Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff predicts big things for Patrik Laine in 2021

WINNIPEG — Kevin Cheveldayoff most definitely brought his deflection game to the table.

But if you listened carefully enough, the general manager of the Winnipeg Jets also provided a couple of clues and then delivered a prediction when it comes to the subject that has dominated the headlines during the off-season as he held a Zoom call with reporters on Tuesday afternoon.

With training camp set to open on Sunday at BellMTS Iceplex, Cheveldayoff has one restricted free agent left to sign in forward Jack Roslovic.

And while the quarantine rules in place mean that Roslovic (who remains back home training in Columbus, Ohio) won’t be on the ice for the start of training camp, the expectation is that a new contract is eventually going to get done.

“Obviously, he is an RFA and currently not signed,” said Cheveldayoff. “To my knowledge, he is also currently not in Winnipeg, so moving forward there is going to be a quarantine situation, whenever we come to an agreement.”

Cheveldayoff didn’t say if the Jets come to an agreement with Roslovic, the emphasis was on when and that was by design.

When pressed further about the pace of negotiations, Cheveldayoff would not take the bait.

“We made our qualifying offers back when everyone made their qualifying offers,” said Cheveldayoff. “And as far as the cadence of a conversation or the contents of a meeting, I’ve always had the belief and the way I’ve conducted business (is) that that’s been kept private.”

Roslovic is coming off a career-year in terms of production but doesn’t currently have a lot of leverage — especially in a flat salary cap world and without the ability to go to arbitration.

It’s no secret that Roslovic would prefer to see his role enhanced and to move permanently onto one of the top two lines.

Although there have been some cameo appearances higher in the lineup, Roslovic is projected to open the campaign on the checking line with Adam Lowry and Andrew Copp — provided his contract is signed in time.

It’s natural for a player to want to carve out a bigger chunk of the pie, but there is a risk involved for Roslovic when it comes to digging in his heels.

If he misses too much time — either in training camp or in the regular season — there could be an opportunity for someone like Mason Appleton or Jansen Harkins to move past him on the depth chart.

Roslovic isn’t the only Jets forward whose name has been subject to trade winds blowing around him.

He’s been on the undercard compared to Patrik Laine, whose representatives went public with comments suggesting it would be in the best interest of both parties to go their separate ways.

Cheveldayoff wouldn’t speculate on how the situation would sort itself out, though he made it clear he’s expecting big things from the Finnish forward this season.

“I tried to do my job this summer in looking at all the different options to improve our team and I think we have done that,” said Cheveldyaoff, noting the addition of players like Paul Stastny, Derek Forbort and Nate Thompson. “As far as with Patrik, again, I assume he’s probably going to have one of the best years of his career given the group of players that we have and the professionalism that is there. And the maturity level that all players gain year over year over year, I think just helps us move forward.”

Before you think the Jets could carry the torch as Team Turmoil during the coming weeks, consider what the team was dealing with in training camp in September of 2019.

On the day before camp, the Jets’ most impactful defenceman, Dustin Byfuglien, arranged for a meeting with Cheveldayoff and asked for a personal leave of absence.

Byfuglien never returned and the two sides mutually terminated the final two years of his contact in April.

If trying to forge a path without Byfuglien wasn’t tough enough at the time, the Jets went through an entire training camp with two of its top goal-scorers in Laine and Kyle Connor.

Both players eventually agreed to terms and didn’t miss any time during the regular season, though an argument could easily be made that they were playing catch-up and needed some time to get up to speed before fully hitting their stride.

This year, goalie prospect Mikhail Berdin could miss a couple of days because it took a bit longer to get him out of Russia due to some flight logistics after playing in the KHL, centre David Gustafsson may potentially skip a few on-ice sessions as he continues to heal after suffering an injury while playing in Sweden and Roslovic remains in a contract stalemate. Those are all small potatoes compared to last year.

“I think we’re past the point of outside things distracting our team,” said Jets forward Andrew Copp, who spoke with reporters via Zoom on Tuesday afternoon. “Whether it was guys in the past who have not had contracts at this time, going into camp, there have been situations left and right, it feels like. So we’re kind of past the point of letting outside distractions worry our team.

“So we’re just trying to get going, get all together on the first day of training camp, get practicing and start to build that team feeling, that camaraderie and get ready to go for the regular season. I don’t think any outside news or rumours or whatever is going to (have) any sort of impact on our team.”

How do the Jets expect to stack up in the North Division?

“I guess we’re going to find out,” said Copp. “We’ve had some new additions, hopefully some guys continue to take some more steps. Having the Vezina winner in net is always a good place to start so I mean, it’s going to be a very competitive division. You can kind of look at the teams, one through seven, and no matter what way it shakes out, you wouldn’t be overly surprised.

“Every night it’s going to be a battle. There are great players on each team, players you’re going to have to be aware of. So we’re looking forward to the challenge and obviously, we’re going to get to know each other pretty well over the next five months.”

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