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Jets Rumors

Jets’ Cole Perfetti Drawing Trade Interest

May 30, 2024 at 10:36 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 4 Comments

It’s been a tumultuous offseason in Winnipeg already after a disappointing first-round elimination, with Scott Arniel taking over behind the bench and deadline addition Tyler Toffoli reportedly not returning to the club. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period writes that the Jets are also receiving interest in forward Cole Perfetti, although there haven’t been any serious trade discussions surrounding the pending restricted free agent.

Winnipeg has done well for themselves in the draft in recent years, picking up a few quality forward prospects to help extend their playoff contention window in the Connor Hellebuyck/Mark Scheifele era. 2022 first-rounders Rutger McGroarty and Brad Lambert look like top-six fixtures, especially the former, and 2023 first-rounder Colby Barlow is coming off his second straight 40-goal season with the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League.

But Perfetti, the 10th overall pick back in 2020, is the crown jewel of that group. Now 22, the Ontario native is coming off a decent sophomore campaign, totaling 19 goals and 38 points in 71 games with strong possession numbers. Yet his ice time dipped from his rookie season, averaging 13:35 per game in his second year under head coach Rick Bowness compared to 14:58 in 2022-23. He was used especially sparingly down the stretch and was inserted into the lineup just once in the first-round loss to the Avalanche, posting three shots on goal in under 11 minutes of ice time in their Game 5 season-ending loss.

His lack of usage late in the season naturally has teams inquiring about whether he’s on the trade block. But as an RFA without arbitration rights, there’s no urgency to move him aside from the threat of an offer sheet, which would provide them with appropriate compensation anyway.

Trading Perfetti also jumps out as an unforced error as the matching seven-year, $59.5MM extensions for Hellebuyck and Scheifele kick in next season. He was especially strong before the All-Star break, putting up 30 points and a +12 rating in 47 contests. However, he resumed play with an 11-game pointless streak and overall had five goals and eight points in his final 24 outings. Part of that was due to his ice time beginning to routinely dip under 10 minutes per game, though.

For a team facing a decent amount of free-agent turnover this summer, parting with a high-ceiling asset like Perfetti doesn’t make much sense, especially since he won’t command immense value on his next deal after his slow end to the campaign. Evolving Hockey projects a bridge deal for the youngster at $3MM per season for two years, and he could likely be had for closer to $2MM on a one-year pact if conserving cap space becomes a premium for general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff. Perfetti won’t be eligible for unrestricted free agency until 2029, so the length of a short-term deal doesn’t matter much, although he will be eligible for arbitration the next time he’s up for a new contract.

Winnipeg Jets Cole Perfetti

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Jets Hoping To Re-Sign Sean Monahan, Fire Brad Lauer

May 27, 2024 at 11:52 am CDT | by Gabriel Foley 14 Comments

The Winnipeg Jets are reportedly looking to retain pending free agent Sean Monahan, shares Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the latest 32 Thoughts Podcast. The Jets acquired Monahan ahead of the trade deadline, sending a 2024 first-round and 2027 seventh-round pick back to the Montreal Canadiens. Monahan went on to score 13 goals and 24 points across 34 regular-season games with Winnipeg, adding one assist in five postseason games.

Monahan was one of Winnipeg’s two Trade Deadline acquisitions, alongside Tyler Toffoli, who the Jets sent a 2024 third-round and 2025 second-round pick. Toffoli has shared his interest in testing the open market. That decision should give Winnipeg much more freedom to allocate their $13.353MM in cap space between Monahan, pending restricted-free-agent Cole Perfetti, and William Jennings Trophy-co-winner Laurent Brossoit. The trio headline a list of 10 pending free agents on the Jets lineup.

Maintaining Monahan will give the Jets some stability down the middle, while moving on from Toffoli could open the door for top prospects Brad Lambert or Nikita Chibrikov to challenge the opening-day roster. The Jets will likely be removed from any jaw-dropping deals, with limited cap space and already-spent draft picks, but they’ll look to hold onto a playoff-caliber lineup with their signing this summer.

  • The Winnipeg Jets have dismissed assistant coach Brad Lauer, and will retain Marty Johnston and Wade Flaherty as assistant and goalie coaches, per TSN’s John Lu (Twitter link). Lauer just wrapped up his second season as Winnipeg’s assistant. The pair of seasons brought him to 11 years spent as an assistant coach across the NHL, with his longest tenure coming during a four-year stretch with the Anaheim Ducks. Lauer played in 10 seasons between the NHL and IHL during his own playing career and has been coaching since his retirement in 2002. He served as the head coach behind the Edmonton Oil Kings to the 2022 Ed Chynoweth Cup, winning the WHL Championship. That accolade, and a long career in the pros, should be enough to land Lauer a new role quickly.

Coaches| Columbus Blue Jackets| NHL| New York Rangers| Snapshots| Winnipeg Jets Brad Lauer| Don Waddell| Jacob Trouba| Peter Chiarelli| Sean Monahan

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Tyler Toffoli Expected To Test Free Agency

May 25, 2024 at 1:54 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

The Jets will be now turning their focus to their roster after Scott Arniel was elevated to the head coaching position on Friday.  With several free agents of note and not a lot of cap space to work with, they’ll face a situation of trying to pick between who to keep and who to let go.  It appears that winger Tyler Toffoli will be among the ones that move on as David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that the veteran is expected to hit the open market in July.

The 32-year-old has moved around in recent years.  This time a year ago, he was with Calgary before being moved to New Jersey after early extension talks went nowhere.  Then at the trade deadline, he was on the move again with Winnipeg flipping a 2024 third-round pick and a 2025 second-rounder to get him as a rental to give their offense a boost in the tight Central Division.

The change of scenery bolstered Winnipeg’s attack but Toffoli saw his numbers dip somewhat.  After putting up 26 goals and 18 assists in 61 games with the Devils, the veteran recorded seven goals and four helpers in 18 regular season games with the Jets.  Like many of Winnipeg’s key forwards, Toffoli was somewhat quiet in their five-game loss in the opening round, recording just two goals.

Toffoli was one of the more prominent scorers available in his last trip through free agency back in 2020.  However, in a deflated market, he wound up settling for a four-year, $17MM agreement with Montreal.  Despite playing for four years on that contract, Toffoli wound up being pretty consistent, notching at least 20 goals each time while tallying 115 times in 287 games; that works out to an average of 33 goals per 82 contests.  With a lot of teams looking to add scoring this summer, this should work out in Toffoli’s favor.

While the fact he has bounced around so much lately may raise some eyeballs (he played for two different teams in 2019-20 before signing with Montreal the following summer), Toffoli has shown that he can produce in a new system quite quickly.  Accordingly, he should be well-positioned to earn another multi-year agreement and could push to land a contract in the range of last year’s top-paid forward Alex Killorn, who inked a four-year, $25MM agreement with Anaheim.  That would be a nice improvement after how things went for Toffoli last time out.

Winnipeg Jets Tyler Toffoli

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Jets Name Scott Arniel Head Coach

May 24, 2024 at 4:01 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley 3 Comments

The Winnipeg Jets have officially named Scott Arniel as the fifth head coach in modern franchise history (Twitter link). The deal was first reported by TSN’s Darren Dreger (Twitter link). Arniel served as an associate coach under Rick Bowness this season, stepping in during Bowness’ two personal leaves this season.

Arniel presided over 18 games in relief of Bownesss, posting a 10-5-3 record. It was his first time serving a head coach since the 2012-13 season, when he led the AHL’s Chicago Wolves to an 11-25-5 record. That season capped off a seven-year span of head coaching roles for Arniel – including two seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets where he posted a combined 45-60-18 record. Arniel moved on from head coaching to join the New York Rangers as an associate coach in the 2013-14 season – bolstering the team’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals. He’d go on to serve five seasons with the Rangers before flipping to the division rival Washington Capitals, where he spent another four seasons.

Bowness would bring Arniel onto his staff when he joined Winnipeg in 2022. The pair have since led the Jets to two first-round exits, though they’ve posted a 98-57-9 record. Arniel, who played in six seasons with the Jets during his 11-year playing career, was reportedly a front-runner for Winnipeg’s vacant head coach role ever since Bowness announced his retirement. And while the club did look externally, holding interviews with Todd McLellan and Craig Berube, their next bench-leader will come from within the organization.

Arniel will take on an incredibly talented Jets lineup, headlined by star forward Mark Scheifele and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who both signed long-term extension with the club last summer. But it’s a lineup subject to change, with the Jets currently carrying 10 pending free agents – including Cole Perfetti, Sean Monahan, and Tyler Toffoli – with just $13.353MM in cap space. The team is reportedly considering moving top winger Nikolaj Ehlers’ $6MM cap hit to help free up some cap space – a potentially substantial move following Ehlers’ 61-point season. Arniel will luckily have strong supporting cast to lean on even without Ehlers, with Winnipeg still boasting each of Kyle Connor, Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo, and Josh Morrissey under contract for next season.

It’s been four years since the Jets advanced past the first round of the playoffs, and they’ve only made the Western Conference Finals once in the 13 years since taking over for the Atlanta Thrashers. Arniel will look to buck that trend next year with a strong roster next year, though cap constraints could make it a tougher lift than he’s hoping for.

Coaches| Newsstand| Winnipeg Jets Scott Arniel

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Free Agent Focus: Winnipeg Jets

May 22, 2024 at 9:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

Free agency is now just a bit more than a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens.  There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  We begin our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Jets.

Key Restricted Free Agents

D Ville Heinola – This season didn’t quite go as planned for Heinola.  Hoping to earn a roster spot in training camp, he instead fractured his ankle late in camp, keeping him shelved until January.  Upon his return, he was assigned to AHL Manitoba and while he was quite productive with the Moose, he never got the call.  The best news for Heinola is that he’ll be waiver-eligible next season and it’s hard to see a scenario where he clears waivers.  Accordingly, instead of signing a two-way deal worth the minimum in the NHL with a higher AHL salary, he could simply elect to accept his $874K qualifying offer (even though it’d carry a $70K AHL salary) knowing that he’s highly unlikely to be in the minors next season.

F Cole Perfetti – Perfetti took a step forward offensively this season, notching 19 goals and 19 assists in 71 regular season games, not bad numbers for someone in his sophomore year.  However, he found himself in the press box most nights when it counted the most, ending his campaign on a bit of a low note.  At this point, it’s unlikely that either side would want to work out a long-term agreement; a bridge deal makes much more sense especially with him tailing off toward the end of the year.  That deal should check in somewhere around the $3MM range depending on how many years it goes for.

D Logan Stanley – In 2022-23, Stanley was a frequent healthy scratch and rarely played which led to some wondering if he’d be tendered a qualifying offer with arbitration rights.  Things really didn’t change this year.  The 25-year-old was limited to just 28 games (including playoffs) while averaging less than 14 minutes a night.  The qualifying offer is just $1MM and arbitration eligibility shouldn’t be too much of a concern here but if they see him squarely in seventh defenseman territory, how deep into seven figures do they want to go for that role?  Regardless of what happens, another one-year deal around this price point should be coming his way, either from Winnipeg or somewhere else.

Other RFAs: F David Gustafsson, D Artemi Kniazev, D Simon Lundmark, G Oskari Salminen

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

G Laurent Brossoit – The decision to return to Winnipeg certainly worked out well for Brossoit.  After spending most of 2022-23 in the minors, he was one of the top backups in the league this season, posting a 2.00 GAA along with a .927 SV% in 23 games.  He’s played well enough to earn a fair-sized raise on the $1.75MM he made this year which will price him out of what the Jets can afford.  That said, he has just 140 NHL appearances under his belt which might stop him from getting top-end backup money.  Still, he could push for closer to $3MM and potentially a multi-year deal, a solid outcome for someone who was in the minors not too long ago.

D Dylan DeMelo – The 31-year-old has shown slow but steady improvement throughout his career and is coming off his best performance so far, notching 31 points while averaging nearly 22 minutes a night during the season, both career-bests.  He also finished second in the league in plus/minus, checking in at +46.  Being a right-shot defender will certainly help bolster DeMelo’s market as well.  Four years ago, the four-year, $12MM deal looked a bit risky for someone who had exclusively been on the third pairing.  In the end, it was a bargain and DeMelo is now well-positioned to land another contract that long while adding at least a million per season more to that price tag.

D Brenden Dillon – Dillon isn’t going to hit the scoresheet very often but as far as dependable physical blueliners go, he’s a good one.  He has had that role for the past three years with the Jets, logging around 19 minutes a game while logging some big minutes shorthanded.  It appears that Winnipeg is leaning toward moving on (his leaving opens up a spot for Heinola) but Dillon should have a solid market this summer.  His set-to-expire contract carries a $3.9MM AAV and on a blueline market that isn’t the deepest in July, he should check in around that amount again on another multi-year agreement.

F Sean Monahan – The Jets parted with their first-round pick to bring in Monahan back in February and the fit was nearly seamless as he slotted in on their second line.  After several injury-riddled seasons, the 29-year-old actually led the NHL in games played with 83 which will certainly help his case, as will his 26-goal, 33-point showing.  His market will be an interesting one as there likely will be some teams still wary given Monahan’s injury history.  That likely takes a long-term agreement off the table.  However, he’s among the top few centers available and the market for those players can go up quickly.  A multi-year agreement past the $4MM mark should be achievable and if the demand is fairly high, $5MM or more shouldn’t be impossible to reach.

F Tyler Toffoli – After a breakout year with Calgary last season, it was fair to expect a drop-off in production.  Having said that, while his assists dropped by 17, he only went down by one goal, going from 34 to 33, putting him fourth among UFAs in that department.  His last trip through free agency didn’t go as well as he hoped, resulting in a four-year, $17MM contract that wound up being a team-friendly agreement rather quickly.  Now 32 and having shown he can produce with several teams, he should have a stronger market this time around.  That should give him a chance for another deal around the length of his last one with a price tag that pushes the $6MM mark.

Other UFAs: D Kyle Capobianco, G Collin Delia, F Jeff Malott, D Colin Miller, F Kristian Reichel, D Ashton Sautner, F Jeffrey Viel

Projected Cap Space

The Jets head into the offseason with a little over $13MM in cap space which clearly isn’t enough to bring back everyone.  They can likely afford to keep one of the two defensemen and it seems like DeMelo is their preferred option.  Up front, they might be able to keep one of Monahan or Toffoli but not both and that assumes that Perfetti winds up on a shorter-term contract.  They’ll also likely opt for a low-cost backup behind Connor Hellebuyck whose new seven-year, $59.5MM deal begins in July.  If they keep a forward and a defenseman, re-sign their RFAs, and add a cheaper backup, that might just about be it for GM Kevin Cheveldayoff this summer.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Free Agent Focus 2024| Pro Hockey Rumors Originals| Winnipeg Jets

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Todd McLellan Has Interviewed With Devils, Jets

May 17, 2024 at 11:40 am CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

In addition to previous connections with the Kraken and Maple Leafs, Todd McLellan has now also interviewed with the Devils and Jets for their head coaching vacancies, reports Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic.

He’s not viewed as the clear front-runner for any of the four jobs he’s in consideration for, but interest is growing in his services as the number of league-wide openings dwindles. He’s viewed as the Maple Leafs’ backup option to Craig Berube (and potentially Rod Brind’Amour), while the Devils appear to be zeroing in on Sheldon Keefe as their preferred candidate. McLellan is the only external candidate firmly linked to Seattle’s vacancy thus far, and he’s the second to interview for the Winnipeg vacancy after Berube earlier this week.

The Sharks are the only other team with an opening (aside from McLellan’s former employer), but they don’t have any documented interest in bringing back McLellan for his second stint behind the bench. His first crack at being an NHL head coach was in San Jose, compiling an exceptional 311-163-66 (.637) regular season record but failing to advance to a Stanley Cup Final. The Sharks’ only Finals appearance in franchise history came the year after McLellan was let go.

McLellan, fired by the Kings midseason, led them to back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since a five-year run between 2010 and 2014 that resulted in two Stanley Cups. He had the Kings off to a torrid 13-3-3 start by American Thanksgiving, but a 10-12-7 stretch between then and the All-Star break convinced L.A. to pull the plug and replace him with interim head coach Jim Hiller.

In 1,144 career games coached with the Kings, Oilers and Sharks, McLellan has a 598-412-134 (.581) record, ranking 24th on the all-time wins list. Despite that, his playoff record is below .500 (42-46).

Along with Berube and McLellan, the Jets are also considering associate coach Scott Arniel for an internal promotion. He stepped behind the bench during the now-retired Rick Bowness’ two leaves of absence this season.

New Jersey Devils| Winnipeg Jets Todd McLellan

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NHL-Affiliated Prospects Playing In 2024 Memorial Cup

May 16, 2024 at 9:02 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 8 Comments

The field for the 2024 Memorial Cup, the top club tournament in junior hockey, is set. The QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs, the OHL’s London Knights and the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors all swept their respective league championship series within the last two days to advance to the CHL championship tournament, joining the host Saginaw Spirit of the OHL.

This year marks the first Memorial Cup held in the United States since 1998, which was hosted by the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs. The Spirit will attempt to become the first U.S.-based team to win since the Chiefs in 2008, and they have a strong chance. They’re stronger than a typical host team, finishing second in the league in the regular season with a 50-16-2 record and trailing London by just two points. They were eliminated by London in six games in the Western Conference Final.

The Knights lead the way with 10 NHL-affiliated prospects on their roster, including two first-round picks in Flyers defenseman Oliver Bonk and Maple Leafs forward Easton Cowan. The latter was named the OHL playoffs MVP after leading the Knights in scoring with 10 goals, 24 assists and 34 points in just 18 games. He had 15 points in four games in their championship sweep over the Oshawa Generals.

If you’re looking for some non-Stanley Cup Playoff hockey to watch, check to see if your favorite NHL team has prospects suiting up in the tournament, which begins May 24:

Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL champion)

D Mikaël Diotte (Devils, free agent signing)
RW Ethan Gauthier (Lightning, 2023, 37th overall)
RW Alexis Gendron (Flyers, 2022, 220th overall)
D Vsevolod Komarov (Sabres, 2022, 134th overall)

NHL Utah 2022 first-round pick D Maveric Lamoureux is out for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery in March.

London Knights (OHL champion)

C Denver Barkey (Flyers, 2023, 95th overall)
D Oliver Bonk (Flyers, 2023, 22nd overall)
C Easton Cowan (Maple Leafs, 2023, 28th overall)
D Jackson Edward (Bruins, 2022, 200th overall)
D Isaiah George (Islanders, 2022, 98th overall)
RW Kasper Halttunen (Sharks, 2023, 36th overall)
C Jacob Julien (Jets, 2023, 146th overall)
C Kaleb Lawrence (Kings, 2022, 215th overall)
C Max McCue (Blue Jackets, free agent signing)
C Landon Sim (Blues, 2022, 184th overall)

Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL champion)

RW Jagger Firkus (Kraken, 2022, 35th overall)
D Denton Mateychuk (Blue Jackets, 2022, 12th overall)
D Kalem Parker (Wild, 2023, 181st overall)
D Vojtech Port (Ducks, 2023, 161st overall)
LW Martin Rysavy (Blue Jackets, 2021, 197th overall)
C Matthew Savoie (Sabres, 2022, 9th overall)
C Brayden Yager (Penguins, 2023, 14th overall)

Saginaw Spirit (host)

C Owen Beck (Canadiens, 2022, 33rd overall)
LW Josh Bloom (Canucks, acquired from Sabres in 2023 trade for Riley Stillman)
D Rodwin Dionicio (Ducks, 2023, 129th overall)
D Jorian Donovan (Senators, 2022, 136th overall)
C Hunter Haight (Wild, 2022, 47th overall)
C Ethan Hay (Lightning, 2023, 211th overall)
G Nolan Lalonde (Blue Jackets, free agent signing)
C Matyas Sapovaliv (Golden Knights, 2022, 48th overall)
C Joseph Willis (Predators, 2023, 111th overall)

Anaheim Ducks| Boston Bruins| Buffalo Sabres| CHL| Columbus Blue Jackets| London Knights| Los Angeles Kings| Minnesota Wild| Montreal Canadiens| Nashville Predators| New Jersey Devils| New York Islanders| OHL| Ottawa Senators| Philadelphia Flyers| Pittsburgh Penguins| Prospects| QMJHL| San Jose Sharks| Seattle Kraken| St. Louis Blues| Tampa Bay Lightning| Toronto Maple Leafs| Utah Mammoth| Vancouver Canucks| Vegas Golden Knights| WHL| Winnipeg Jets Alexis Gendron| Brayden Yager| Denton Mateychuk| Denver Barkey| Easton Cowan| Isaiah George| Jackson Edward| Jagger Firkus| Jorian Donovan| Josh Bloom| Kasper Halttunen| Matthew Savoie| Matyas Sapovaliv| Maveric Lamoureux| Max McCue| Memorial Cup| Oliver Bonk| Owen Beck| Riley Stillman| Vsevolod Komarov

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Could Todd Nelson Be An Option For Winnipeg's Coaching Vacancy?

May 15, 2024 at 9:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 4 Comments

  • The Jets are among the teams looking for a new head coach following the retirement of Rick Bowness. In the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggested that some believe Todd Nelson could be a viable candidate to take over behind the bench in Winnipeg.  Nelson doesn’t have much experience as a head coach in the NHL (just 51 games with Edmonton in 2014-15) but is a very experienced coach.  He has been an assistant at the top level with Atlanta and Dallas (spanning six years combined) and is in his tenth season as an AHL head coach; he currently is with Hershey who led the league with 111 points during the regular season.

Carolina Hurricanes| Snapshots| Vancouver Canucks| Winnipeg Jets Brett Pesce| Elliotte Friedman| Rick Bowness| Rick Tocchet| Thatcher Demko

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Jets To Explore Trading Nikolaj Ehlers

May 15, 2024 at 11:37 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 13 Comments

The Jets could find themselves with a much different-looking top-six forward group next season. They’re likely to make winger Nikolaj Ehlers available for trade in the weeks leading up to the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas, The Athletic’s Murat Ates reports.

Ehlers, 28, has one year left on his contract at a $6MM cap hit. He can block a trade to 10 teams with his modified no-trade clause.

Signed to a seven-year, $42MM extension back in 2017, Ehlers has been a Winnipeg fixture for nearly a decade. The Danish winger has 201 goals and 457 points in 605 games since breaking into the league in 2015-16, good enough for sixth all-time in scoring in Jets/Thrashers franchise history. His career +92 rating is the franchise record.

Ehlers played in all 82 games this season, his first healthy season since the pandemic, but his 0.74 points per game were his lowest since the 2018-19 season. He was pushed down the lineup with offseason trade pickup Gabriel Vilardi making a home for himself on the top line alongside Mark Scheifele, and midseason acquisitions Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli reduced the amount of available ice time. As a result, Ehlers averaged under 16 minutes per game for the second straight season.

Despite the slight offensive decline, Ehlers remained a consistently positive possession force. His shot-attempt share at even strength has been above the Jets’ team average in all nine of his NHL seasons, including a 54.4 CF% mark this season (5.2% higher than Winnipeg’s CF% without Ehlers on the ice). He also posted a career-high +11.1 expected rating based on shot quality when he was on the ice.

In a supplementary article today, Ates listed the Hurricanes, Penguins, Red Wings, Sabres, Senators and NHL Utah as speculative trade matches. Working with someone on a sign-and-trade after July 1 would allow them to get a much better return – after all, Ehlers is slated for unrestricted free agency upon his current deal’s expiry in 2025, and there’s no guarantee he’d stay with a new team for more than one season.

One stat that may damage his value is his playoff performance. He’s made 37 postseason appearances across six campaigns but has only managed four goals and 14 points, half of his career regular-season points per game rate. His last playoff goal came in the first round of the 2021 playoffs against the Oilers. He was limited to two assists and a -4 rating in five games against the Avalanche in this year’s first-round elimination.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Newsstand| Winnipeg Jets Nikolaj Ehlers

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Jets Not Expected To Re-Sign Brenden Dillon

May 15, 2024 at 9:32 am CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

The Jets are expected to let defenseman Brenden Dillon reach unrestricted free agency in July, the Winnipeg Sun’s Scott Billeck reports Wednesday.

Dillon didn’t have any extension talks with Winnipeg in-season, per Billeck. He also hasn’t heard from the Jets front office since their season ended over two weeks ago at the hands of the Avalanche in a disappointing first-round loss. He didn’t play in the final two games of the series after sustaining a hand laceration after the end of Game 3.

The 33-year-old left-shot landed with Winnipeg via trade nearly three years ago. He signed a four-year, $15.6MM contract extension with the Capitals before the 2020-21 season after they picked him up from the Sharks at the prior season’s trade deadline, but lasted only one season in Washington before they flipped him to the Jets for a pair of second-round picks.

Dillon has consistently logged top-four minutes in Manitoba, averaging 19:04 per game over 238 appearances since the trade. He missed just eight games in his three-year tenure, mostly due to COVID and a three-game suspension this year.

That consistency and solid defensive work made him a reasonably valuable asset for general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff at his $3.9MM cap hit. Not only did he stay healthy, he was incredibly consistent season-to-season for Winnipeg, recording between 20 and 23 points every season with a combined +38 rating.

Dillon is perhaps coming off his best season in the NHL, posting career-highs in goals (8), plus/minus (+20) and hits (241). His topped-out physicality did result in more trips to the penalty box (92 PIMs, up from the 60-70 range the past few years). He also controlled a decent 47.4% of expected goals when on the ice at even strength, considering he saw the least advantageous usage of his career, starting nearly 60% of his in-zone shifts in the defensive end.

Since breaking into the league as an undrafted free-agent pickup by the Stars in 2011-12, he’s made 892 appearances for Dallas, San Jose, Washington and Winnipeg. He’s totaled 37 goals, 159 assists, 196 points and 858 PIMs in parts of 13 seasons.

He likely wouldn’t have cost much to re-sign. His age lowers his value, and while he’s still a solid top-four contributor, he doesn’t stand out among an otherwise deep class of UFA defensemen. Evolving Hockey projects he’ll land a two-year deal with a $2.975MM cap hit on the open market, nearly a $1MM decrease from his current cap hit.

That could indicate Cheveldayoff anticipates needing to shell out to keep Dylan DeMelo around. DeMelo, a right-shot, was half of Winnipeg’s top pairing this season alongside Josh Morrissey and had a career year in 2023-24, posting 31 points and a +46 rating while averaging 21 minutes per game for the first time in his nine NHL seasons. On a mid-term deal, he’d likely receive close to $5MM annually on the open market, which will eat up a solid chunk of their $13.35MM in available cap space next season. With a new deal needed for restricted free agent Cole Perfetti coming off his entry-level contract and extending trade-deadline pickup Sean Monahan likely a priority, there’s some viable reasoning for Winnipeg to let Dillon, its oldest pending UFA defenseman, head to market.

2024 Free Agency| Winnipeg Jets Brenden Dillon

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