With the NHL season now just a month away, it’s time to look at what each team has done this summer and what to watch for in the year to come. Today, we focus on the Winnipeg Jets.
Last Season: 52-20-10 record (114 points), second in the Central Division (lost to Vegas in the third round, beat Nashville in the second round, beat Minnesota in the first round)
Remaining Cap Space: $10.24MM per CapFriendly (still need to re-sign G Eric Comrie and D Josh Morrissey)
Key Newcomer: G Laurent Brossoit (free agency, Edmonton)
Key Departures: F Joel Armia (trade with Montreal), D Toby Enstrom (free agency, Sweden), F Matt Hendricks (free agency, Minnesota), G Michael Hutchinson (free agency, Florida), G Steve Mason (trade with Montreal), F Shawn Matthias (free agency, unsigned), F Paul Stastny (free agency, Vegas)
[Related: Jets Depth Chart From Roster Resource]
Player To Watch: D Jacob Trouba – With last season being a contract year, many eyes were on Trouba to see if he could take that next step forward coming off of a career season in 2016-17. Instead, he battled injury trouble with an ankle issue and a concussion and wound up playing in a career-low 55 games. Accordingly, the Jets didn’t appear to be ready to commit to him long-term and the sides wound up going through arbitration with Trouba receiving a $5MM award.
Now, the 24-year-old finds himself in the exact same situation as last season as he’s once again in a contract year with arbitration eligibility in the summer. Will he be able to have that breakthrough year and show the Jets that he’s worthy of a big-ticket contract to make him the focal point of their back end?
If that doesn’t happen, then even more questions are going to be raised about his future. His previous contract negotiations haven’t exactly been the smoothest and he’ll hit next summer being one year away from UFA eligibility. If a long-term deal with Winnipeg isn’t in the cards, then all of a sudden, Trouba becomes a strong trade candidate. As a result, not only will he be trying to show the Jets he’s worthy of a long-term deal, he could very well be showcasing himself around the league with his play next season as well.
Key Storyline: We may only be in September, ten months away from the next free agent period but it’s safe to say that GM Kevin Cheveldayoff’s activity in 2018-19 will be with July of 2019 at the forefront of his thought process.
Joining Trouba as core players on expiring contracts are defenseman Tyler Myers (UFA) plus wingers Patrik Laine (RFA), Kyle Connor (RFA), and Blake Wheeler (UFA). Those are a lot of key cogs in need of new deals and they’re going to have some challenges locking all of them up and staying under the cap.
Winnipeg presently has a little over $44MM on the books for ten players in 2019-20, an amount that will go up by a few million once Morrissey’s deal gets done. Laine could conceivably get ten times his current AAV ($925K), Connor could go from $925K to between $5MM and $7MM, while the other three will undoubtedly be seeking raises as well. Put it all together and there’s a cap crunch on the horizon.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if Winnipeg looks to try to shed some payroll throughout the season. Their move to give Armia to Montreal to take Mason’s contract off the books gives them plenty of wiggle room for 2018-19 but sooner than later, they’re going to have to take steps to create some more space for 2019-20 and beyond.
Overall Outlook: Despite losing Stastny, Winnipeg heads into the upcoming season with high expectations. The core that was there for all of last year remains intact and the continued development of some of their key youngsters should help offset Stastny’s departure. As things stand, the Jets have to be considered as one of the top threats in the Western Conference.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.