With West wide open, Jets GM Cheveldayoff should be thinking big

NEW YORK -- Kevin Cheveldayoff is approaching the proverbial fork in the road and, given how the Winnipeg Jets have played of late, perhaps the choice isn’t as obvious as it once was.

The choice being how much he’s willing to offer in deals leading up to the NHL trade deadline on March 3.

How much of the future is the general manager of the Jets willing to mortgage and how big a swing is he preparing to take?

Those are questions Cheveldayoff and his staff must continue to ask themselves as the sands in the hour glass pour out.

For the record, the Jets haven’t made it any easier on Cheveldayoff, given they’ve gone 6-8 their past 14 games and scored only 33 goals during that span (2.4 goals per game).

Early in their just-concluded four-game road trip against Eastern Conference teams, Jets defenceman Nate Schmidt spoke of the importance of using this stretch as an opportunity to show Cheveldayoff why he should spend assets to help bolster the roster.

That answer came before the Jets finished with a record of 1-3 on the swing, the lone triumph coming only after goalie Connor Hellebuyck made a season-high 50 saves against the New York Rangers on Monday.

That’s not a criticism because teams need not apologize for stellar goaltending – the New York Islanders certainly weren’t apologizing for Ilya Sorokin’s performance on Wednesday, neither were the Columbus Blue Jackets after Joonas Korpisalo’s impressive showing last week.

This isn’t to suggest that the Jets' only issue these days is getting goalied.

No, it isn’t all doom and gloom, but things have been slightly off for the Jets for an extended period of time.

Victories against teams above the playoff line have been fewer and farther between.

Cracks in the foundation have been apparent.

Self-inflicted wounds have been far too prevalent for a group that should be learning from its mistakes as the three-quarter point of the season quickly approaches.

There are nights when the Jets show they are much better defensively, but there are others when coverage assignments are blown or costly turnovers are made and lead to preventable goals against.

“I believe in this team,” Jets head coach Rick Bowness said after Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to the Islanders that left his team with a record of 35-22-1. “We’ll play ourselves through this.”

As for the offence, it’s been surprising to see goals being so tough to come by.

With the Jets getting closer to full health, the expectation was that there would be a surge in scoring – even though things usually get a bit tighter during the second half of the season.

Before the Jets learned Cole Perfetti’s latest injury would sideline the forward for at least eight weeks, they were believed to be considering a boost to the middle-six forwards and potentially a fourth-liner (given the secondary scoring concerns), in addition to a top-four defenceman.

To complete that natural hat trick, Cheveldayoff would need to dig deep into the prospect pool and also be willing to part with several high draft picks.

The toll to pay would be considerable, all without the guarantee it would ensure the Jets don’t suffer a first-round exit.

That shouldn’t be an impediment, it should merely serve as motivation to make the type of moves that could help the Jets separate themselves from the pack in the West.

Moves that would make the rest of the league take notice.

Is it possible Cheveldayoff could be having doubts about his willingness to pay a king’s ransom to augment this group?

This isn’t something he would ever say publicly – nor should he – but his actions leading up to March 3 will provide the answer.

Cheveldayoff’s belief in the core group is obvious.

He doubled down on that belief despite several bitter disappointments, both in the playoffs (2019 and, to a degree, 2021), which creates a bit of a sunk cost element to this deadline.

What about the argument that since the Jets have only three Stanley Cup playoff series wins in the previous 11 seasons, that they should simply stand pat and see what happens and try to ride Hellebuyck as far as he will take them?

Don’t buy it.

And if you’re Cheveldayoff, don’t settle for depth pieces around the periphery of the roster, either.

Another impact player is required.

One thing hasn’t changed and that’s the urgency associated with the uncertainty for this core group – given that all of Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler and Hellebuyck have contracts that expire in 2024 and that Pierre-Luc Dubois’ deal is up at the end of this season (with the Jets holding only one more year of team control).

Without an extension for one or more of those players, the core is about to encounter some major surgery and restructuring.

Bringing in players with term or a pending UFA or two whom the Jets might be able to convince to stick around is one way to combat that – or to begin that process, depending on your point of view.

There is not much more room left to kick the can down the road.

Recent hiccups notwithstanding, action is required.

The Jets have flaws, but they are still a good team with the ability to be better.

And they still have a highly motivated Hellebuyck in goal, which is another reason that going for it is the right thing to do.

The Jets aren’t the only team dealing with bumps in the road.

The Dallas Stars have just two wins in their past 10 games, which has allowed the Jets to remain in the hunt for top spot in both the Central Division and Western Conference.

Before an excellent stretch coming out of the break, the Vegas Golden Knights experienced a tough patch as well, but they’ve left that behind – even with captain Mark Stone on the shelf with a back injury.

Say it with me now, the West is still wide open.

With three games left before the deadline – Friday against the surging Colorado Avalanche, Sunday against the wild-card-holding Islanders and Tuesday against the Los Angeles Kings – it’s time for the Jets to remind Chevelayoff why he should invest in them.

“It's definitely an important stretch coming up to the trade deadline and you want to show that your team should be buyers,” said Jets centre Adam Lowry. “I think we've done that so far, but we can continue to do that.”

When it comes to who the Jets will attempt to bring in, there are a number of intriguing choices available, even after the Washington Capitals made a move on Thursday, shipping pending UFAs Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway to the league-leading Boston Bruins.

Arizona Coyotes centre Nick Schmaltz could be interesting for the Jets, given the circumstances.

Schmaltz, who played his college hockey at the Unviersity of North Dakota, has three additional years on his contract at a manageable cap hit of $5.85 million, but his salary is higher ($7.5 million next season, $8.45 million the following year, including a $1.5-million signing bonus, and $8.5 million in the final year of the deal).

As for targets on the blue line, should the St. Louis Blues care to get back into the Jakob Chychrun sweepstakes, perhaps they would consider moving Colton Parayko (who would need to be willing to waive his no-movement clause like Paul Stastny did in 2018), given how much they’ve invested in the defence corps.

Parayko has seven more seasons left on his deal that carries an AAV of $6 million, so there’s some risk involved when you consider the term.

On the flip side, Parayko was a late bloomer and he doesn’t have as much heavy mileage as some older blue-liners. He will be into his late 30s by the time he reaches the end of his contract, in 2029-30.

Luke Schenn of the Vancouver Canucks would also make a lot of sense in the rental category, though the Jets would want him to stick around beyond the spring.

There should also be a number of under-the-radar candidates coming onto the market as more teams fall out of the race during the coming days.

To this point, Eastern Conference clubs have been making a splash while the Western Conference teams looking to add have remained patient.

But those moves are coming as well, likely sooner than later.

If the Jets don’t make several of their own, they run the risk of being left behind.