pretty penny, but nothing they can’t afford. They could easily sell off pieces of the future to bring in either of these difference makers.
And more than that, the Jets could add either of them, plus a top-four defenceman (maybe one out of Anaheim?) and still have gobs of cap room the rest of the way. With piles of futures and tons of cap space in 2018-19 the possibilities are endless for Winnipeg.
I think the Jets shouldn’t…:
Stand pat or nibble around the edges with a depth addition to the blue line. The opportunity is now to make the big move without any fallout that could burn the team in the long run. Sure, maybe all this still leads to a disappointing early exit, but when the window opens you have to take your shot.
This is especially true if the Nashville Predators do something. They’ve already struck out on Matt Duchene, which may make GM David Poile more likely to pounce on some other addition, but it’s likely the Jets will have to get through Nashville again on their way to the final. Allowing the Preds to be a big player while doing nothing can’t be an option in Winnipeg.
[relatedlinks]
