The Jets are a team that projects to be quite tight to the Upper Limit of the salary cap. Per CapFriendly, they have just over $6MM in cap room which amounts to roughly $11.35MM once Bryan Little’s LTIR is factored in but they still have to re-sign defenseman Neal Pionk and center Andrew Copp as well, both of whom have arbitration hearings later this month. Accordingly, Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun suggests that with the strong platform season Copp had – one that saw him notch career highs in goals (15), assists (24), and points (39) – could wind up pushing him out of town. GM Kevin Cheveldayoff spent nearly $10MM last month to shore up their back end with the acquisitions of Nate Schmidt and Brenden Dillon but if Pionk and Copp wind up getting more than they anticipated, it certainly could force their hand into trading someone and selling high on Copp would certainly make some sense for Winnipeg.
More from the Central:
- The Coyotes have added some experience to their front office as they announced the hiring of Larry Pleau as Senior Advisor to the General Manager. The 74-year-old spent the last 23 years with St. Louis with the first 12 of those being as their GM and the last 11 in an advisory role similar to the one he will have with Arizona. GM Bill Armstrong certainly has a long-standing connection with Pleau having worked under him for 16 seasons with the Blues before coming to the desert last year.
- The Wild’s decision to elect salary arbitration for winger Kevin Fiala earlier this week raised some eyebrows as it’s a move that’s rarely made. Michael Russo of The Athletic posits (subscription link) that the team wants to ensure Fiala is at training camp at the start which wasn’t the case two years ago when talks dragged out longer than either side would have liked. While a deal will be done within the next two weeks – his hearing is August 17th – there is certainly some risk that Minnesota is taking as Fiala could simply elect for a two-year award to take him to UFA eligibility in 2023, a move that certainly would hurt his trade value as well if it gets to that point.
Please send Demelo back to Ottawa. That would free up the money and he’s the exact defenceman they need on the right side. They never should’ve traded him at the time considering the return and obvious fit.
With the Jets having already lost so many bottom 6 forwards this off-season, moving Copp is hardly something they can afford to do. Same with Pionk. But I can’t see those two taking up 11M in salary either……but it is the NHL in 2021, so you never know. :/
Rangers could trade for Copp.
We have guys that make less than him and would give similar production. Or we could trade for Lowery and Copp can move up to 2C. We can offer Chytil or Other pieces.