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Jacob Trouba

Winnipeg Might Have Contract Issues With Trouba Again

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Less than a year ago, the Winnipeg Jets dealt with dragout negotiations with restricted free agent Jacob Trouba. The young blueliner and his agent Kurt Overhardt attempted to force the Jets’ hand, requesting a trade and holding out. The team finally managed to get the former ninth-overall pick in 2012 to agree to a two-year bridge deal worth $6MM. Once signed, Trouba withdrew his trade request and everything seemed fine. The 23-year-old had career highs in assists and points, finishing the season with eight goals and 25 assists for 33 points, but he played in 21 fewer games than the year before.

With one year remaining on his deal signed a year ago, however, no extension was agreed to yet this offseason and James O’Brien of NBC Sports writes that the team could have similar problems with Trouba coming up in the future. With that restricted status preventing him from getting the contract that he really wanted and forcing him to sign a team-friendly deal, the scribe writes that Trouba and his agent may force the Jets’ hands this time around with either a high-paying extension or forcing a trade elsewhere.

Many short-bridge, team-friendly deals (especially messy contract disputes) have later forced teams to pay up big-time. Although Trouba will remain an RFA in a year, O’Brien compares these negotiations to that of other players who were later traded, including P.K. Subban (formerly of Montreal), Ryan O’Reilly (formerly of Colorado), Ryan Johansen (formerly of Columbus) and Kyle Turris (formerly of Arizona). Several of those players were Overhardt clients, who is known to be aggressive.

Could that mean that Trouba could find himself on the trade wire at the trade deadline this year? O’Brien suggests that while he may not be a top defenseman yet, he could command more than Seth Jones money ($5.4MM AAV) on his next contract and the young defenseman has another year to prove his worth on the ice. Either Winnipeg will have to pay up or move him to a team that will.

Winnipeg’s Forward Depth And Versatility Valuable In Trade Market

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The Winnipeg Jets finished just 7 points out of a playoff berth this season. Like the Islanders (41 wins) and Lightning (42 wins), the Jets (40 wins) were on the verge of making it to the show in the final weeks. As such, GM Kevin Cheveldayoff didn’t feel the necessity to spend large this off-season, nor make any substantial trades. Cheveldayoff shored up the goaltending position with Steve Mason on a two-year contract, and hopes that will be enough to push the team over the edge. Still, if management feels that improvements should be made, the team has the assets and the versatility up front to do so. It’s uncertain whether Dmitry Kulikov will be enough to shore up what was a poor-performing defensive group last year. A spare forward could be floated for more help in their own end, even though their 6 slots seem safely filled at the moment.

Particularly at the center position, the Jets have one of the more enviable situations league-wide. By my count, the Jets have 9 roster players who can theoretically slot in for center duties. Mark Scheifele, Bryan Little, Mathieu Perreault, Shawn Matthias, Adam Lowry, Michael Sgarbossa, Marko Dano and Brandon Tanev all can play up the middle. Scheifele is obviously the first line center, and Little is safely pegged at number two. After that, things get a bit interesting. Perreault finished the season while spending some time on the wing, and his goal scoring dried up – he only had 22 in the past two seasons. His point production is still locked in at 40+, but considering his $4.125 MM cap hit for the next four seasons, maybe now is the time to opt out. Matthias is interesting primarily because he only has one season remaining before he hits unrestricted free agency.  He can slot on the third or fourth lines and provide mediocre depth production, but his marginal worth wouldn’t be enough to land a difference maker in a trade.

Little also sees his current deal expire at the conclusion off 2017-18, and his new contract could be relatively hefty. With Blake Wheeler due another contract hike after 2018-19, and Jacob Trouba looking for a raise after this year, there is the possibility Little could be moved for the right package. Still, he’s one of the more consistent players on the Jets and has never known another franchise. If he were to be shopped, the return could be quite pricey for many competing teams. He’s perceived as a top-end #2 center and his internal value is quite steep. Following that, Lowry will continue to build on his progression last year, where he tallied 29 points. He’s yet to put it all together, but his size and still tender age of 24 wouldn’t make him the first target for movement. Dano is far more comfortable on the wing, and he’s likely going nowhere. Sgarbossa is essentially a non-factor, as is Tanev, in terms of drawing league interest.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Nicolas Petan should find himself a regular this season, and many expect him to push for that 3rd line center position. As with many of the other names, he can slot on the wing instead, but that might not be the best use of his talents long-term. If he forces Lowry down the depth chart further, does that make a player like Little more expendable for the right move? What would the interest be like for a player of Perreault’s caliber? Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that we’ll know until well into the season. Cheveldayoff has been firm in staying the course with the young and promising Jets, and he’s more likely to wait at least until the conclusion of training camp before making any major transaction.

RFA Extension Candidates

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While veteran players like Carey Price and Cam Fowler have received huge extensions this summer a full year before hitting the open market, some younger players aren’t usually locked up as early. We saw the Edmonton Oilers jump on Connor McDavid right away, handing him a $100MM contract before even dealing with their current free agents, and there are others who may see an extension before the season is up.

Teams often don’t want to commit to young players before they have to, unsure of how they’ll react to bigger roles or a full-time NHL position. Still, there are some who are already well established and deserve a long-term deal. It’s obviously up to them to decide whether they want to lock themselves into an extension before playing the year, as many can leverage a solid season into even more money. That said, some players just like the stability of a long-term contract. Here are some who could earn extensions before the end of the season.

Jacob Trouba – Winnipeg Jets

Trouba held out last year until the beginning of November, and made it clear he wanted a bigger role somewhere else. He didn’t see himself getting that opportunity in Winnipeg, where the team had Dustin Byfuglien and Tyler Myers penciled in ahead of him on the right side. As it happens, Myers was hit with injury and Trouba excelled in his increased role, logging 25 minutes a night and registering 33 points in just 60 games.

He’s now established himself as one of the best young defenders in the league and a key piece for Winnipeg going forward. They should try hard to sign him to an extension now, instead of letting this linger again and ending up in another hold out situation. Trouba has overtaken Myers on the depth chart, but allowing him to hold all the cards next summer would make for another messy situation, and it’s clear that he can provide ample value even on a big contract.

J.T. Miller – New York Rangers

Miller has always seemed like a good fit in New York, and signed an early deal with the Rangers last summer. He improved once again and continues to show why the team invested a 15th-overall pick in him. With 56 points in 82 games he was often the most dangerous player on the ice, and coming into his age-24 season he’s poised to put up even bigger numbers.

The Rangers have a ton of money coming off the books next summer with Rick Nash’s $7.8MM cap hit expiring, but will need all of it for extensions for some of their top young players. After committing big money to Mika Zibanejad this summer, they could lock in Miller now and provide some cap-certainty as they hit what will be a huge summer for the team.

Dylan Larkin – Detroit Red Wings

Larkin is coming off a down year and probably won’t want to take a discount because of it, but Detroit could lock him in as the face of the franchise going forward and start jettisoning other assets to continue the rebuild. They’re in no danger of him going anywhere next year, but it could be a clear sign to their fans that he’ll lead the next wave of Detroit success.

William Nylander – Toronto Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs have some huge contracts coming up, with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner both entering similar circumstances to these next summer. Nylander is first up, and could be locked up to a long-term deal right now. Like Edmonton the team may want to see how much Matthews will cost them first, but it’s not like they’re heading for a series of bridge deals with Nylander. He’s a key piece who will be there for a long time.

Locking him up now gives you some idea of what there will be left for free agency next season, as it would be tough to go after anyone with Matthews’ negotiations not technically allowed to start until July 1st (though they often are discussed anyway). Toronto might be the busiest team in the league next year, as seven forward contracts are expiring.

Arbitration Breakdown: Brian Dumoulin

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With the reports of a huge financial gap between the two parties, it seems quite likely that Brian Dumoulin will reach his arbitration date. Whether the team can hammer out a deal before needing to accept that decision remains to be seen. They are still far apart in terms of value according to Elliotte Friedman, as the team only offered $1.95 MM compared to his agent’s number of $4.35 MM. Dumoulin has been a mainstay in Pittsburgh for their two Stanley Cup runs, but he has a difficult quantitative case to make to earn the money he is seeking.

The Numbers

Dumoulin was huge in the absence of Kris Letang. When the Penguins’ top defender was again sidelined to injury, Dumoulin’s ice-time skyrocketed to first-pairing usage. He finished the season with an average ice time of 20:33, but often saw far more down the stretch. In the playoffs, he averaged 21:59. Those are the numbers of an upper echelon second-pairing defenseman, but when you consider that he almost never sees powerplay time, and the defensive situations he is trusted in, he’s a borderline top-pairing player.

Dumoulin isn’t an offensive force in any regard. He’s only tallied 33 points through his 163 regular season games played, and 3 of his 5 career goals come from post-season action. Still, he can move the puck with relative efficiency and can be relied on to tally a little under 20 assists a season.

Dumoulin faces tough quality-of-competition, and that will be his biggest argument for the compensation he is seeking. However, his Corsi and Fenwick, the most utilized advanced statistics, don’t show improvement for the player last year. When these stats are taken without context, Dumoulin’s 2016-17 playoffs was his worst outing to date. He had a brutal 41.2% Corsi For through 25 post-season contests, down from his 2015-16 run’s 52.8%. His regular season totals showed a less drastic ’decline’, but the tougher minutes and far greater shots allowed team-wide brought his advanced statistics back down to merely average. He has shots blocked (99) and penalty killing prowess to turn to, but those are difficult figures to primarily base a case for a raise upon.

Potential Comparables

Here are some comparable players and their contracts.

Travis Hamonic (Calgary) – Although it may seem an odd comparison to some, the underlying numbers for these players aren’t dissimilar. Both have never broken 5 goals in a season and neither scores a particularly impressive amount of points. They are physical without being intimaditing and can skate well enough to survive in today’s NHL. They both block shots with consistency and contribute over 20 minutes of icetime a night. Hamonic signed his long-term deal worth $3.86 MM all the way back in 2013, which was a bit of an overpayment at the time in hopes of keeping the AAV down as he progressed. This seems a little under what most players with the skillset are looking for in 2017, but it’s an interesting parallel.

Calvin de Haan (NY Islanders) – Dumoulin’s contract will be a bit of a barometer for the Isles’ de Haan, as it will show the direction the arbiters are leaning on not-so-flashy defenders. As the only other RFA defenseman other than Vegas’ Nate Schmidt likely to earn more than $2 MM, de Haan and the Islanders will be watching the outcome of this case to determine who has greater leverage. De Haan still has great upside, but has played in a far more sheltered role on a deep defense.

Cody Ceci (Ottawa) – Ceci is not considered to be quite the asset that Dumoulin is, but seeing as his contract was awarded merely a year ago, this sort of bargain is what the Penguins are likely aiming toward. Ceci signed a two-year deal worth only $2.8 MM a season, after a 10 goal, 26 point season where he averaged nearly 19 minutes a night. Dumoulin has never seen that kind of production, but up until last season comparatively played against greater competition. Ceci is due for another arbitration hearing at the conclusion of the 2017-18 campaign, as his past contract was a sort of bridge deal.

Jacob Trouba (Winnipeg) – Again, another bargain for a defenseman that was handed out last season. Trouba’s negotiations dragged on into the regular season, before he finally accepted a two-year agreement, with the first year at $3.31 MM and the second year at $2.81 MM. Trouba is much more offensive than Dumoulin, but has generally seen more icetime and a similar difficulty of competition. Just like the Penguins, there was a large degree of disagreement in the financial value of the player between the organization and the agent. Dumoulin has championship pedigree to tout at his hearing, however, whereas Trouba was largely banking on his potential as a former first-rounder.

Projection

Dumoulin is an interesting case because he is undoubtedly an integral piece of the Pittsburgh blueline, but has little outside of truly advanced statistics to prove his case. How much will their championship runs inflate his value? How much is a stay-at-home defender worth, especially when his possession numbers have taken a hit?

Ultimately, if Dumoulin were a UFA rather than a RFA, he’d easily attract contract offers around $5 MM. As an RFA however, his predecessors haven’t seen a whole lot of success in proving their case. Shots blocked and plus minus are nice, but considering the trend of the league, they are not going to benefit his standing all that much. A lot of Dumoulin’s value is hard to quantify, and there’s the very real possibility that his bargaining position suffers as a result. Ultimately, his exposure in two long playoff runs will bring his value back to a fairer mark, and he will earn far more than the team’s ask of $1.9 MM. Somewhere in the range of $3 MM seems the likely award if the arbitration decision is actually needed. However, it’s unlikely that the parties don’t come to a longer-term agreement before that time. The Penguins need to lock him down as part of their defense, and a multi-year contract at around $4 MM is probable. GM Jim Rutherford will likely posture til the last conceivable minute, but his internal value is far too great to risk him walking in summer free agency in the next two years.

Winnipeg Jets Re-Sign Ben Chiarot

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The Winnipeg Jets were professional multi-taskers last night. Not long after drafting Kristian Vesalainen 24th overall in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft, the “True North” locked up one of their own in defenseman Ben Chiarot. Renaud Lavoie of TVA reported the extension close at close to 11 PM CT in Chicago, as the Jets’ brass were working into the wee hours of the night. Chiarot, an impending restricted free agent, will return for two more years at $1.4MM per season.

Winnipeg has already been masterful this season at keeping their defense intact. They first convinced veteran Toby Enstrom to waive his No-Movement Clause, allowing him to be exposed in Wednesday’s Expansion Draft so that Dustin Byfuglien, Tyler Myers, and Jacob Trouba could be protected. Then, upon hearing rumors that the Vegas Golden Knights were considering selecting Enstrom, the Jets struck a deal to move down 13 spots in the NHL Draft, swapping their #13 overall pick with Columbus’ #24 overall pick, which Vegas had already acquired. Now, having survived Expansion with all of their top-four defenseman, Winnipeg has locked up their #5 at a reasonable rate over the next two years of the 26-year-old’s career. With youngster Josh Morrissey  and veteran Mark Stuart also in the fold, it seem that the Jets will enter free agency next week with a solid seven on the blue line and no need for concern.

Chiarot, a big stay-at-home defenseman, also put up a career-high 12 points in Winnipeg last year. In 59 games, the 6’3″, 219-lb. blue liner registered two goals and ten assists, all at even strength. While Chiarot may not be an asset on the power play, he is one of the team’s top penalty killers. Chiarot can check and block shots very well, though the Jets wouldn’t mind if he did more of both. They have two more years to work on rounding out the still-developing defender’s game before he hits unrestricted free agency in 2019. Don’t be surprised to see Chiarot on a short leash over the course of this new contract, as Winnipeg already sports strong depth on defense with top prospects Logan Stanley and Luke Green on their way up sooner rather than later as well.

Rangers Look To Add Core Piece

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According a column written this morning by the New York Post’s Larry Brooks, it seems quite apparent that the Rangers are not satisfied with their current roster. After a second-round ousting at the hands of the Senators, big changes seems inevitable in New York. The primary concern of course is on defense, where they will look to unload one of Marc Staal and Dan Girardi. As of yet, however, Brooks says neither has been asked to waive their no-movement-clause in preparation for the expansion draft. Management may yet be hopeful Vegas will prove benevolent and claim one of the albatross contracts, but the more likely scenario still remains a buyout. What happens in the wake of a Girardi or Staal departure is what management is seemingly focused on.

Winnipeg’s Jacob Trouba has been linked to trade rumors since his contract negotiations dragged into the regular season. Rangers GM Jeff Gorton is apparently quite interested, but nothing new has surfaced in those preliminary trade talks. Although not mentioned in the article, the Wild are likely to move a defenseman and Mathew Dumba could fit the bill for New York. Minnesota would be looking for an offensive player in return. Brooks confirms the speculation that Colorado’s Tyson Barrie is on the team’s radar. It’s unclear what the Rangers would offer that would truly entice the Avalanche, as there are undoubtedly many suitors for Barrie’s services. Even more confusing, the Rangers are apparently in committed efforts to acquire Nathan MacKinnon. I still see MacKinnon moving as a near impossibility for anything short of a king’s ransom. And if the Rangers are incessantly inquiring about MacKinnon, it could theoretically derail the Barrie conversation. Their need for a right-handed, mobile defenseman has to trump all other desires at the moment.

In terms of who could be on the way out, Rick Nash is always a viable candidate. He will be entering the final year of his contract worth $7.8 MM, and at 32, he still has a bit of trade value (especially if salary is retained).  Mats Zuccarello was arguably the best Rangers forward last season, but he’ll be due a pay day in two seasons. Considering that Mika Zibanejad, Jimmy Vesey, Kevin Hayes, and J.T. Miller all will need new contracts before then, will he be truly be worth a core player’s contract? They could combine two of those aforementioned younger assets to get their right-handed D, but then they would take a monumental step back in terms of offensive depth. Whatever route they decide to go, one has to imagine that picks and prospects will be a huge part of the final arrangement.

Ultimately, the Rangers want a dynamic, top-line forward who can create offense on his own. However, they absolutely need to fill a gap on an aging defense if they hope to remain in playoff contention. If they can add both, it would be a total boon for Gorton and management. But in a competitive trade market, it seems wise to temper expectations.

Rangers Ready To Make Major Moves On Defense

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The New York Rangers biggest need might just be acquiring a top defenseman and the Rangers are going to give a long, hard look at Washington Capitals’ blueliner Kevin Shattenkirk. The 28-year old veteran is coming off his best offensive season yet, scoring 13 goals and 43 assists for 56 points for the Capitals and Blues combined. Pro Hockey Rumors reporter Gavin Lee recently said in his PHR Chat on Thursday that he believes that Shattenkirk will end up with the Rangers.

The Rangers need a new presence on defense. They especially need a top-four defenseman who they can pair up with captain Ryan McDonough. Veteran Dan Girardi has struggled mightily of late and at age 33, isn’t likely to have a comeback year. Girardi is more likely to find himself taking a reduced role next season, which means they must acquire a top blueliner. Enter Shattenkirk, who immediately would help the Blueshirt’s power play as the veteran is second only to Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson in power play points by a defenseman.

The only question is can they afford the defenseman? Sean Hartnett of CBS New York writes that he believes that Shattenkirk will cost the team a seven-year deal of at least 6.5MM annually. The team would have trouble fitting that type of contract under their salary cap unless they looked into relieving themselves of a bloated contract, such as Girardi. The defenseman has been with the Rangers for 12 years, but has struggled lately, especially showing his shortcomings in the playoffs against the Ottawa Senators as he showed he could not keep up with their speedy forwards. His four goals and 11 assists was one of his worst seasons yet on offense. Hartnett suggests the team may look into a buyout of Girardi to free up enough money to make a run at Shattenkirk. Unfortunatey, Girardi has three years left at 5.5MM each year. However, if New York wanted to buy out Girardi, they could spread his salary out over the next six years.

The scribe also suggested the team could consider buying out 30-year-old Marc Staal instead, who could have his contract spread out over eight years as he has four years left at $5.7MM. Staal also struggled at the blueline this year and only was able to put up 10 points this season. One final suggestion to fix their aging defensive corps would be to try and trade for Winnipeg’s Jacob Trouba, but that would require a large and impressive package of talent they would have to return, so Shattenkirk might make for a better fit in New York. Either way, it looks like the Rangers will have to do something to fix up that defense.

Poll: Which Team Will Be Next To Make Stanley Cup Debut?

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With a 6-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final last night, the Nashville Predators punched their ticket to the franchise’s first ever Stanley Cup appearance. In fact, Nashville had never even advanced beyond the conference semifinals until this heroic run and now stand just four wins away from hosting the greatest trophy in sports.

A Stanley Cup berth has certainly been a long time coming for the NHL’s 27th franchise whose inaugural season took place in 1998. GM David Poile, who has been the man in charge through it all, did not qualify for the postseason for the team’s first five seasons of existence, but since 2003 the Predators have only missed the playoffs three times. With other 1990’s expansion or relocation teams having made the Final before, like the San Jose Sharks, Ottawa Senators, and Florida Panthers, and even more having won a Stanley Cup, including the Tampa Bay Lightning, Anaheim Ducks, Colorado Avalanche, and Carolina Hurricanes, many would expect that the Predators may be the last team to accomplish the feat. However, there are four teams who have yet to make it to Stanley Cup Final, the Expansion Class of 2000 – the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets, the current Winnipeg Jets, and the original Winnipeg Jets, now the Arizona Coyotes. Which of these teams will be the next to realize their dreams of playing in June?

The Minnesota Wild certainly seemed to be heading in that direction for much of this season as they had their way with the Western Conference. Although in a tough Central Division with the Cup-bound Predators, Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, and Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota is armed with a depth and talent at every position and showed (in the regular season) that they can fight through a tough schedule. The team was able to turn goaltender Devan Dubnyk into a star, has one of the strongest defensive cores in the NHL, and has a combination up front of strong veterans like Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, and Eric Staal and exciting young players like Mikael Granlund, Jason Zucker and Charlie Coyle. However, everything fell apart when it mattered most, as the Wild were easily bounced in the first round by the Blues. Can the Wild bounce back and, with the aid of top prospects such as Joel Eriksson Ek and Luke Kunin, make a Stanley Cup appearance in the next few years?

The Columbus Blue Jackets will be racing them for that honor. Almost mirror images of each other in 2016-17, the Blue Jackets also surprised many by dominating the Eastern Conference early in the year. At the time, the New Year’s Eve match-up between Columbus and Minnesota, both on historic winning streaks, was even touted as the game of the year. The Blue Jackets too have a stellar goalie in Sergei Bobrovsky and deep group of talented defenseman, like young game-changers Zach Werenski and Seth Jones. However, where Columbus may edge out Minnesota is in their youth up front. Although similarly successful, the Jackets were able to reach 108 points to the Wild’s 106 with a much younger forward corps. The likes of Brandon Saad, Alexander Wennberg, Boone Jenner, and Josh Anderson, plus incoming talent like Pierre-Luc Dubois and Oliver Bjorkstrand could keep Columbus in the running for a Cup longer than the Wild.

Speaking of youth, the Arizona Coyotes seem to be building something special in the desert. Question marks abound throughout the roster, such as starting goalie and a long-term partner for Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and many don’t expect the Coyotes to be contenders for several more years. However, after the rapid ascent of the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs this season, fueled largely by under-21 talent, Arizona may be relevant sooner rather than later. Their best players are also their top prospects – Max Domi, Christian Dvorak, Brendan Perlini, Jakob Chychrun – and that’s just the beginning, as even better young talent is on its way in Clayton Keller and Dylan Strome, not to mention whoever they select with the 7th and 23rd overall picks this year. It seems inevitable that the Coyotes will be good down the road, and, regardless of whether it’s in Arizona or not, have a strong chance to host a Stanley Cup final. However, will that day come before the likes of Minnesota or Columbus can take advantage of their current success?

Finally, there’s the Winnipeg Jets. They weren’t a playoff team this year like Columbus or Minnesota and they aren’t armed with years worth of high draft picks like Arizona either. Yet, the Jets may actually be the dark horse to reach the Stanley Cup first. Winnipeg finished ninth in the Western Conference in 2016-17, tenth in 2015-16, and eighth in 2014-15, consistently hanging around as a fringe team, not truly competing for a title. That seems like it is about to change. The Jets have one of the more dangerous forward groups in the NHL with Mark Scheifele, Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers, and captain Blake Wheeler leading the charge. They also have talented defenseman in Dustin Byfuglien, Tyler Myers, and Jacob Trouba. The Jets are a deeper team than many know and this season did not have a single player over the age of 32. Next year, they’ll add ace forwards Kyle Connor and Jack Roslovic to the mix, and possibly goaltender Eric Comrie as well, all part of what The Hockey News called the top prospect system in the NHL. Given the wealth of talent on this team already, it seems strange they haven’t performed better. Throw some dynamic young players in and use some of the team’s ample cap space, and the Winnipeg Jets could be a breakout team in 2017-18.

What do you think?

Offseason Keys: Winnipeg Jets

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While the expansion draft is set to headline a busy NHL offseason, there are still several other storylines for each team in the months ahead. Here is a closer look at what lies ahead for the Winnipeg Jets.

Quite a bit went well for the Jets last season.  Mark Scheifele finished seventh in league scoring, Jacob Trouba had a career year after a contract squabble, and Patrik Laine had a terrific rookie season.  Despite that, the end result was basically the same in Winnipeg with the team being on the outside looking in at the postseason once again.  Here is what GM Kevin Cheveldayoff will likely be looking to accomplish this offseason.

Find A Starting Goaltender

Goaltending has been an issue for the Jets for a while now and last season really didn’t change things.  They gave Connor Hellebuyck, who is expected to be their goalie of the future, the lion’s share of the workload and while he had some good moments, he also showed that he’s not really to be the number one goalie of the present.  Hellebuyck will be a restricted free agent in July and given the current situation, a short-term bridge deal seems likelier than a long-term contract.

Veteran Ondrej Pavelec is slated to become an unrestricted free agent and isn’t likely to return while Michael Hutchinson is best suited for a backup role.  He has one year left on his contract with a $1.15MM cap hit and is expected to be left unprotected in the expansion draft.

Fortunately for Winnipeg, the goaltending market will have plenty of options either via trade (in large part buoyed by expansion) or free agency, where players like Ryan Miller and Brian Elliott may garner some consideration as short-term options until Hellebuyck is ready to take over the starting job.  Supply should outweigh demand which should bode well for Cheveldayoff as he looks to shore up the play between the pipes.

Decision On Trouba

When he signed his two year deal back in November, the questions surrounding Jacob Trouba’s long-term future with the Jets didn’t exactly go away for long.  While he has publicly stated that his trade request has been rescinded, there are many who wonder if that’s only for the short-term.  Trouba’s desire to play his natural side long-term is well-known and with Dustin Byfuglien and Tyler Myers both signed for at least the next two years, that’s not likely to happen for a while yet.

Jacob TroubaTrouba is eligible to sign an extension as of July 1st.  Inking a long-term deal with Winnipeg would put any speculation about his future to rest as the questions will inevitably persist until the situation is resolved either by a new contract or a trade.  If Winnipeg opts to go the latter route, he will have no shortage of suitors as if he were to be made available, Trouba would become the top defender available on the trade block.

While Trouba could certainly play out the final year of his contract and enter restricted free agency in 2018, the potential distraction could potentially push the timeline up on this decision.  That said, Cheveldayoff has shown himself to be extremely patient during his tenure so the public questions about Trouba’s future continuing won’t be a concern to him.

Determine Perreault’s Future

If the Jets are forced to protect four defensemen in expansion (a potential outcome if Toby Enstrom doesn’t waive his no-move clause), Mathieu Perreault’s future with the team comes into question as he would likely be left unprotected.  He’s entering the first season of a four year, $16.5MM deal he signed last July which is decent value for someone who has surpassed the 40 point mark for the last four seasons.

However, it’s that value that will make him enticing to the Golden Knights if he’s made available and Perreault is a pretty good player to lose for nothing in return.  Accordingly, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Winnipeg test the waters around the league to see what type of interest there is in a possible trade.  At least that way, the team would get some value in return for him before the expansion draft while allowing them to potentially protect four blueliners.

The Jets may also want to free up some money in the budget for Bryan Little, who’s slated to become an unrestricted free agent in 2018.  One way to do so would be to move Perreault regardless of which route they go in expansion.  It’s not often that a player gets moved before his new contract even kicks in but in Perreault’s case, it’s certainly a possibility.  Even though the Jets made a decision on Perreault’s future when they gave him that extension last summer, they will likely have to make another call on his status before too long.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Team USA Names Fifteen Players To World Championship Squad

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Though some of the names had already been confirmed, USA Hockey has released a full list of the 15 players that have agreed to play in the upcoming World Championships. The team so far is as follows:

Nick Bjugstad (Florida Panthers)
Daniel Brickley (Minnesota State, undrafted)
J.T. Compher (Colorado Avalanche)
Andrew Copp (Winnipeg Jets)
Danny DeKeyser (Detroit Red Wings)
Christian Dvorak (Arizona Coyotes)
Jordan Greenway (Boston University/Minnesota Wild)
Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg Jets)
Jimmy Howard (Detroit Red Wings)
Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings)
Anders Lee (New York Islanders)
Connor Murphy (Arizona Coyotes)
Brock Nelson (New York Islanders)
Cal Petersen (Notre Dame/Buffalo Sabres)
Jacob Trouba (Winnipeg Jets)

Among the expected NHL names are three college player, Brickley, Greenway and Petersen who are interesting additions to the squad. Greenway, for instance, played in the World Juniors just a few months ago and is still just 20-years old. This shows how much the hockey world believes that he’s ready for the NHL, as he already has the size and strength to compete with fully grown men. Petersen’s inclusion as the third goalie is very interesting, as though he won’t be expected to get much playing time it is an excellent experience for the youngster. A prospect of the Buffalo Sabres, Petersen had another outstanding season for the Fighting Irish and is currently in negotiations with the team to turn pro.

Brickley on the other hand is currently a free agent, though he intends on returning to Minnesota State for his junior season. The undrafted defenseman just finished a point-per-game sophomore year which had him turning heads across the country. If he decides to turn pro after next year, he’ll have teams lined up to bid on his services. A good showing in the World Championships could increase his profile even further.

The Red Wings are well represented, and should be since Jeff Blashill will be the head coach of the team. Jack Capuano, Rand Pecknold and Seth Appert will join him as assistants. Larkin, Howard and DeKeyser should all play important roles on the team. Capuano will obviously be very familiar with the Lee-Nelson duo, though it may be a bit awkward after his firing earlier this season.

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