While the official start date of free agency remains in flux depending on when the playoffs end (the later of October 9th or a week after the completion of the Stanley Cup Final), many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. Winnipeg doesn’t have a top-end player that’s in need of a new deal but quite a few regulars will need to be re-signed or replaced.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Jack Roslovic – The shine has come off of the 23-year-old a little bit over the last couple of years but he is still a useful forward for the Jets. Once viewed as their second-line center of the future, Roslovic has spent the majority of the last two seasons on the left wing. He set career highs offensively this season with 12 goals and 17 assists in 71 games while seeing his ice time jump up to just below 15 minutes per night during the regular season. It’s still possible that he has a future down the middle though, especially with some of the uncertainty surrounding Bryan Little. At the very least, with the slow but steady offensive improvement and his future role still undefined, Roslovic isn’t an ideal candidate for a long-term contract and will likely sign a short-term bridge deal.
D Sami Niku – For the last couple of years, Niku has seemingly been on the cusp of becoming a regular on Winnipeg’s back end but despite all of the turnover and injury trouble he had this season, it didn’t happen. The 23-year-old has been quite productive at the minor league level with Manitoba but it hasn’t translated to much production at the NHL level as he has just 10 points in 48 career games with Winnipeg. He’ll be waiver-eligible next season and figures to at least be a regular on the roster which presents a situation where he could take less than his qualifying offer to secure a one-way deal.
Other RFAs: F Mason Appleton, F Jansen Harkins, D Nelson Nogier, F C.J. Suess
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
D Dylan DeMelo – Initially regarded as a throw-in player as part of the trade that sent Erik Karlsson to San Jose, DeMelo has certainly boosted his value over the last couple of years. This season, he spent a lot of time in Ottawa’s top four before being moved to Winnipeg just before the trade deadline. The 27-year-old fit in perfectly with his new team and spent a fair bit of time with top defenders Josh Morrissey and Neal Pionk. As a right-shot player that has shown he can play on the top two pairings, DeMelo is well-positioned to land a sizable raise on his $900K AAV. Cap-strapped teams (and there will be plenty of them) will certainly be kicking the tires if he can’t agree to a new deal before free agency.
F Cody Eakin – Another trade deadline acquisition, Eakin is coming off of a down year offensively. After picking up a career-high 41 points in 2018-19, his output dipped to just 15 this season although injuries and the pandemic skew that point total a little bit. While he isn’t an option for the top six, he is a capable defensive forward and logged nearly 17 minutes per game for the Jets in the playoffs. In a quiet center free agent market, he should have several suitors although he’ll likely be facing a pay cut from the $3.85MM AAV he had this season.
D Dmitry Kulikov – This was a bit of a bounce-back season for the veteran. Yes, his $4.333MM AAV was still wildly overpriced but he managed to hold his own logging 20 minutes a night on the back end. His days of being a fixture in the top four have been over for a while now but a year ago, it looked like he’d likely have to go overseas when this deal expired. Now, there should be some interest around the league for him to play on a third pairing next season, albeit at a largely-reduced price tag.
Other UFAs: D Nathan Beaulieu, D Anthony Bitetto, F Gabriel Bourque, G Laurent Brossoit, F Seth Griffith, F Mark Letestu, D Luca Sbisa, D Cameron Schilling, F Logan Shaw, F Nick Shore
Projected Cap Space
With Morrissey’s extension kicking in for next season, Winnipeg is up to nearly $66MM in commitments to just 13 players, per CapFriendly. With roughly $15MM in cap space to fill out their roster with another eight to ten players, it’s unlikely that the Jets will be able to afford another big-ticket contract. The good news is that with a light crop of restricted free agents, they should still have some flexibility to work with on the open market as they look to retain or retool their back end.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.