WINNIPEG -- Think of this move as the appetizer, though it’s still a bit early to tell what’s going to be on the menu for the main course as the chef is still sorting through his ingredients to see if he can create the daily special.
Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff jumped into the trade market on Sunday night, though it wasn’t to sell off one of his pending unrestricted free agent forwards.
Instead, Cheveldayoff shipped a fourth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft to the Seattle Kraken to bring right-winger Mason Appleton back into the fold. He also made a minor deal on Monday, sending pending UFA defenceman Nathan Beaulieu to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a conditional seventh-round pick.
Whether this is insurance for potentially losing Andrew Copp or Paul Stastny before Monday’s 3 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. CT deadline remains to be seen, but Appleton fits the profile of what Cheveldayoff and the Jets were looking for in order to bolster a forward group that simply hasn’t had enough secondary scoring this season.
Appleton, 26, was originally chosen in the sixth round (168th overall) by the Jets in the 2015 NHL Draft and appeared in 138 NHL games over three seasons before he was chosen by the Kraken last summer in the NHL Expansion Draft.
Appleton is someone the Jets didn’t really want to lose, but the cost of trying to prevent the Kraken from selecting him was higher than Cheveldayoff cared to pay, so he considered it the cost of doing business as he worked to upgrade the defence corps.
Appleton has been used mostly in a checking-line role with the Kraken this season, producing six goals and 17 points in 49 games while averaging just over 14 minutes of ice time per game.
Appleton immediately provides depth to the forward group as a right-handed shooting right-winger and he’s proven to have chemistry playing on a line with Adam Lowry, who landed in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols on Sunday morning and was unavailable to suit up against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Wisconsin product brings speed and a bit of edge to the Jets and he also spent time on the penalty kill last season, when he set career highs in goals (12), assists (13) and points (25) in 56 games.
Another thing Appleton does well is drive the net and spend time in the hard areas around the blue paint.
He’s a popular, low-maintenance player who won’t need much time to get up to speed and he’s a pending restricted free agent who would not be able to test the open market until the summer of 2023 -- provided the Jets are unable to come to terms with him on a longer-term deal before that.
Although Appleton would be eligible to file for arbitration, he’s on a contract carrying an AAV of $1 million and is likely only looking for a modest raise, given his production.
So what does Cheveldayoff do next?
Well, that’s the great mystery.
Even with a 6-4 victory over the Blackhawks on Sunday, the Jets remain four points behind the Vegas Golden Knights in the race for the second wild card berth in the Western Conference and three points behind the Dallas Stars for fifth place in the Central Division.
The Jets are now 7-4-1 over the past 11 games and with 19 games left to play, the team would need to go close to 14-5 in order to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs.
That’s a tall task for a Jets team that hasn’t won three consecutive games since early January and still needs to leapfrog two teams in the standings -- including a Stars club that holds two games in hand on them.
It leaves Cheveldayoff with a tough choice, one that not only impacts the remainder of this season but potentially several more moving forward.
Although things could change with one phone call, the belief is that Cheveldayoff has not been blown away by the offers for Copp and Stastny so far and he doesn’t plan to give them away for below what he perceives as full market value.
The only way he seems comfortable making a deal or two involving those players is if the Jets can not only obtain future assets like draft picks or prospects, but another forward or two who can jump into the lineup and would carry term on his respective deal or team control.
Until that happens, Cheveldayoff is in no hurry to make a move.
Does waiting until closer to the deadline mean that one of the many teams interested in Copp raises its current offer or might a mystery bidder enter the proceedings late?
This is where the high-stakes game of poker gets increasingly interesting.
It’s entirely possible that Cheveldayoff continues to look for opportunities in the market to add to his group rather than subtract, even if that carries an element of risk.
Although the asset management crowd might be up in arms, it’s important to remember that Stastny was acquired from the Golden Knights for a fourth-round pick in 2022 and depth defenceman Carl Dahlstrom and he re-signed for $3.75 million.
As for Copp, he was chosen in the fourth round of the 2013 NHL Draft and he’s played 468 games with the Jets, growing from a guy who broke into the league as a fourth-line guy. He is now a valued member of the leadership core and a guy that is trusted to be used in all situations.
He should bring the highest return, but he would also be the toughest guy to replace, given his proficiency in all three zones and ability to play up and down the lineup and not miss a beat.
The Colorado Avalanche remain the front-runner for Copp, though the Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers and Washington Capitals are other teams to watch.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have also shown interest, though Sunday’s trade for Mark Giordano and Colin Blackwell would make it difficult to find a way to fit Copp under the salary cap.
It’s clear that being front and centre in the rumour mill has been mentally taxing for Copp, who had just one goal and four points in the previous 15 games before chipping in three assists on Sunday.
This was one of Copp’s best performances of the season, sliding back to his natural position of centre on a line with Jansen Harkins (who scored twice, snapping an 18-game goal-scoring drought) and Evgeny Svechnikov.
If you’re one of the teams in the running to trade for Copp, Sunday was a prime example of what the versatile forward can do for a team when the stakes get raised.
It was also a reminder to Cheveldayoff of his value to the Jets, which is why he has been reluctant to lower his asking price.
Would a Mats Zuccarello type of deal (two second-round picks) be enough for Cheveldayoff to pull the trigger or can he hold out long enough to get a first or a middle-six roster player that can step right into the lineup and try to help fill the large void Copp would leave behind?
That’s another question that still requires an answer.
And it’s part of why there is still plenty of intrigue surrounding the Jets as Monday’s deadline quickly approaches.
