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Central Notes: Blues’ Defense, Perreault, Girard, Makar

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The St. Louis Blues have had quite a bit going right for them and while much of the team’s success could easily be handed to goaltender Jordan Binnington, one key reason the team won both games in Winnipeg is the play of their top defensive pair, Colton Parayko and Jay Bouwmeester, according to The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford (subscription required).

The pair are being used to stop the Jets’ top line of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Blake Wheeler and have played more than 25 minutes matched up against that line in 5-on-5 play. Wheeler does have one goal on four shots in that span, but both Scheifele and Connor have each tallied just two shots combined in those situations.

“Fairly well,” Bouwmeester said when asked how the Blues have defended the group. “We had some breakdowns, and they had some chances. There were some odd-man rushes and things like that. They’ve got skilled guys and guys who don’t need a lot of room to get good chances. Bottom line is I think whoever’s going to control the puck and control the play is going to control what they give up.”

  • Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun reports that there will be just one change in the Winnipeg Jets’ lineup for Sunday’s Game 3 in St. Louis against the Blues. The Jets will bring Mathieu Perreault back into the lineup after the veteran missed Game 2 with an undisclosed injury and Par Lindholm will become a healthy scratch. Perreault hadn’t missed a game this season until Friday. “We’re going to need more of that (secondary scoring) if we want to have any kind of chance of coming back in this series,” said Perreault. “Whoever I’m playing with today, our line, the third and fourth line, we’ve got to find a way to make sure we don’t get scored on, and then chip in a goal here and there to try and help the team win.”
  • A.J. Haefele of BSN Denver reports that Colorado Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard is still being evaluated after leaving Saturday night’s game against Calgary in overtime after taking a hit from Sam Bennett. However, the scribe reports that he is a possibility to play. Girard played 22:05 of ice time in Game 2 and would be a huge loss if he wasn’t able to go.
  • Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reports that recently signed defenseman Cale Makar is expected to be at the team’s morning practice Saturday and could get into the lineup immediately. Dater adds that he gets the impression that Makar will be in the lineup even though head coach Jared Bednar has not made any announcements. The team’s first-rounder in 2017 will have to be protected for the Seattle expansion draft if he even plays one playoff game this season. However, it looks as if the Avalanche are willing to do that.

Snapshots: Three Stars, College Stars, Presidents

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The NHL has released their three stars of the week, with Kyle Connor getting the top honors. The young Winnipeg Jets forward had five goals and eight points in four games, surpassing both of his impressive totals from last season. The 22-year old now has back-to-back 30-goal seasons, and is now a key part of the Jets attack on a nightly basis. While Patrik Laine may hit the headlines more for his upcoming restricted free agency, Connor’s pending negotiation looks to be just as (if not more) important.

Second star this week went to Steven Stamkos, who helped the Tampa Bay Lightning lock up the Presidents Trophy and became the franchise leader in goals with 387 and counting. The Lightning star is just one away from his fifth 40-goal campaign, and has six games remaining to try and crack the 100-point threshold for the first time in his career. Bringing up the rear in third was Philipp Grubauer, who has suddenly found his game and now holds a .914 save percentage on the year. That has allowed the Colorado Avalanche to climb back into the playoffs in the Western Conference.

  • Despite Boston University seeing a huge chunk of their team turn pro today—Jake Oettinger, Chad Krys, Joel Farabee and Dante Fabbro all signed contracts—they won’t be without some star power next year. According to Mike Chambers of the Denver Post, Shane Bowers is likely sticking around after a somewhat disappointing sophomore season. Cole Hults from Penn State is also expected to stay in college according to Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider, and the team is supportive of that idea. Hults, a fifth-round pick of the Kings in 2017, had 28 points in 39 games as a sophomore this season.
  • The Edmonton Oilers and Ottawa Senators have had a ton of turmoil over the last year, changing coaches and front office members while struggling on the ice. It’s not surprising that both teams may be looking for upper management help according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, who reports each could be set to bring in a team president to run hockey operations above the general manager. Ottawa’s search in particular has apparently already been going on for a while, though it has not apparently put Pierre Dorion’s job as GM in jeopardy.

Pacific Notes: Karlsson, Canucks, Woo, Stone

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The San Jose Sharks got some promising news as star defenseman Erik Karlsson, who has missed most of the second half of the season with a groin injury, skated for 30 minutes this morning at the team’s morning skate for the first time since he re-injured his groin on Feb. 16, according to Paul Gackle of the Mercury News. Regardless, Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said that Karlsson still is not close to returning.

“Good sign. Out there, no setbacks. No pain,” DeBoer said. “First step, obviously. We’re not close yet.”

Karlsson skated figure eights around the faceoff circles, practiced hard stops, and sprinted down the ice at full speed several times. Karlsson missed nine games after initially getting injured on Jan. 16. He returned for four games in February, but re-injured it on Feb. 23.

  • In a mailbag series, The Athletic’s J.D. Burke (subscription required) writes that he wouldn’t be surprised if the Vancouver Canucks look to be active in the free-agent defense market, suggesting the Canucks could opt to make a big offer this season on Winnipeg Jets’ free agent Tyler Myers. With the Jets expected to have even more cap problems than usual with several big restricted free agents to take care of this summer, including Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor and Jacob Trouba, the team might have to allow Myers to leave to free up some cap room. The 29-year-old Myers would be a big addition if Vancouver wants to make a big offer to the 6-foot-8, 229-pound blueliner.
  • Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal writes that the Vancouver Canucks and the representation for prospect Jett Woo have had positive talks about bringing the physical blueliner on board soon. The team’s 2018 second-round pick has had a breakout season with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors with 12 goals, 62 points and 63 penalty minutes in 61 games this season.
  • The Calgary Flames are adding some much needed depth to their blueline as defenseman Michael Stone is expected to play tonight in his first game in 125 days, according to Ryan Dittrick of NHL.com. Stone hasn’t played since Nov. 11 since he was diagnosed with a blood clot and placed on blood thinners. Regardless, Stone expects an easier transition back to the ice since he was able to get back on the ice four days after starting blood thinners and has been able to stay in good cardio shape the whole time. Stone has played 11 games this year and has four assists. He just returned from the Stockton Heat of the AHL, where he got three games of conditioning in.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Winnipeg Jets

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With the holiday season having come and gone, PHR continues its look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads towards the midway mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. Let’s take a look at what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve in the second half for the Winnipeg Jets.  Click here for the other articles in this series. 

What are the Jets most thankful for?

In what many considered to be the most competitive division in the NHL, the Winnipeg Jets are right at the top with the Nashville Predators who are ahead by just one point. The Jets boast a 25-13-2 record and while the team has suffered numerous injuries throughout the season, the team has been in the thick of things all season and much of that is due to the team’s depth and experience, especially on the blueline as multiple players, especially Dustin Byfuglien have struggled with injuries. However, the team hasn’t missed a beat as they are ranked 8th in goals scored, averaging 3.33 goals per game.

Who are the Jets most thankful for?

Their veterans. The team has gotten solid performances from many of their top players, but the team’s top two players have been Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler, who have the glue to keep the team together. Scheifele has 22 goals and 27 assists and has been a constant on the team’s top line, while Wheeler has just six goals, but has 44 assists on that same first line. Scheifele, who scored 23 goals last season in 60 appearances, is already one goal away from tying that mark in just 40 games. He is averaging 22:40 in ATOI this season, almost two minutes more than his career-high. Wheeler is also playing a career-high 21:26, nearly a minute better than his career-high and he is on pace to break his career high in assists.

What would the Jets be even more thankful for?

The team needs to get Connor Hellebuyck, their goaltender going if they really want to make a deep run this season. While most of the preseason chatter revolved around their backup goaltending situation, Laurent Brossoit has been nothing short of fabulous for the Jets. Hellebuyck, on the other hand, hasn’t found his game yet. After being a Vezina Trophy candidate a season ago when he put up 44-11-9 record, a 2.36 GAA and a .924 save percentage, but his numbers are not nearly as impressive one year later. Through 31 appearances, Hellebuyck has 12 losses, more than he had last season with a 2.89 GAA and a .908 save percentage. The team will need more from him if they hope to make a deep run in the playoffs with teams like the Predators in their way.

What should be on the Jets’ Holiday Wish List?

More depth from their other lines. The team has gotten a lot of offense from their first line and you can’t complain too much about the 24 goals that Patrik Laine already has, despite having just seven assists to go with that number. However, what the team needs is more scoring. Once you get past Nikolaj Ehlers (15 goals) and Kyle Connor (13 goals), few forwards have been able to step up to add more depth scoring. The team needs more players in that middle-six to step up and start scoring goals to give the offense an even bigger spark, so that the first and second lines aren’t preyed upon by opposing team’s top defenses.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Three Stars, RFAs, Marleau

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The NHL has released their latest Three Stars of the Week, and to absolutely no one’s surprise Patrik Laine finds himself on top. Despite plenty of other outstanding performances last week, Laine was the easy choice after scoring 11 goals in just four games including a five-goal effort on Saturday night. The young Winnipeg Jets forward set all kinds of franchise records with the outstanding performance, and joined an incredibly small group of players to post five goals in a game before their 21st birthday. Only Laine, Don Murdoch and Wayne Gretzky have ever done so; Laine will have to do it again this season to tie Gretzky with two such performances.

Coming in second and third this week are Marc-Andre Fleury and Nikita Kucherov, two players well versed in this award. Fleury earned third star honors just over a month ago, while Kucherov has been in the top three several times throughout his career. The Vegas Golden Knights goaltender and Tampa Bay Lightning forward will have to continue their strong play if they hope to compete for the Stanley Cup again this season, and may even find themselves on this list again down the road.

Central Notes: Bowman, Bishop, Laine, Edmundson

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While he may not be the most popular person in Chicago lately, Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman sat down with The Athletic’s Scott Powers (subscription required) in an in depth interview, going over the state of the franchise. While Bowman is aware of fans’ displeasure with the recent firing of coach Joel Quenneville as well as the state of the team’s salary cap over the past few years, Bowman said he must remain focused on the present.

“It definitely comes with the job,” Bowman said. “When you take this job, you understand that part of it is the fans have a passion for the team, which I wouldn’t want any other way. So, yeah, I don’t follow it in the sense that whatever people say, they’re going to say, and I need to do what I think is right because I believe in it. If I start getting into the weeds and trying to follow it, then it can just distract me from I have a job to do.”

Bowman did say that although many fans feel that he waited too long to trade the contract of Marian Hossa to Arizona this summer (the trade happened on July 12), but that was the first time that the Coyotes agreed to take on Hossa’s contract. Regardless, fans were upset that the team wasn’t able to use the extra $4.5MM in cap space created by that trade as most offseason work was already done by teams at that point. Bowman said he intends to be patient in using that cap space.

“The one thing you don’t want to do is just use it to just to get somebody who doesn’t really fit, and it’s going to preclude you from doing something else later,” Bowman said. “I’m not sitting on it to sit on it, but nothing has come along. Like there’s been potential trades, but the guy’s got two more years on his deal. Like he could help us in the short term, but we’re going to be able to do better than that. You just got to be patient. That’s the thought process.”

  • Mike Heika of NHL.com writes that the Dallas Stars may be close to getting back starting goaltender Ben Bishop who has been out for almost a week with a lower-body injury. Heika writes that Anton Khudobin is expected to start Tuesday in Edmonton, followed likely be Landon Bow on Wednesday in Calgary. However, the scribe writes that Bishop might be ready for the team’s game in Vancouver on Saturday. Bishop is having a impressive season with a 2.33 GAA and a .923 save percentage in 15 games.
  • Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun writes that while Patrik Laine knew he’d break out of his 19-game five-on-five scoreless slump earlier this season, it did weigh on him as it wore on. However, after scoring eight of his 11 goals this week on five-on-five, Laine feels more confident than ever, but credits his new linemates’ Bryan Little and Kyle Connor for much of his success. Much of Laine’s success has been with his recent chemistry with Little. The two struggled connecting for the past two years, especially last season. Those five-on-five struggles disappeared after the team added Paul Stastny at the trade deadline, but the Laine and Little finally seem to have found that connection this year.
  • St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Tom Timmermann writes that St. Louis Blues defenseman Joel Edmundson has been working hard lately to avoid penalties. In his last 11 games, Edmondson has been called for a penalty in eight of those games and the 25-year-old leads the team with 29 penalty minutes. “I think I’m getting a little wild with my stick,” Edmundson said. “Sometimes the game gets the better half of me and I take out my frustrations. I’m looking to be smarter in that department. Sometimes I get worked up a bit and anger takes over. Coach (Berube) has talked to me. I just have to settle down a bit.”

Injury Notes: Kulikov, Pesce, Carrick, Arvidsson

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The Winnipeg Jets recalled top prospect Sami Niku this weekend as a replacement for the injured Dmitry Kulikov, and he might get a longer than expected opportunity in the NHL. Kulikov has been moved to injured reserve and is out for at least four weeks according to Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun. The veteran defenseman suffered an upper-body injury, and will now have to fight his way back on the roster in a month’s time.

Kulikov had appeared in just six games this season for the Jets, averaging fewer than 11 minutes per game. That’s a far cry from the expectations placed on him when he signed a three-year $13MM deal in the summer of 2017, one that has not aged well given the rest of the big contracts Winnipeg needs to give out. The team has plenty of cap space at the moment, but will need to hand out deals to Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor, Jacob Trouba and several other restricted free agents this summer.

  • Brett Pesce’s absence at Carolina Hurricanes practice may have set off some alarm bells given the recent speculation about the team’s interest in William Nylander, but Michael Smith of NHL.com reports the defenseman is working through a minor lower-body injury. Pesce won’t play tonight for the Hurricanes, but is listed as just day-to-day for now.
  • Meanwhile in Dallas, Stars’ defenseman Connor Carrick will miss at least three more weeks with his lower-body injury according to broadcaster Bruce LeVine. The Stars are without John Klingberg as well, leaving a lot of the puck-moving responsibility to young defensemen Miro Heiskanen and Julius Honka. Carrick has four points in nine games for the Stars since being acquired just prior to the beginning of the season. Importantly, that trade included a condition that would change the seventh round pick to a sixth round pick for Toronto if Carrick plays in 50 games. An injury like this puts that 50 game threshold very much in doubt.
  • Viktor Arvidsson had just returned from a stint on injured reserve, but is headed back to the shelf after leaving the Nashville Predators recent game against Dallas. Arvidsson has been placed on injured reserve once again, meaning he’ll miss at least a week with his upper-body injury.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Winnipeg Jets

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Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2018-19 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Winnipeg Jets

Current Cap Hit: $74,274,122 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Patrik Laine (one year, $925K)
F Kyle Connor (one year, $925K)
F Kristian Vesalainen (three years, $925K)
F Jack Roslovic (two years, $894K)
F Brendan Lemieux (one year, $839K)
D Sami Niku (two years, $775K)

Potential Bonuses:

Laine: $2.65MM
Connor: $850K
Roslovic: $213K
Lemieux: $200K
Niku: $183K

Total: $4.1MM

The Jets were hit hard when many of their entry-level deals expired a year ago and next year won’t be too much different as the team, which is now starting to feel the strain of the salary cap, will have to find a way to hand over a lot of money to Laine, who could receive a long-term deal at an extremely high price. Of course, the 20-year-old is worth that money. The winger scored 36 goals in his rookie campaign and topped that with a 44-goal season last year. If he can reach numbers even close to that, he could be one of the highest players in the league in a year.

Connor should also cost the team a good deal of money as the 21-year-old winger posted 31 goals in his first full NHL season last year and looks to be heading in a similar direction and could also get himself a contract in the $5MM+ range in one season. The team gets another year for Roslovic, who is currently playing in the bottom-six, but don’t be surprised if the 21-year-old center might eventually move into the top-six at some point in the season.

It’s still too early to know where Vesalainen stands, but the highly-touted prospect will get time immediately in a bottom-six role and develop his skills. With three years on his entry-level deal, the team hopes it can get some cheap scoring options from him for a few years.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

D Jacob Trouba ($5.5MM, RFA)
D Tyler Myers ($5.5MM, UFA)
D Ben Chiarot ($1.4MM, UFA)
F Brandon Tanev ($1.15MM, UFA)
F Andrew Copp ($1MM, RFA)
D Joseph Morrow ($1MM, RFA)
F Nic Petan ($874K, RFA)
F Marko Dano ($800K, RFA)
G Laurent Brossoit ($650K, RFA)

While the team is deep in forwards, their defense has many long-term questions surrounding them. Two of those players have contracts that will expire at the end of the season. Trouba is the most interesting. Despite holding out several years ago and showing little interest in Winnipeg, it looked like things were improving after Winnipeg enjoyed an impressive season last year that took them to the Western Conference Finals. However, another difficult negotiations that failed to bring in a long-term deal and the team may be forced to move on from Trouba sooner than later. He can be an unrestricted free agent after the 2019-20 season.

Myers is also a candidate for the team to move on from as the veteran is on the final year of a seven-year, $38.5MM deal. While Myers is still a very productive player, the long term deals the team has already signed off on as well as potential deals with Laine and Connor could make him a cap casualty as well. The team has Niku, among others, sitting in the AHL waiting for a spot to open and some could open up at the end of the year.

Two Years Remaining

D Dmitry Kulikov ($4.33MM, UFA)
D Josh Morrissey ($3.15MM, RFA)

The team made a couple of free agent signings last offseason, including bringing in goalie Steve Mason and signing Kulikov. Mason has already been traded away after a disappointing season, while Kulikov has had trouble fitting in as well, even being held out of several playoff games last year. The 27-year-old is barely holding onto his spot as a third-line defender and could find himself fighting for time eventually if he can’t improve his game.

Morrissey is a different story. The partner to Trouba has been a solid defender and has continued to improve his game and will still be a restricted free agent in a few years, giving the team another opportunity to lock him up long-term.

Three Years Remaining

D Dustin Byfuglien ($7.6MM, UFA)
F Mathieu Perreault ($4.13MM, UFA)
F Adam Lowry ($2.92MM, UFA)

Byfuglien is locked up long-term and in many ways is the face of the franchise, who produces both physicality and offense for the team. The 6-foot-5, 260-pound blueliner did just provide eight goals last year, one of the lowest totals of his career, but the 33-year-old still managed to produce 45 points. The team needs the veteran to continue his dominant play for a few years more if the team intends to continue a long-term Western Conference run.

The team also needs Perreault to continue playing solid hockey as one of their best bottom-six forwards. The 30-year-old posted 17 goals last year, one goal shy of his career-high. The 25-year-old Lowry is another player who the team needs to step up for the franchise. He posted 15 goals in 2016-17, but managed to score just eight goals last year in 45 games. However, his passing game showed quite a bit of improvement.

Four Or More Years Remaining

G Connor Hellebuyck ($6.19MM through 2023-24)
F Mark Scheifele ($6.13MM through 2023-24)
F Nikolaj Ehlers ($6MM through 2024-25)
F Blake Wheeler ($5.6MM in 2018-19; $8.25MM through 2023-24)
F Bryan Little ($5.29MM through 2023-24)

The franchise has quite a few blue-chip players already locked up long-term with the most important position, goaltending, looking to be in good shape after the team signed Hellebuyck to a six-year, $37MM deal. The 25-year-old posted an impressive breakout season that saw him post a 2.37 GAA and a .924 save percentage and should be a major positive for the team over the next six years.

The team signed Wheeler, their captain, to a long-term extension this offseason. He will finish out his previous deal at $5.6MM, but will start on a four-year extension at $8.25MM. Wheeler posted 20 goals for the fifth-straight season, but also saw his points total surge as the 32-year-old put up a career-high 91 points last year, way better than his previous career-high of 78 points.

Ehlers signed a seven-year extension at this time last season and the 22-year-old posted a career-high 29 goals last season playing on the other side of Laine and producing one of the team’s most dangerous lines. The team also has Little working as a second-line center, although many believe that he’d be better off with a bottom-six role down the road, which would make him an expensive long-term cost at $5.29MM.

Buyouts

F Mark Stuart ($583K in 2018-19)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Scheifele
Worst Value: Kulikov

(Excluding entry-level contracts)

Looking Ahead

The Winnipeg Jets have done an incredible job so far drafting and developing high-end talent and so far have done an excellent job keeping them in the fold for what the team hopes to be a solid five year run for a Stanley Cup. The team has already locked up many of their top players and while they still have a few more to go, they look well on their way to doing that. The only real question is how general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff handles his defense as he has a pair of major decisions to make within the next year when it comes to dealing with Trouba and Myers.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Atlantic Notes: Chara, Nylander, Senyshyn

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Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara enters his 13th season with the Boston Bruins and his 21st in the NHL. At age 41, many thought that the defenseman could be close to the end, especially after he signed just a one-year extension ($5MM AAV plus $1.75MM in incentives) back in March for this upcoming season. However, Chara has admitted that he’s motivated to play longer than that, according to The Athletic’s Joe McDonald (subscription required).

Chara, known to be a workout warrior, said that he is as motivated as he always is when it comes to working out.

“Even when I had five-, seven-year deals I always tried to prove myself every year, so it doesn’t make a difference for me,” Chara said. “I always try to be at my best, bring my best and play at a high level and always try to improve. It’s doesn’t matter if it’s one-year contract or seven-year deal.”

McDonald writes that with the addition of the left-handed John Moore from New Jersey will allow Chara some more flexibility and the blueliner could either return alongside Charlie McAvoy or even be paired with former partner Brandon Carlo.

  • John Vogl of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that Buffalo Sabres prospect Alexander Nylander looks like a changed man as he joined his brother William Nylander this summer in workouts. The eighth overall pick in the 2016 draft struggled last year in the AHL, posting just eight goals in 51 games with the Rochester Americans and hasn’t been mentioned as a potential candidate to make the Sabres’ lineup this season. Vogl writes that the 20-year-old looks obviously both taller and more muscular after those summer workouts and looks more determined to make the team. “I just really like how big and strong he’s gotten,” Prospects Challenge coach Chris Taylor said, “and his maturity level.” That could be a key for a successful season no matter where he ends up as he has been known in the past to lack enough maturity to take his game seriously.
  • Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald writes that Boston Bruins forward Zach Senyshyn is now playing in his fourth rookie tournament. The 15th-overall pick from the 2015 draft shouldn’t be confused with players like Mathew Barzal, Kyle Connor, Brock Boeser or Travis Konecny, who the team all passed over to take Senyshyn. However, the Bruins continue to slowly develop the speedy 21-year-old to work on his game after posting pedestrian numbers in his first full season in the AHL, including 12 goals and 26 points. The team especially hopes to develop his special teams skills, including penalty killing and teaching him to become more physical that he might eventually work himself into the Bruins bottom-six.

 

Plenty Of Work Still Left To Do In Winnipeg

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The Winnipeg Jets are one of the strongest and deepest teams in the NHL. They reached the Western Conference Finals last season on the back of a strong goaltender in Connor Hellebuyck, a never-ending offensive attack, and a diverse and talented blue line. This summer they had quite a bit of work to do to keep that group together, and have already dealt with several issues.

Hellebuyck was signed to a six-year contract, guaranteeing he’ll be in Winnipeg through his prime years, while Adam Lowry and Tucker Poolman signed multi-year deals to maintain their roles as depth players in the NHL. Jacob Trouba reached a one-year deal through the arbitration process, and crept one year closer to unrestricted free agency, and several other fringe pieces re-upped for one-year deals. Just yesterday, Nicolas Kerdiles inked his two-way deal yesterday, but unfortunately, that doesn’t cover nearly all the work the team still has to do.

First on the to-do list has to be a new deal for Josh Morrissey, who has established himself as a key left-handed counterpart to the big names on the right side for the Jets defense corps. With Toby Enstrom leaving for greener pastures, Morrissey will be asked to take on even more responsibility going forward and could demand a long-term deal. The Jets have Poolman, Dustin Byfuglien and Dmitry Kulikov signed past 2018-19, and need to get some more certainty on the blue line as they continue their negotiations with Trouba and fellow 2019 UFA Tyler Myers. For his part, Morrissey believes that a contract will get done before the start of the season. He told Jason Bell of the Winnipeg Free Press as much in a recent interview:

Everyone’s going to have their own opinions and that’s fine, but from my standpoint as a player, my agent and from our conversations with the team, everything’s been going great. Everyone’s confident it will be handled and done, definitely in time for the season.

It’s in Myers, Trouba and captain Blake Wheeler that the next group of big decisions lie. All three are scheduled for unrestricted free agency next summer, and though an extension can’t be signed with Trouba until January, the other two are potential extension candidates at any point. The team certainly doesn’t want to watch two of their most valuable players walk out the door in less than a year, especially as they just start their competitive window.

Then, there is the question of Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor. Both star forwards are heading into the final years of their entry-level contracts, and both could break the bank on long-term extensions. While Laine says there is no rush to get a deal done, the Jets have to try and save every possible dollar if they’re going to be able to bring back Wheeler and Myers too. Connor is fresh off a breakout 31-goal campaign as a rookie, and Laine looks like he’s poised to be the next great NHL goal scorer capable of winning multiple Maurice Richard trophies and contending for the Hart as league MVP. That kind of player could get an eight figure salary if he pushes hard for it, though the recent Nikita Kucherov extension could put a soft cap on winger earnings for a while.

The Jets are currently sitting with $35MM in cap space for the 2018-19 season, but that suddenly doesn’t seem like very much when you start adding up the salaries of Morrissey, Wheeler, Myers, Trouba, Laine and Connor. There’s room to keep everyone in Winnipeg, but it will be a tight fit. The next 12 months will be an incredibly busy period for GM Kevin Cheveldayoff, even while the team tries to compete for the Stanley Cup.

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