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Kevin Cheveldayoff

Trade Rumors: Boyle, Seabrook, Petan

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Interest in veteran forward Brian Boyle is increasing and the New Jersey Devils may be forced to move the respected two-way veteran. Boyle, 34, is an impending free agent and the Devils have expressed a desire to re-sign him, but with the postseason out of reach they could feel pressured to capitalize on his trade value. Boyle is not without protection, though. TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports that the specifics of Boyle’s Limited No-Trade Clause are that he may submit a list of eight teams that he may not be traded to. That would hypothetically leave New Jersey with 23 other suitors, but if Boyle’s list includes mostly deadline buyers, the options could be much more limited. Seravalli adds that Boyle’s preference is also to remain in New Jersey, so he could seek to make it difficult for the Devils to move him. Boyle is currently on pace for 22 goals and 32 points on the year, which would rival his 2010-11 season for the best offensive campaign of his career. Meanwhile, he continues to excel as a defensive forward, leading all Devils forwards in blocked shots and trailing only Blake Coleman for the team lead in hits. The all-around impact on the ice coupled with the experience and locker room leadership that Boyle brings will continue to make him a talked-about deadline target.

  • Brent Seabrook may be immovable for a number of reasons, but the Chicago Blackhawks are going to do their best. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Blackhawks have asked Seabrook to waive his No-Movement Clause. Friedman then adds that, so far, Seabrook has declined. The veteran defenseman is in a steep decline, but apparently is content to ride it out in the city and with the teammates that he has played his entire career, rather than trying to rejuvenate his game with a change of scenery. That’s Seabrook’s prerogative, but meanwhile his cap hit of $6.875MM will continue to cripple Chicago’s attempts to improve and it will likely only get worse each year. For that reason, it comes as little surprise that Friedman notes the Blackhawks plan to keep shopping Seabrook despite the trade protection in hopes that they can find a taker in the market that Seabrook would accept a trade to. It’s a lofty expectation, but if any GM has proven that he can find someone to take expensive contracts off his hands, it’s Chicago’s Stan Bowman.
  • There are no guarantees at the NHL Trade Deadline, but the one player who is looking almost certain to be on the move is young Winnipeg Jets forward Nic Petan. Petan, 23, was a highly-touted second-round pick back in 2013, but has been unable to carve out a full-time role for himself in Winnipeg. Petan played a career-high 54 games in 2016-17, recording 13 points, but that number dropped to just 15 games last year and 13 games so far this year. The jury is still out when it comes to whether or not Petan can be an impact player at the NHL level, but it doesn’t look like he’s going to get the chance to prove it with the Jets anyway. As such, Winnipeg is shopping Petan in their pursuit of help up front, writes Jason Bell of the Winnipeg Free Press. Bell goes so far as to say that the team will not play Petan, in fear of injury or simply because he is not trusted, until after the deadline or longer. The Jets are all-out buyers this season and selling off a young depth forward is not something that they will rule out if it helps to land a top-six forward. However, Bell says that the team is not keen to move Jack Roslovic, rejecting several offers including the budding forward so far; Petan appears to be the go-to “young roster player” that the Jets are willing to give up. For his part, Petan did a good job of treading carefully around questions from The Winnipeg Sun’s Ken Wiebe about his frustrating season and needing a fresh start, but did admit that he’s looking forward to his “next opportunity”. Reading between the lines, it seems pretty clear that Petan is as eager to get out of Winnipeg as the Jets are to trade him.

Winnipeg Jets Looking For Depth Forward

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Though the Winnipeg Jets have been linked to nearly every potential free agent forward including the very best of the best, it might be a smaller move that gets things kicked off for the Western Conference contender. Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press reported yesterday that Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has been working to bring in an experienced depth forward in order to “give head coach Paul Maurice more options in his bottom six.” McIntyre notes that the Jets have too often become a three-line team, benching their fourth unit because Maurice can’t quite trust them.

That can be seen perhaps most notably in the ice time logs of a young player like Jack Roslovic, who until recently had been limited to fewer than ten minutes almost every night. In fact, Roslovic has played fewer than seven minutes in 14 of his 49 games this season, hardly giving the young forward a chance to contribute. While Roslovic has been given an opportunity to play a little more recently, there is obviously a balance issue on the Jets that could be addressed with adding some more experience down in the lineup.

While McIntyre and just about every other media member points out how the Jets could also use a legitimate second-line center for the stretch drive—the role that Paul Stastny filled last season after being acquired from the St. Louis Blues at the deadline—it’s an interesting note that Cheveldayoff seems more focused right now at adding down in the lineup.

Perhaps that is because the Jets believe more names will be put out onto the market in the coming weeks. The Ottawa Senators have seemingly not yet made Matt Duchene available in trade as they continue to try and sign him, and with Kevin Hayes recent comments about wanting to stay with the New York Rangers perhaps he’s not the ideal target. Other names like Mark Stone, Wayne Simmonds and Artemi Panarin are all in complicated situations and don’t fit into the Jets structure perfectly because of their position on the wing.

The Jets will no doubt make a move at some point in the next three and a half weeks, but it’s still not clear how much they want to give up this time around. Remember that Stastny cost them a first-round pick last season meaning they didn’t select until 60th overall, and the team is already without their 2019 third-rounder from an expansion draft trade. Even though Winnipeg has built one of the strongest pipelines of talent in the entire league, they’re not a team that can afford to throw away futures every year. Still, the team looks as dangerous as ever as the playoffs draw closer and Cheveldayoff will have to decide whether it’s worth taking another crack at a top rental to push them over the edge, or just settle for a bottom-six addition in the meantime.

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.

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.

Snapshots: Jets, Islanders, Stars

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Do the Winnipeg Jets need to reassess how they are building their team? Obviously, GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and company are doing a fine job as is; the Jets finished with the second-best record in the NHL last season and boast one of the league’s youngest lineups. However, Paul Wiecek of The Winnipeg Free Press makes a valid point that with a cap crunch coming for the talented squad, the team would be better off shifting their focus away from the blue line and onto the forward corps. Wiecek cites the contract disputes with Jacob Trouba – who will be a restricted free agent once again next summer – and the still unsigned Josh Morrissey as situations that the Jets could move on from in the near future. Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot will also both be unrestricted free agents next off-season and the team will have to figure out what do there as well. Instead of continuing to devote precious cap space to the blue line, like the Jets’ Central Division rival Nashville Predators, Wiecek feels the team would be better off focusing their efforts and expenditures up front. With Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor, as well as several other young depth forwards, headed to restricted free agency in 2019, it may be in Winnipeg’s best interests to sign their talented homegrown forwards to long-term deals and look at other options on the blue line. The same goes for re-signing captain Blake Wheeler, an impending UFA would draw considerable interest if he hit the open market. Wiecek suggests the team look at the recent Stanley Cup winners, the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins, who were far more invested in star power and depth up front than on the back end. With that talent already in place among the Jets’ forwards, and some dissent and long-term questions on the blue line, this may be an idea that would work out very well in Winnipeg’s favor.

  • Another team making changes to their structure are the New York Islanders. However, this adjustment is one of strategy and culture under new head coach Barry Trotz. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple sat down with the recent Stanley Cup winner and learned about the whirlwind first couple of months for Trotz with the team. Trotz was not short on feelings about the club and its future:

    “There’s going to be change. It’s going to be structurally, on and off the ice, expectations are going to change… On the ice, I have a vision of how we can play to be better. This team can score, with John Tavares or without John Tavares. The area it’s failed in maybe the last year and a half is on the defensive end. Just looking at the trends over the last four years, it’s clear that’s an area we need to fix. The great thing about the game, one of the hardest things to do in this league is create offense and score goals. This team has been able to do that in the last four years. One of the easiest things to correct, if there’s a commitment and a buy-in, is keeping the puck out of your net. We’ll need a bigger buy-in, we’ll put some structure, we’ll make sure the details are there and we’ll make players accountable. If they’re not, we’ll get someone who can be accountable. And we’ve got to build our players. We’ve got some unfinished products who can certainly be better. Get them to play to their capabilities, that’s all we ask. We want them to be consistent and play to their capabilities, we never ask guys to do more than they’re capable of.”

    To say it has been a difficult summer for the Islanders and their fans, given the loss of Tavares and the lack of improvement elsewhere on the roster, is an understatement. However, they still obtained a successful and well-respected coach and hearing that he has a clear plan and is open about his expectations has to be a boost to the morale of the team and its supporters.

  • Another new head coach has his players excited for the coming season. In speaking with Mike Zeisberger of NHL.com, Dallas Stars defenseman John Klingberg expressed his pleasure with the team’s hiring of Jim Montgomery as their new coach. Montgomery recently visited Klingberg at his home in Sweden and the talented defender came away very impressed with their first real interaction. Not only was Klingberg very appreciative of his new bench boss’ willingness to make the long trek to visit him, but also connected with Montgomery about his plans for the team and his own individual development. Klingberg feels that Montgomery can help him transform into a true No. 1 defenseman and that his plan for the team will play to the elite puck-movers strength. Klingberg summarized his excitement for the new campaign nicely, telling Zeisberger that he and Montgomery “have the potential to do some big things.”

Winnipeg Unlikely To Buyout Steve Mason

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It was about as bad a first season in Winnipeg as it could have been for goaltender Steve Mason. After signing a two-year deal with the Jets last summer that carried the presumption that he would at least share the starting job, injuries and poor play plagued the veteran net minder all season. The lone bright spot for Mason – he still made his $4.1MM. Many have speculated – now that Vezina Trophy candidate Connor Hellebuyck has more than solidified his position as the starter moving forward – that Mason could be cut by the Jets this off-season to avoid another hefty cap hit next year. However, speaking with the media today, Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff stated that he did not anticipate going the buyout route with his experienced albeit overpaid backup (video). Instead, Cheveldayoff spoke to Mason’s ability and integrity and his desire to have a capable backup next season.

Mason, who will be 30 next season, joined the Jets last summer after parts of five seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers during which he struggled to transcend to that elite, true #1 goaltender level. Nevertheless, Winnipeg handed the 2009 Calder Trophy winner an $8.2MM contract that was immediately panned. Unfortunately for the Jets, the critics proved to be right. Admittedly, Mason struggled with several injuries – including multiple concussions – during the year, however when he did play the results were underwhelming. Mason finished the season with a .906 save percentage and 3.24 GAA in a career-low 13 appearances. It was easily his worst performance since his later seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets and paved the way for Hellebuyck to take over full control of the starter’s job, as he dominated starts even when Mason was healthy.

Yet, a buyout of Mason’s final season – while understandable on a results basis – would not make much of a difference to Winnipeg. Yes, the team would save over $2.7MM next year, but would incur a penalty of around $1.4MM the following year. For a team that doesn’t struggle with salary cap compliance, those savings mean relatively little. Without Mason and with Michael Hutchinson headed for unrestricted free agency, the Jets would then be forced to find an experienced backup this off-season anyway. While it may not be popular among fans who were disappointed by his first season, if Cheveldayoff does retain Mason this off-season, there are plenty of reasons why it makes sense for the Jets.

Busy Offseason Now Looms For Winnipeg Jets

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The Winnipeg Jets have been eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, knocked out by the expansion Vegas Golden Knights in just five games. That ends what was an outstanding season for the Jets, who not only climbed into the playoff picture but showed they could be a long-term contender. Their young core has all reached new heights, and should be able to put pressure on the best teams in the Western Conference for some time.

With those young pieces though come several big decisions. The offseason, not even 24 hours old for the Jets, already must seem too short for GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and the rest of the front office staff. Not only do they have to prepare for the draft in a month’s time, but the roster has just 14 players under contract for next season.

The biggest negotiations will come with Winnipeg’s pending restricted free agents. The list is a who’s who of talent on their club, and will chew up a big part of their salary structure if signed this summer. The Jets’ restricted free agents include:

Jacob Trouba
Josh Morrissey
Tucker Poolman
Joseph Morrow
Jan Kostalek

Brandon Tanev
Joel Armia
Marko Dano
Adam Lowry
Chase De Leo
Jimmy Lodge
Nic Petan
J.C. Lipon

Connor Hellebuyck
Eric Comrie
Jamie Phillips

Especially on defense and in goal, these are key players who could demand long-term contracts with substantial cap hits. Trouba, who once wanted out of Winnipeg to play a bigger role somewhere else, has recently indicated that he would like to stay with the Jets long-term. The team would obviously want that too, but have to carefully manage their finances as they approach restricted free agency next summer with Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor. Success is eventually paid for.

With so many restricted free agents, it’s sometimes easy to forget that Paul Stastny, Toby Enstrom, Matt Hendricks, Shawn Matthias and Michael Hutchinson are also headed for the unrestricted waters this summer. Several of these players will generate extensive interest should they hit the open market, and it’s not clear if Winnipeg intends on re-signing any of them. If they do, July 1st is coming quicker than you may think, and work needs to be done to secure their future contracts.

Either way, Winnipeg has a busy few months ahead of them as they try to piece the roster back together and take another shot at the Stanley Cup in 2019. Though there needs to be a few days of decompression from their shocking defeat, there’s plenty of work to be done.

Poll: Should The Winnipeg Jets Re-Sign Paul Stastny?

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There is much to be proud of if you’re a Winnipeg Jets’ fan, but while most fans are paying attention to their play in the Western Conference Finals. And while the Jets find themselves down 3-1 against the Vegas Golden Knights, Winnipeg will need to find a way to win three in a row. To do that, they will need success from multiple lines, including the success of the team’s second line, including Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers and trade deadline acquisition Paul Stastny.

When the team traded for Stastny for prospect Erik Foley, a 2018 first-round pick and a conditional 2020 fourth-round pick, they got a steal. Stastny has stabilized a powerful young line next to Laine and Ehlers as the line has helped guide them through the playoffs. Just against the Nashville Predators alone in the playoffs’ second round, Stastny practically beat the team on his own, putting up five goals and five assists in seven games. He has been effectively shut down by Vegas in four games as he’s only managed one assist, yet the veteran has been key to their playoff future.

The Hockey News’ Matt Larkin recently wrote a story wondering what the chances Stastny has of returning to Winnipeg next year. The unrestricted free agent is 32 years old, a point where long-term deals start to look questionable as many players in their 30’s begin to decline, especially with speed being emphasized by many teams. Unfortunately for Winnipeg, the free agent options at center will be very limited this year after the Islanders’ John Tavares, making Stastny the likely second-best free agent on the market. With many teams in need of a center, he could easily get a big deal and while maybe not as high as the $7MM a year he’s been making recently, but he should easily fetch $5MM per year with his next deal and if the team has to overpay to keep him, it could go as high as $6MM per year.

Then the question is whether Winnipeg can afford him. While the team has ample cap space at the moment, the Jets also have 14 players on their current roster who will either be restricted or unrestricted free agents. Many of their restricted free agents like Adam Lowry, Brandon Tanev, Joel Armia and Josh Morrissey should get solid raises, while others like Jacob Trouba and Connor Hellebuyck should get major contract extensions, likely taking up a large chunk of their available cap space, leaving little or no room for Stastny. Add to the fact that Laine, Kyle Connor and Tyler Myers all will need new contracts in one year, that leaves little wiggle room unless general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff can pull of a clever balancing act to keep everyone happy.

So, should Winnipeg try to keep Stastny around next year or just let him go?

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Poll: Who Should Win GM Of The Year?

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There are certain awards every year that seem destined to go to a single player, coach or executive regardless of who else is named a finalist. This year the Jack Adams might be one of those, as even our readership were in agreement on Gerard Gallant as the obvious choice. He received more than 62% of the vote, while no other candidate earned even 15%.

Another one of those awards might be this one. Yesterday the NHL released the finalists for GM of the Year, and Gallant’s boss is the overwhelming favorite. George McPhee started with the signing of Reid Duke, an over-aged played from the WHL, and could very well end with the Stanley Cup. Though the voting happens pre-playoffs, there’s no doubt that McPhee dominated many of his competitors this season by leveraging the expansion draft process—as flawed as it perhaps was—to create both a strong NHL team and a solid draft pipeline.

But, none of that could have been possible without breakout years by almost his entire selected roster. Some of the other moves—namely, acquiring Tomas Tatar at the trade deadline—haven’t been as universally well-regarded. More than that, there are some other names that could have a good case for the award.

Kevin Cheveldayoff, another one of the finalists, is likely there more for the work he has done over the last few years than anything he did in-season. The Winnipeg Jets have slowly matured into a powerhouse in the Western Conference, and though Paul Stastny was a shrewd deadline pickup, Dmitry Kulikov and Steve Mason haven’t worked out perfectly. Instead, it’s all the incredible drafting and development that has made Winnipeg into one of the deepest teams in the league.

The last finalist was Steve Yzerman, widely regarded as one of the best executives in the league. The Hall of Fame player has turned into a master of running an NHL club, locking up key players for reasonable cap hits and making big trades when necessary. Acquiring Mikhail Sergachev in the summer when he felt the Lightning had a surplus of talented forwards, and then landing the biggest trade deadline fish without removing much from his NHL roster—Vladislav Namestnikov was essentially replaced with the addition of J.T. Miller—have pushed Tampa Bay into a position to contend for some time.

But are there other candidates who should be considered for the award? What about Joe Sakic, who was close to being replaced last summer, only to land a huge package of talent for Matt Duchene in the early part of the season. The squad he put together jumped all the way from last place to the playoffs on the back of some underrated players (and Nathan MacKinnon), and are set up for success in the future.

What about Jim Rutherford in Pittsburgh, or Brian MacLellan in Washington, who both added key pieces to their teams at the deadline despite having very little cap space. Derick Brassard is returning to the Penguins with just a $3MM cap hit next season, while Michal Kempny has solidified the Capitals defense en route to their lead in the Conference Finals.

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Poll: Which Conference Finals Team Benefitted The Most At Trade Deadline?

at CDT | by 3 Comments

With a lot of attention that has gone towards the success of trade acquisition Paul Stastny in the playoffs this season, the Winnipeg Jets and general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff look to have scored at the trade deadline this offseason. The GM was able to pick up Stastny’s expiring contract (50 percent of which was retained) as the team traded away Providence College prospect Erik Foley as well as their 2018 first-rounder and a conditional 2020 fourth-rounder (if Foley doesn’t sign with the Blues before he can become an unrestricted free agent in 2019). While losing a prospect and a first-rounder, the Jets have defintely benefitted by Stastny’s play, especially in the playoffs. The 32-year-old center, alongside youngsters Nikolaj Ehlers and Patrik Laine has put up six goals and nine assists in 13 games during the playoffs and has helped vault Winnipeg into a one-game lead in the Western Conference finals.

Of the other three teams that remain in the playoffs, the trade deadline also seems to have benefitted the Tampa Bay Lightning. Their acquisition of defenseman Ryan McDonagh and forward J.T. Miller from the New York Rangers at the deadline also brought some stability to the Lightning from both players. McDonagh added a stable presence on the defense’s second line, while Miller has excelled playing next to Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. McDonagh has aided the team’s offense with five assists in 11 games, while Miller has had two goals and five asissts in 11 games as well. In exchange for those two, the Lightning were able to avoid trading off any elite prospects to the Rangers, but still gave up a lot of pieces, including Vladislav Namestnikov, prospects Brett Howden and Libor Hajek, their 2018 first-rounder and another potential first-round pick in 2019 if Tampa Bay wins the Stanley Cup in either of the next two years.

The Washington Capitals, with little cap room to work with at the trade deadline, still were able to pull off a couple of small trades, although the addition of Michal Kempny has had a major affect on the Capitals’ defense. With a number of young, inexperienced blueliners and little money to add a high-profile player, the team traded the Toronto Maple Leafs’ third-round pick in 2018 for Kempny. While the former Blackhawks’ defenseman had never played a full season in the NHL, he is 27 and had quite a bit of experience in the KHL and Czech Republic.

Finally, the Golden Knights did make one big trade at the deadline, sending a 2018 first-round pick, a 2019 second-round pick and a 2021 third-round pick to acquire Tomas Tatar. While the addition of Tatar is not a rental like many of the others (he has three years left at $5.3MM AAV after this year), the team gave up a lot for a player who has made little impact in Vegas. The 27-year-old has been a healthy scratch for much of the playoffs, having only played in four games with no points.

So, which team has benefiited the most from this year’s trade deadline?

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

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