Pro Hockey Rumors

The Winnipeg Jets are in a pretty enviable position heading into this summer. They are coming off a Presidents’ Trophy and have 16 players signed for next season with nearly $26.5MM in available cap space (as per PuckPedia). Sure, they fell short of expectations in the playoffs, but overall, they are in good shape. That second-round playoff loss to the Dallas Stars isn’t the only somber moment the Jets could go through during the offseason, though, as forward Nikolaj Ehlers is set to hit unrestricted free agency. The Jets could afford to keep Ehlers in the fold and appear interested in doing so, but negotiations have been quiet, and the signs point to him leaving. If he does, Winnipeg will have to figure out a way to replace his production.

Replacing Ehlers’ contributions with one player will be nearly impossible for the Jets, as they aren’t likely to land a Mitch Marner-type player in free agency and will be very hard-pressed to find a comparable on the trade market. Ehlers’ speed and puck skills are tricky to replicate, particularly his contributions to Winnipeg’s transition game. Ehlers’ defensive play isn’t anything to write home about, but on offence, he is the complete package, possessing a heavy shot, excellent passing, and he can play with almost anyone. Outside of his poor defensive play, the big knock is that he can’t stay healthy, and that will undoubtedly be a concern for teams that are lining up to sign him this summer.

There is little doubt that the Jets will look far and wide to replace Ehlers and will likely look both internally and externally to try and navigate the loss. Internally, they could look to a Cole Perfetti, Nikita Chibrikov, and Brad Lambert as candidates who could step into more elevated roles in the Jets lineup. However, they would be hard-pressed to replace Ehlers’ numbers, and it would put a lot of pressure on some young players if they were tasked with replacing Ehlers’ production. Relying on young players to replace Ehlers is a risk, and it’s one that Winnipeg might want to avoid as they head into the summer.

If the Jets did want to swing for the fences and try to acquire one player to replace Ehlers, they could look to Buffalo and forward JJ Peterka. The 23-year-old is an RFA and should land a big contract this summer. The Jets probably couldn’t offer-sheet him, given that they traded away their second-round pick next year to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Luke Schenn trade, and Peterka would most likely fall in the $7,020,113 to $9,360,153 range on a contract going forward. That range for an offer sheet requires a first, second, and third-round pick as compensation, which is something Winnipeg simply can’t do.

They could look to re-acquire the pick, which is precisely what the St. Louis Blues did last summer with Pittsburgh after they had traded it along with Kevin Hayes in a salary dump. St. Louis made the trade so they could facilitate two offer sheets for defenseman Philip Broberg and forward Dylan Holloway. Given that Kyle Dubas is still the general manager in Pittsburgh and appears to be looking at the future, there is no doubt that Winnipeg could re-acquire their pick (for a cost) to make the move for Peterka. Nothing suggests they will do this, but these are the types of things the Jets will need to look at to replace Ehlers.

Suppose the Jets want to explore a trade for Peterka, which is the likelier route, then they might be in tough to top some of the other offers Buffalo would be fielding. Winnipeg has a middle-of-the-pack prospect system (ranked 15th in the NHL by Scott Wheeler of The Athletic) and probably couldn’t match what other teams offer. The Jets could trade Brayden Yager or Lambert as part of a package and do have their first-round pick for the next few years, but as mentioned earlier, they are lacking second-round picks in the subsequent three drafts.

The likeliest option for the Jets is to acquire another winger who may not possess the same level of skill as Ehlers but can fill the void at a lower cost, allowing the Jets to use the savings to address other areas. Bryan Rust in Pittsburgh would be an excellent fit for the Jets and will no longer have an NMC as of July 1. Rust is coming off a career year and would be a great leader for the Jets to add to their roster. Rust posted 31 goals and 34 assists in 71 games this past season and has two Stanley Cups to his name, as well as many moments of coming up big when games mattered the most. As far as concession plans, you can’t do much better than Rust.

Another Penguins forward who could be a fit is Rickard Rakell. The 32-year-old also had a career year, tallying 35 goals and 35 assists in 81 games. The Penguins like Rakell and were reportedly asking for quite a haul for him at the NHL Trade Deadline. If the Jets were able to pluck him or Rust from Pittsburgh, they would have done well to fill the void left by Ehlers’ departure.

Ultimately, whatever the Jets decide to do, it will likely involve acquiring another player and then hoping that several of their younger players can take the next step. The Jets are in a good spot to absorb the loss of a long-time player should it happen, and could look around the league to find a less skilled winger to fill in the void. Drake Batherson of the Ottawa Senators is another name that is out there, and he, too, would be a good fit for the Jets if they are looking at a trade.

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