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Winnipeg Jets Acquire Luke Schenn

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12:02 p.m.: Both teams have confirmed the trade.

11:40 a.m.: TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that the Winnipeg Jets are acquiring defenseman Luke Schenn from the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins recently acquired Schenn in a trade with the Nashville Predators.

Dreger quickly followed up, reporting that Pittsburgh is receiving a second- and fourth-round pick in return. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff added that the second-round pick will be in 2026 and the fourth-round pick in 2027.

Now that Schenn has been moved to Winnipeg, the Penguins have essentially acquired Thomas Novak, a 2026 second-round pick, and a one-year punt on a fourth-round pick for Michael Bunting. The added draft capital gives Pittsburgh 30 total picks in the next three drafts.

The 17-year defenseman complements the already solid Jets’ defensive core. Schenn is far removed from scoring 20+ points a year as he did in 2022-23, but he’s zeroing in on totaling more than 250 hits for the seventh time of his career.

He’s a quality shutdown option Winnipeg can safely play in their bottom pairing. He’s averaged a 91.5% on-ice save percentage throughout his career, and that number should continue to grow in front of the league’s top netminder.

Thanks to Connor Hellebuyck’s stellar play, the Jets are already at the top of the league for GA/G. However, Winnipeg could use some help on the penalty kill. They rank 15th in the category with a 79.25% kill rate, ranking below their Central Division peers such as the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche. Schenn should help improve this area of Winnipeg’s game and make them more difficult to play against in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Canadiens Unlikely To Move Both Joel Armia, David Savard

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The Canadiens are receiving high interest in pending UFAs Joel Armia and David Savard. With a playoff spot still in reach, though, they’re not likely to sell both players off before this afternoon’s deadline, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic writes.

That’s disappointing news for parties like the Jets, who David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports have a desire to acquire both. The Capitals and Oilers have also made inquiries on Armia, while the Maple Leafs have talked about picking up Savard from their chief rival to complement their blue line.

Montreal is just one point out of the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, but they’ve played one more game than the Senators, who currently hold the spot. There are currently five teams within two points of each other in wild card contention, too, yielding playoff odds of only 14.8% for the Habs, per MoneyPuck. That’s the lowest of the teams in that bubble.

Armia, in particular, has been a significant driver of Montreal’s unexpected success this season. The 31-year-old winger has re-emerged as a bottom-six fixture after a tumultuous 2023-24 season, which saw him clear waivers and log his first minor-league action since the 2015-16 campaign. Since being added back to Montreal’s roster after his brief AHL stint to begin last year, the 6’3″ Finn has posted 27-22–49 in 127 games for a 17-goal, 32-point pace per 82 games. He’s done so while averaging about 15 minutes per game, serving on the Habs’ top penalty kill unit with the recently-extended Jake Evans. He’s also got a plus-three rating on a team with a cumulative -33 goal differential at 5v5 over the last two years.

He’s in the final year of a four-year, $13.6MM deal he signed with Montreal following his strong showing in their run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. Carrying a $3.4MM cap hit, interested parties may want some salary retention for a player who will factor into a third- or fourth-line role for them. Montreal has one retention slot left and is willing to use it this deadline for the right price, according to Pagnotta.

Savard has been less of an impact piece. His ice time has been slashed in what’s now his age-34 season, averaging under 18 minutes per game for the first time in a decade. The right-shot defender has 1-11–12 in 55 games this year, but grades out as Montreal’s worst possession player at even strength with a 41.7 CF% and 40.4 xGF%. He’s a highly low-event player. Montreal only allows 2.8 goals per 60 minutes with Savard on the ice at even strength, fourth on the team among players with at least 20 games. However, he’s becoming a significant enough liability offensively to cause concern. Montreal only generates 50.2 shot attempts per 60 with Savard on the ice at even strength, according to Natural Stat Trick, the worst number on the team aside from Patrik Laine’s 50.1.

Panthers, Jets Swap Chris Driedger, Kaapo Kähkönen

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The Panthers and Jets have swapped third-string goaltenders. Both teams announced Chris Driedger is heading from Florida to Winnipeg after being assigned to the AHL earlier today, while Kaapo Kähkönen is heading south to the Cats. Neither player was on their team’s active roster.

It’s an act of goodwill on both teams’ behalf, trading underperforming veterans in hopes of fresh starts in more familiar environments. Driedger heads back to his hometown in the deal, while the Finnish Kähkönen gets to serve as the No. 3 for the league’s most Finn-heavy team.

Driedger was briefly a bona fide backup option with Florida around the turn of the decade, erupting for a .931 SV% and 2.07 GAA in 35 games during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. That got him claimed by the Kraken in the 2021 expansion draft and subsequently signed to a three-year, $10.5MM deal, although injuries and poor play derailed his tenure in Seattle from the start. He’s only logged two NHL appearances in the last three years, both coming last season in Seattle.

He hoped to get his career back on track last summer by returning to Florida on a cheap $795K contract, but he lost the training camp battle to be Sergei Bobrovsky’s backup to youngster Spencer Knight. While he’d been a strong minor-league option for the Kraken when healthy, the same can’t be said for his performance with the Panthers’ AHL affiliate in Charlotte this year. The 30-year-old has struggled to the tune of a .878 SV% and 2.97 GAA in 20 outings for the farm club. When Florida traded Knight to the Blackhawks last weekend in the Seth Jones deal, they moved to acquire Vítek Vaněček from the Sharks to serve as their backup down the stretch instead of giving Driedger a long-term promotion.

Driedger and Kähkönen will now replace each other as veteran options for Charlotte and Manitoba down the stretch. Kähkönen has been an NHL fixture for a few years but, like Driedger, lost a training camp battle for a backup spot after signing a one-year, $1MM deal in Winnipeg. After being passed over for Eric Comrie, he landed on waivers and was claimed by the Avalanche. He lasted about a month in Colorado before landing on the waiver wire again, upon which the Jets re-claimed him and sent him directly to the minors.

Despite posting a pedestrian but respectable .898 SV% in 140 career NHL games, Kähkönen’s underperformed that mark in Manitoba. He’s got just a .885 SV% and 3.29 GAA in 22 games with the AHL’s Moose, yielding a poor 6-14-1 record as a result. He may get a chance to backup Bobrovsky down the stretch if Vaněček underwhelms, but for now, he’ll bide his time in Charlotte.

Coincidentally, Vaněček and Kähkönen now end up in the same organization after being traded for each other at last year’s deadline in a deal between the Devils and Sharks.

Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff was first to report the deal.

Jets Sign Jacob Julien To Entry-Level Contract

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The Jets announced today they’ve agreed to terms with center prospect Jacob Julien on a three-year entry-level contract. The deal, which goes into effect for the 2025-26 season, carries a cap hit of $925K if he’s in the NHL.

Winnipeg was set to lose the 20-year-old’s signing rights if they didn’t register a deal by June 1. The Ontario native, whom Winnipeg selected with their fifth-round pick in 2023, was certainly questionable to sign. That’s because his offensive production has taken a significant step back in his third and final season of major junior hockey with the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights. After breaking out for a 29-49–78 scoring line in 67 games last season, he’s been limited to just 10-35–45 through 58 appearances in 2024-25.

Overall, the 6’4″ center has had an interesting development path. He was one of the youngest players eligible for selection in the 2022 draft thanks to his Sep. 12 birthday, and he was understandably passed over after spending the entire year in the Junior B-level Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. He even spent a good portion of the 2022-23 in that league before being promoted to the Knights, and his 16 points in 40 games were enough for Winnipeg to take a flyer on him as a young over-ager.

As such, Julien hasn’t received a ton of public attention. He wasn’t mentioned as one of Winnipeg’s notable prospects in Scott Wheeler of The Athletic’s 2025 organizational rankings, although McKeen’s Hockey tabbed him as the No. 10 prospect in the system last fall before his offensive regression. Regardless, he’ll now get the chance to show what he can do at the professional level within the Jets organization. Whether he ends up spending next season with AHL Manitoba or ECHL Norfolk remains to be seen, but he’ll have a three-year trial run in the minors to earn a longer stay in Winnipeg. He’ll become a restricted free agent upon expiry in 2028.

Central Notes: Jets, Maroon, Bichsel, Carcone

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The Winnipeg Jets are entering the Trade Deadline with little bargaining pieces but plenty of cap space. That’s the set up for some low-cost lineup tinkering, with left-defense the most glaring issue on the roster. That hole could draw the Jets towards open market options like Boston’s Brandon Carlo or Seattle’s Jamie Oleksiak, per Ken Wiebe and Mike McIntyre of The Winnipeg Free Press. Both players carry a cap hit below $5MM. Oleksiak’s deal expires at the end of next season, while Carlo has two years left and a modified no-trade clause.

The added security and movement protection could make Carlo a tough fish to catch. Oleksiak will likely be much more expendable for the right price. The 32-year-old defensive-defenseman has been a focal point of the Kraken blue-line over the last four seasons. He’s averaging 19 minutes of ice time through 60 games this year, while posting 13 points, 14 penalty minutes, and a minus-eight. That stat line is largely in-line with what Oleksiak has managed in three prior years in Seattle – routinely floating between 15 and 20 points and negative plus-minuses, all while serving from a carved out role on the second pair. Oleksiak is six-foot-seven, 250-pounds and patrols the defensive end with a long reach and heavy physical presence. Winnipeg has tried to net the same impact from players like Logan Stanley – one of the only NHLers as tall as Oleksiak – but to little avail. Stanley has just nine points, 72 penalty minutes, and a plus-10 in 47 games on Winnipeg’s bottom-pair. Any upgrade they make will be solely focused on improving that third-pair’s standing as the Jets plan for a very late season.

Other notes from the Midwest:

  • The Chicago Blackhawks have kicked the door to the Trade Deadline wide open by swapping defender Seth Jones for goaltender Spencer Knight and a first-round pick. All signs point towards the Hawks continuing to sell as the deadline draws closer – with pieces like Ryan Donato, Alec Martinez, and Petr Mrazek all on the block. But of their aged veterans, winger Pat Maroon doesn’t seem likely to join in on the relocation. He told Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times that he’d prefer to stay with Chicago rather than experience yet another deadline trade. Maroon has been moved in February or March three different times in his career, including at last year’s deadline. He signed his first open market contract since 2020 this summer – choosing the Windy City as his landing spot. 54 games later, Maroon must clearly be enjoying the role of veteran leader and Stanley Cup expert in front of Chicago’s young core. He has 14 points, 71 penalty minutes, and a minus-11 on the year, while serving a minimal role in Chicago’s bottom-six. While opening up that spot would certainly open minutes for more top prospects, it’d be tough to see Chicago go against Maroon’s wishes for anything less than a golden offer.
  • Top rookie defenseman Lian Bichsel is progressing in his return from an upper-body injury. He is doubtful for the Dallas Stars’ game against St. Louis on Sunday, but could return when they face New Jersey on Tuesday, per Dallas News’ Lia Assimakopoulos. Bichsel was injured on a high hit from New York Islanders grinder Casey Cizikas on February 23rd. He’s missed two games since. Bichsel has played the first 18 games of his NHL career this season. He has five points, 14 penalty minutes, and a plus-six in that span – and has looked the part of a projectable first-round pick. News of his return on Tuesday will also suggest that Bichsel will continue to hold a role on the NHL roster, though it will be shaky ground as Dallas looks to buy improvements at the deadline. In an aforementioned fun fact, Bichsel is one of the few other six-foot-seven defenders.
  •  The Utah Hockey Club were without depth forward Michael Carcone on Saturday evening. He was listed as a game-time decision due to a lower-body injury, per Belle Fraser of the Salt Lake Tribune. Carcone has filled a minimal lineup role in Utah, with 13 points, 29 penalty minutes, and a minus-seven in 41 games this year. Utah turned towards Kevin Stenlund to fill-in during the losing effort. Stenlund recorded one assist in 11 minutes of ice time. It was his 14th point of the year through 61 appearances. Jack McBain also saw a boost in Carcone’s absence, stepping onto the second-unit power-play. He did not manage any scoring in the fill-in role.

Jets Activate Morgan Barron Off Injured Reserve

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The Jets will welcome back a forward for their game tonight against Philadelphia.  In their announcement of the projected lines for the contest (Twitter link), the team noted that Morgan Barron is expected to play, meaning he has been activated off injured reserve.  To make room on the roster, forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan was reassigned to AHL Manitoba, per the AHL’s media site.

Barron has missed a little more than a month with an upper-body injury sustained in late January.  However, with the long break for the 4 Nations Face-Off, he’ll wind up missing just eight games due to the issue.  The 26-year-old has five goals and three assists in 52 contests this season while chipping in with 85 hits in 10:27 of playing time per night.  Barron also takes a regular turn in the penalty kill rotation for Winnipeg so his return should also help on that front.  He’s expected to suit up on the fourth line alongside Rasmus Kupari and Alex Iafallo.

As for Anderson-Dolan, his recall was relatively short-lived after being up on Wednesday, his first recall of the season.  The 25-year-old is in the first season of a two-year, two-way deal signed last summer but he has struggled considerably with AHL Manitoba, notching just 13 points in 38 games with the Moose.  For comparison, he had 47 points in 54 minor league contests in 2021-22, his last season as a regular in the minors.  He’ll now have to wait at least a little longer to make his Jets debut.

Trade Deadline Primer: Winnipeg Jets

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With the 4 Nations Face-Off now complete, the trade deadline looms large and is less than two weeks away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Winnipeg Jets.

Our Trade Deadline Primer series has saved the best for last. The Winnipeg Jets are at the top of the league entering March, after spending much of the season fighting for the best record in the league. Winnipeg’s success has been driven by first-year head coach Scott Arniel pulling the best out of the team’s tenured veterans. The Jets also carry plenty of cap space and draft capital, giving them the rare mix of roster stability and trade assets needed to go in any direction this deadline. How experienced general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff can use that ammunition to bolster the Jets lineup could define the team’s postseason aspirations.

Record

42-14-3, 1st in the Central Division

Deadline Status

Buyers

Deadline Cap Space

$11.52MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention spots used, 41/50 contract spots used, per PuckPedia.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2025: WPG 1st, WPG 3rd, WPG 5th, WPG 6th, WPG 7th
2026: WPG 1st, WPG 2nd, WPG 3rd, WPG 5th, WPG 6th, WPG 7th

Trade Chips

Winger Nikolaj Ehlers has been among the most acknowledged trade chips as the deadline nears. The 28-year-old winger is having one of his best seasons yet, with 18 goals and 51 points in 50 games this season making him one of three Jets scoring above a point-per-game pace. But while Cheveldayoff understands that he’ll need to separate feelings from business this deadline, it’s hard to envision Winnipeg parting with such a core piece of the offense.

Alex Iafallo seems much more expendable, on the back of a measly 19 points in 59 games this season. Iafallo hasn’t had the same stride since joining the Jets in 2023. His scoring fell from 36 points in his final year with the Los Angeles Kings, to just 27 last year – a mark he’s on pace to fall short of this year. With little scoring and an expiring contract, the 28-year-old Iafallo isn’t likely to make much of a splash on the open market. But the hope for better days outside of Winnipeg could be enough to base a strong offer around.

Winnipeg also has 24-year-old Rasmus Kupari and 26-year-old Morgan Barron on expiring restricted free agent contracts. Neither has performed to expectations this year, with just seven and eight points respectively. That lack of production won’t draw much attention, but young depth options could quickly become a commodity in this year’s shallow market.

Defenders Logan Stanley, Colin Miller, and Haydn Fleury find themselves in a similarly expendable role. None of the three have found their groove on Winnipeg’s third-pair this year. Miller and Stanley boast a plus-11 and plus-10 respectively – serviceable enough behind a red-hot Jets offense. Fleury also has a plus-four, though a seventh-man role has only awarded him 29 games. Even with sparce stat lines, the trio of veteran defenders could each be lucrative buys for teams struggling with blue-line depth.

The Jets won’t be deterred despite a lack of trade assets. They’ve made multiple lucrative acquisitions over the last few deadlines using only draft capital. Winnipeg acquired Sean Monahan for a first and third round draft pick and Tyler Toffoli for a second-and-third round pick at last year’s deadline. They also landed Vladislav Namestnikov for a fourth-round pick and Nino Niederreiter for a second-round pick at 2023’s deadline. All four players went on to make a mark in their minutes with the Jets – emphasizing that the Winnipeg’s biggest chips at this year’s deadline will be their five selections in the top-three rounds of the 2025 and 2026 drafts.

Team Needs

1) A Fourth-Line Upgrade – The Winnipeg Jets rank second in total goals and third in goals-per-game this season – but their fourth line has struggled to post consistent scoring. Top prospect Nikita Chibrikov has shown strong flashes, with three points in his first four NHL games – but the Jets may want a more confident upgrade as they prepare for an extended post-season. The Montreal Canadiens seem set to part with power forward Jake Evans, who’s in the midst of a career year with 11 goals and 27 points in 58 games. A buying team will need to be wary of Evans’ sudden spike in scoring this year, but his physical presence and finishing ability in front would both be upgrades over Kupari or Iafallo on the bottom line. Winnipeg could also find a niche role player like Seattle’s Brandon Tanev or Boston’s Trent Frederic to boost their physical presence, with scoring upside no worse than the Jets’ current options. Winnipeg could likely acquire any of the three options with the right package of draft capital.

2) Reliable Bottom Pair Defense – With a President’s Trophy chase and long post-season run ahead of them, depth will be the focal point of Winnipeg’s deadline. Superstar goaltender Connor Hellebuyck helps the team put offense at front of mind, but their blue-line could use a boost with Miller and Stanley posting less-than-desirable results. Sharks defensive-defenseman Mario Ferraro could be the lucrative buy Winnipeg is after. He’s on the trade block once again as San Jose looks to sell high on an impactful player entering his prime well before their next peak. Winnipeg could find a slightly pricier, and more experienced, option in Montreal’s David Savard; or swing for closer fences with Vancouver’s Carson Soucy. All three players bring low scoring and a defensive focus, but could find a strong groove in moving from a struggling offense to Winnipeg’s world-class group. Like their potential forward buys – Winnipeg could likely buy many of the market’s defenders with only a few draft picks.

Winnipeg Jets Recall Jaret Anderson-Dolan

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The red-hot Winnipeg Jets have recalled some forward insurance for their back-to-back road trip beginning tonight. The Jets announced they’ve recalled Jaret Anderson-Dolan from their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose.

Morgan Barron’s stay on Winnipeg’s injured reserve negated the need for a corresponding roster move. Although Barron is expected to return soon from the upper-body injury that’s sidelined him for a month, the Jets have indirectly confirmed he won’t play during the road trip.

Anderson-Dolan isn’t expected to participate in either game over the next two days although it would mark his first time playing for Winnipeg. The six-year NHL veteran is in his first year with the Jets organization since signing a two-year, $1.55MM contract with the team last offseason.

It unfortunately took Anderson-Dolan over a month to play in his first game of the 2024-25 campaign. After breaking his foot in one of the last few preseason games in September, Winnipeg wouldn’t activate and reassign Anderson-Dolan to the AHL until November 8th.

Since then, he’s posted poor results with AHL Manitoba. The Calgary, Alberta native has scored five goals and 13 points in 38 games for the Moose this season with a ghastly -26 rating. That +/- is the worst of his playing career at any professional level and is tied for the third-worst in the AHL this season.

Lowry Activated Off IR

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The Jets will have their captain back in the lineup tonight versus St. Louis as the team announced (Twitter link) that Adam Lowry will return after missing the last three-plus weeks with an upper-body injury.  The 31-year-old was on pace for a career year offensively before being sidelined after collecting 11 goals and 15 assists in his first 48 outings while averaging 15:24 per night of ice time.  He’s likely to return to the middle-six role he held before being sidelined while being a key part of their penalty kill.  Winnipeg had two open roster spots so no corresponding move needed to be made to activate Lowry.

Jets Sign Vladislav Namestnikov To Two-Year Extension

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The Jets have taken one of their pending unrestricted free agents off the market for this summer.  They announced that they have signed forward Vladislav Namestnikov to a two-year contract extension worth $3MM per season beginning in 2025-26.

The 32-year-old showed some promise offensively early in his career with a 48-point season in 2017-18.  However, he hasn’t been able to reach those numbers since then, resulting in him becoming a bit of a hockey nomad, spending time with eight different teams between that season and the 2022-23 campaign.  The Jets were the last team out of that group as they acquired him as a rental at the 2023 trade deadline and liked what they saw, giving him a two-year, $4MM contract on the opening day of free agency that summer.

The contract has worked out well for both sides.  While Namestnikov still hasn’t gotten back to his top offensive numbers, he has become a reliable secondary scorer for Winnipeg.  Last season in his first full year with the Jets, he picked up 11 goals and 26 assists in 78 games, good for the second-highest point total of his career.  Notably, he also spent considerable time at center after spending most of the previous few seasons on the wing.

Namestnikov is on pace for a higher offensive output this year.  Through 52 outings this season, he has 10 goals and 19 assists while logging just under 15 minutes a night of playing time.  He has been a regular at center this year and has improved his faceoff percentage by 9.5% compared to a year ago although it still checks in as below-average at 45.8% on the campaign.  Nonetheless, becoming a reliable middle-six player who can play down the middle certainly helped Namestnikov’s cause in contract talks, allowing him to get a 50% raise on this new agreement to keep him in the fold.

With the deal, Winnipeg now has roughly $55.6MM in commitments on the books to 14 players for next season, per PuckPedia, giving them a little under $40MM in space to work with.  They do, however, still have a pair of notable pending UFAs to deal with, including winger Nikolaj Ehlers and defenseman Neal Pionk, both of whom are in line for pricey long-term contracts this summer.  In the meantime, they’ve helped shore up their forward depth for the next two years by keeping Namestnikov around.

Namestnikov’s agent Dan Milstein first reported the deal while Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first with the financial terms.

Photo courtesy of Imagn Images.

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