Winnipeg Jets Sign Fabian Wagner
The Winnipeg Jets announced today that they have signed forward Fabian Wagner to a three-year, entry-level contract. The deal runs through the 2025-26 season and carries a cap hit of $858,333. Wagner was Winnipeg’s sixth-round selection in the 2022 NHL entry draft and is currently scheduled to take part in the Jets development camp in early July.
The Nykoping, Sweden native spent this past season back home playing with Linkoping’s junior and SHL teams. In the SHL he was held pointless in 22 games, however for their under-20 squad he put up 11 goals and 22 assists in 33 games. He found less success in the playoffs putting up just a single assist in four games.
At 6’0” and 176 pounds, Wagner is a bit undersized, however he is regarded as an excellent passer and a bit of a playmaker. Scouts also consider him to be patient with the puck and not a player who will try and force a play that isn’t there. He does have some playmaking to his game evidenced by his production as he has averaged around a point a game in the J20 Nationell as well as the World Juniors where he had two goals in four assists in seven games while representing Sweden.
Winnipeg has a lot of veteran forwards in front of Wagner on the depth charts, however depending on how their summer shakes out they could be entering a rebuild which would leave a lot of opportunities for him to make his mark in both the AHL and NHL. Wagner is likely a longshot to make it to the NHL, but if he can continue to develop his game in the Jets system, he may be able to breakthrough and play a role in Winnipeg’s bottom six. This contract indicates that the Jets are encouraged by the development of one of their late picks from last year’s draft and should give the 19-year-old some confidence when he comes over to North America to begin his professional career.
Snapshots: Flames, Tkachuk, Kings
Today, the Calgary Flames made the news official, hiring Ryan Huska as their next head coach. It appears, however, that their AHL head coach, Mitch Love, is not entirely enthusiastic about the Flames’ decision. Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff reports that although Love still has term left on his current contract with the Flames’ organization, he is open to all options moving forward.
Over the last two seasons, Love has been the head coach of the Stockton Heat, and now the Calgary Wranglers. In 140 games leading the bench, Love has accrued a total record of 96-33-9-3, finishing first in the Pacific Division in both seasons. Last season, he led the Heat to the Western Conference Finals in the Calder Cup playoffs and surprisingly were upset in the Division Finals this year by the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
In speaking with the media this afternoon, new Calgary General Manager, Craig Conroy, had this to say about Love’s situation, “Mitch is going to be a head coach in the NHL, 100%. I don’t question that, nor does he. But it’s all about being in a room with elite athletes with huge contracts, the rinks, the media… it’s a whole different animal when you get to NHL. The pressure that goes along with being a head coach in a Canadian Market when you’re trying to learn on the fly, the refs, the travel… the media… it’s a different beast in the NHL and I think to put him in that situation now wasn’t fair” (Tweet Link).
Conroy does seem to have faith that Love will one day become a head coach at the NHL level but deemed that the pressure in a Canadian market would be too much to handle for the young coach. The question is up in the air for how many General Managers across the league share the same opinion when it comes to Love, which could project him to an assistant coaching role in Calgary in the near future.
Other snapshots:
- Having missed quite a bit of ice time during the Florida Panthers Game 4 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports that forward Matthew Tkachuk was not seen at the Panthers’ practice today. Because of the nature of hockey players, especially during the Stanley Cup playoffs, it should still be expected for Tkachuk to play in an incredibly important Game 5. Being the deepest the young forward has ever gone through the playoffs, Tkachuk has shown signs of wear and tear throughout the last couple of series.
- In recent reporting, it has been indicated that center Pierre-Luc Dubois will not sign a new contract with the Winnipeg Jets, and has requested a trade from the team. Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period reports that the last time Dubois was traded from the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Los Angeles Kings finished second to the Jets. It appears that Los Angeles still has quite a bit of interest in bringing Dubois into the mix, but with only a projected $7.3MM in cap space this summer, it will be difficult to sign Dubois to a long-term contract without moving out a significant contract.
Connor Hellebuyck Reportedly Unwilling To Sign Extension With Jets
It’s shaping up to be a summer of potential big change in Winnipeg. With Pierre-Luc Dubois’ camp indicating that the center does not want to come back next season, one move of note could potentially be made sooner than later. Meanwhile, it appears Connor Hellebuyck could also be in play as Pierre LeBrun, Eric Duhatschek, and Michael Russo of The Athletic report (subscription link) that the ship has sailed on the idea of the goaltender signing a new contract with the Jets.
The 30-year-old is entering the final season of a six-year, $37MM contract signed back in 2018, one that has worked out quite nicely for Winnipeg. Hellebuyck has established himself as a premier netminder in the NHL in recent years but finds himself well below the top earners in the NHL – Carey Price ($10.5MM), Sergei Bobrovsky ($10MM), and Andrei Vasilevskiy ($9.5MM). That’s expected to change next summer when he’s set to reach unrestricted free agency for the first time.
Hellebuyck led the NHL in games played this season for the fourth time out of the last six years. Despite the heavy workload, he posted his lowest GAA in five years (2.49) while finishing tied for fourth in SV% (.920). On top of that, this was the first time since 2017-18 that he didn’t lead the NHL in shots faced and saves, finishing third and second respectively in those categories. Unfortunately for Winnipeg, he wasn’t as sharp in the playoffs which helped play a role in their quick elimination at the hands of Vegas.
In his exit meeting with the media back in April, Hellebuyck indicated that his primary goal is to go after a Stanley Cup. Based on this report, the veteran has determined that it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to do so with Winnipeg, especially with the future of several core players in the air. On top of Dubois, Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler are also one year away from unrestricted free agency which means the turnover could come quickly.
There are a few routes that GM Kevin Cheveldayoff could elect to take here. One is to wait out the summer market and go with Hellebuyck between the pipes to start next season with an eye on moving him closer to the trade deadline. Such an approach isn’t without its risks but if a few teams feel that a goalie of his caliber could be the final piece of the puzzle, there could be a strong bidding war for his services. At that point, Winnipeg might be more willing to retain salary to help facilitate a swap which would only help his value. On the flip side, if they’re in contention, they could opt to keep him although the odds of that happening at this point seem fairly low.
Alternatively, if the Jets opt to move him now, they can either move him strictly as a rental or as part of an extend-and-trade agreement where Winnipeg could presumably resume a slightly better return in exchange for allowing the acquiring team to work a new deal out with him. While there will be some teams interested in both options, there could be others who might prefer Hellebuyck as a strict one-year rental to avoid paying top dollar for a netminder in 2024-25 and beyond. Similarly, other teams might not want to pay the top price in a swap unless it’s not a one-year rental. Either way, the interest is certain to be strong.
If Cheveldayoff does opt for a move this summer, it will need to come fairly soon. While the position player market can sometimes drag out, that typically isn’t the case for goalies as by the time the second day of free agency rolls around, most teams have their goaltenders set while many teams won’t have enough cap room remaining to bring in a pricey contract. If that holds true, that would mean that the window for a Hellebuyck trade is within the next three weeks. With a Dubois swap also seeming likely to take place within that timeframe, the Jets are certainly going to be a team to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Determining Root Cause Of Discontent Another Part Of Dubois Trade Process
The Pierre-Luc Dubois situation in Winnipeg is certainly far from desirable with reports indicating his camp has told the Jets that he has no desire to re-sign with them for his final year of RFA eligibility next season. To that end, Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press suggests that the team needs to look inward to determine why a player in the prime of his career with an opportunity for an even bigger role next season (if Mark Scheifele is moved) is so fixated on leaving. It was a rough season for the Jets this season who went from leading the Central Division to barely squeaking into a Wild Card spot before being the first team out of the playoffs, leading to head coach Rick Bowness publicly calling the team out at the end of the series. In essence, moving out Dubois is only one part of the picture while determining and fixing the root causes of the discontent could be the biggest part of the summer for Winnipeg.
Latest On Pierre-Luc Dubois
The Pierre-Luc Dubois saga with the Winnipeg Jets appears likely to end this summer with a trade. Arpon Basu and Marc Antoine Godin of The Athletic write that it appears that the young forward will submit a list of teams that he is willing to sign with long term and it will be up to the Jets to determine if any of those teams are willing to make a move. In the meantime, Dubois’ agent Pat Brisson could begin talking to those teams to setup a framework for a potential long-term extension.
While this is not an ideal situation for Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, it does give him the opportunity to have serious negotiations with teams that can plug Dubois into their lineup long term, hopefully maximizing the return for Winnipeg.
Jeff Marek acknowledged on his show today that the Montreal Canadiens are high on Dubois wish list, and The Athletic article even mentioned that the Canadiens called Winnipeg after the season ended. While there does seem to be a fit for a trade between Montreal and Winnipeg there will be plenty of other interested suitors. Players like Dubois don’t come on the market all that often and even an eight-year contract will only carry Dubois into his age 33 season, meaning that he should be very productive throughout the life on any long-term deal.
The Athletic article also mentions that Dubois is willing to be flexible depending on the situation, meaning that he will take a discount to go to a cup contender but would want his full freight if he goes to a rebuilding club.
The situation is not unlike the sign and trade of Matthew Tkachuk and the Calgary Flames last summer. Tkachuk signed his eight-year deal with Calgary and was then quickly dealt to the Florida Panthers for a large haul that was universally praised at the time. Winnipeg could maximize the return by working out a similar situation with Dubois allowing both sides to leave the relationship happy with the end result.
Pierre-Luc Dubois Has Requested A Trade
Pierre LeBrun of TSN Insider Trading is reporting that the agent for Winnipeg Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois’ has informed the club that he isn’t interested in signing any type of contract extension with the team, not even a one year deal that would take him to unrestricted free agency. The timing of the news is a little bit surprising as Gary Bettman doesn’t like these types of stories to break during the Stanley Cup final, however the news itself is one of the worst kept secrets in the NHL.
Dubois reportedly told the Jets last summer that he had no intention of signing a long-term deal to stay in Winnipeg and it appears that the 24-year-old is staying true to his word. Dubois had 27 goals and 36 assists in 73 games this season after signing a one year $6MM contract last summer. He helped lead the Jets to the postseason this year, but it appears that he would prefer his time in Manitoba come to a close sooner rather than later.
Dubois is just one year away from being free to sign with anyone. However, he is under Winnipeg’s control for next season as a restricted free agent and may have handcuffed the Jets if they were to shop him in the trade market. Winnipeg could move on and try to facilitate a trade to meet Dubois request, or they could take him to arbitration and accept a one-year deal and lose him as a free agent next summer. While neither option is great for the Jets, it could be a launching pad for a lot of movement this summer. The Jets have quite a few very talented players that are approaching unrestricted free agency and may either opt to take one more run at a cup or begin a painful rebuild.
Superstar netminder Connor Hellebuyck, former captain Blake Wheeler, and center Mark Scheifele are all unrestricted free agents next summer and with a potential exodus on the horizon general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff may decide that the more palatable option is to jump start the rebuild now and bring in a boatload of young controllable talent.
Hypothesizing Some Landing Spots For Connor Hellebuyck
- Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun examines some possible trade options for Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, calling him their biggest bargaining chip this summer. The veteran is about to enter the final year of his contract and has made it known that his desire is to win. If Winnipeg doesn’t think they can extend him in the coming weeks, they could look to move him in the days leading up to the draft later this month. Hellebuyck, who had a 2.49 GAA with a .920 SV% this season, has a $6.166MM AAV in the final year of his contract and is likely to command several million more on his next deal. Billeck highlights Los Angeles, Buffalo, and Ottawa as some potential landing spots for the 30-year-old.
Offseason Checklist: Winnipeg Jets
The offseason has arrived for all but the three teams that still have a shot at winning the Stanley Cup. It’s time to examine what those eliminated squads will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Winnipeg.
It was a rocky season for the Jets. At one point, they were atop the Central Division and rolling under new head coach Rick Bowness. By the end, they barely squeaked into the playoffs and went out quickly in the first round, earning a public rebuke from Bowness along the way. GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has four prominent players on his roster that are or could be UFA-eligible in 2024. Not surprisingly, the bulk of their checklist revolves around those four players.
Goaltending Decisions
Let’s get one of those players out of the way first. Connor Hellebuyck has been Winnipeg’s MVP for several seasons now, often providing high-end goaltending to get or keep them in the playoff picture. He has done so on a team-friendly deal as well; while his $6.17MM is above the NHL average, he’s a goalie that has been well above league average. Next summer, he’ll become one of the top-paid netminders in the league. Will Winnipeg be the team to give it to him? At a minimum, Cheveldayoff needs to make a serious extension offer and then see what happens from there. If the 30-year-old balks at signing, then they’ll have to investigate moving him as well.
On top of that, the Jets also need a backup goalie for next season. As they’ve done in recent years, Winnipeg went for a lower-cost option this year in David Rittich who had a nice bounce-back campaign, posting a 2.68 GAA with a .901 SV% in 21 games. He’s earned a small raise so Winnipeg will either have to allocate more to their backup position or look for a new second-stringer. Also worth considering is that if they trade Hellebuyck, they’ll likely have to change gears and look for a more prominent backup. That could lend a pressure point to the Hellebuyck talks even though he isn’t eligible to sign until July 1st.
There’s also a longer-term element to consider. There is no high-end starter of the future in their system (although Domenic DiVincentiis had a strong year in the OHL) which is another pressure point on the Hellebuyck situation. If they don’t keep him, they don’t have anyone in the system close to being ready to step in. With that in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them target a signed prospect goalie this summer and if they do move their star netminder, it’s quite likely that they’ll be showing interest in a strong prospect goaltender as part of the return package.
Decide On Dubois
Last summer, RFA center Pierre-Luc Dubois was the predominant storyline in Winnipeg among their players. He had indicated that his intention was not to sign a long-term deal with the team and there has been no shortage of speculation that Montreal would be where he would like to end up. Interestingly, he didn’t file for arbitration last summer, a move that likely cost him some money as he wound up accepting his $6MM qualifying offer. That means they get to go through this all over again this summer.
Dubois is once again arbitration-eligible but filing would lock in a contract date near the end of July once the hearing has concluded and the award has been issued, should it get that far. If his intention is to try to force a trade, he might opt to repeat what he did last summer, eschewing arbitration and waiting it out in the hopes that a move is made and he can potentially negotiate a long-term deal with the acquiring team.
But the Jets aren’t under any obligation to move him to his desired destination(s). They can opt to treat him like a typical rental player and even if teams believe Dubois will test the open market in 2024, Winnipeg should still get a good return if they opt to move him this summer, especially with a thin crop of available players this year. But that’s still an if. It’s possible that Cheveldayoff still hopes he can change Dubois’ mind and convince him that it’s worth staying in Winnipeg. It’s also quite possible that he opts to keep Dubois to start the season in the hopes of helping the Jets stay in the playoff picture and then pivots to a trade closer to the deadline if they’re not in the race. Again, in that scenario, he’d likely be the top middleman available and could bring back a strong return.
At the moment, it seems like the probable outcome with Dubois is that he gets moved. But when that happens is the decision that needs to be made. It could be dictated by what happens with their other 2024 UFAs which could ultimately make this a big summer of change in Winnipeg or more of the same.
Clear The Defensive Logjam
The Jets boast strong depth on the back end, one that has served well when injuries have arisen but also created some frustration with their younger players with both Logan Stanley and Ville Heinola making it known to management that if they’re not going to play with the Jets, that they wouldn’t mind being moved elsewhere. On top of that, they lost Johnathan Kovacevic to Montreal in training camp on waivers with the 25-year-old going on to play 77 games with the Canadiens this season. They also lost Leon Gawanke who opted to sign in Germany for next season (and well beyond) after his frustration at not getting a chance with the big club.
Nothing is set to change as things stand for next season as there are no pending unrestricted free agents on their back end while Stanley and Dylan Samberg need new deals as restricted free agents. Heinola is presently ninth on the depth chart with Declan Chisholm tenth and a pretty strong candidate to be claimed on waivers if he doesn’t crack the team out of training camp in the fall. Depth can be great to have but there can be too much of it, especially in the preseason when waivers really come into play. It appears that Winnipeg is going to be in that situation.
There are three defenders that are set to enter the final year of their respective deals. Brenden Dillon and Dylan DeMelo will be unrestricted in 2024 while Kyle Capobianco will be a restricted free agent. One (or two) of those three being out of the picture would open up opportunities for their younger blueliners to step up and try to claim a full-time spot at a much cheaper price point compared to Dillon ($3.9MM) and DeMelo ($3MM). Winnipeg might also want to move Nate Schmidt but with two years left at just under $6MM, getting value for him would be difficult.
There should be a decent market for Dillon and/or DeMelo. Both are capable of logging nearly 20 minutes a night and killing penalties and in terms of market value, are on reasonable contracts. If another team is looking for one of those pieces but doesn’t want a long-term commitment that a free agent this summer would want, they’ll certainly be calling up Winnipeg. It might be in Cheveldayoff’s best interest to make a move on that front in the coming weeks.
Decisions On Other 2024 UFAs
We still haven’t covered all the 2024 UFAs of note that decisions will need to be made on. Top center Mark Scheifele is in that situation as well, as is former captain Blake Wheeler.
Scheifele posted a career-high 42 goals this season while reaching the 60-point mark for the eighth straight season. Quietly, he has the 14th-most points league-wide over that eight-year stretch. Fortunately for Winnipeg, he has produced most of that on what has been a very team-friendly deal, one that has carried a $6.125MM AAV for the last seven seasons with one more to go. For a top center, that’s well below market value. That will change next summer when he should have a chance to push for around $9.5MM (or more, depending on the cap increase) in free agency.
It’s likely that Winnipeg will try to re-sign him, even if some feel that they need to shake up their core somewhat. Simply put, letting a top middleman go isn’t a great way to try to win. But is Scheifele willing to extend right now? After the playoffs, he said it was too soon to think about his nearing free agency. The Jets will be pushing for a decision soon enough.
As for Wheeler, he’s at a different stage of his career; there isn’t a big next contract coming his way. He has been a fixture with this franchise for more than a decade and has been quite productive; in the last eight years, he’s 15th league-wide in scoring, one point behind Scheifele. The 36-year-old still had a reasonable 2022-23 campaign, notching 55 points.
However, it feels like his time with the team could be coming to an end. It was a bit surprising to see him stay after losing the captaincy although his $8.25MM AAV might have had something to do with that. But with one year remaining, it’s an easier contract to move while a buyout would free up $5.5MM on the cap for 2023-24 (while adding $2.75MM in dead space the following season). Cheveldayoff needs to decide if a fresh start for both sides is best and after teams do their summer spending, that contract will become quite difficult to move. Accordingly, this is a choice that will need to be made in the next few weeks.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Snapshots: Lehner, Hurricanes, Development Camp
In a piece from Vegas Hockey Now, Dan Kingerski raises an interesting question about the future between the pipes for the Vegas Golden Knights next season. Although it would be more financially feasible for the Golden Knights to retain Robin Lehner on LTIR, Kingerski asserts that Vegas may be better off buying out Lehner’s contract this summer.
The main point behind his reasoning is that with netminder Adin Hill eventually hitting the unrestricted free-agent market this offseason, having the cap space this summer to retain Hill may be Lehner’s undoing in Vegas. If the Golden Knights were to buy out the remaining 2-year, $10MM remaining on Lehner’s contract, Vegas would be hit with a $750K cap penalty next season, $2.25MM the following year, and $1.75 the next two years.
Obviously, the injury concerns surrounding Lehner are well known, as he missed the entirety of the 2022-23 regular season, and remains out during the Golden Knight’s playoff run. In his two full seasons in Vegas (subtracting the three regular-season games he played during the 2019-20 season following his trade from the Chicago Blackhawks), Lehner has posted a 36-21-4 record in 63 games played, garnering a .909 SV% and a 2.66 GAA.
Unfortunately, although the win record and GAA have both been positive for Lehner, the SV% has left a lot to be desired. On the other hand, Hill has been well above average since being acquired from the San Jose Sharks in late August of last year. In 27 games played for the Golden Knights this year, Hill posted a 16-7-1 record, accruing a .915 SV% and a 2.45 GAA. As both he, Jonathan Quick, and Laurent Brossoit enter unrestricted free agency this year, the potential Western Conference champions will have difficult choices to make in net this offseason.
Other snapshots:
- In an opinion piece from Ken Wiebe of Sportsnet, a hypothetical question is raised as to whether or not the Carolina Hurricanes and Winnipeg Jets would make an ideal trade fit this offseason. With plenty of buzz surrounding the potential rebuild of the Jets this summer, Wiebe questions whether Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck could be potential acquisitions for the Hurricanes. Both players will be pending unrestricted free agents after next season, and both players fit organizational needs at the moment. Martin Necas being the only true top-six center in the organization, and both Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta becoming UFA’s this summer, the Hurricanes could look to poach the Jets for resources.
- Mark Divver of the NHL reports that both Eric Parker and Ben Wozney from Bowling Green State University have received development camp invites from the Boston Bruins and Seattle Kraken, respectively. Parker appeared in eight games for Bowling Green, scoring one goal and three assists, as Wozney scored two goals and 13 assists over 36 games for the Falcons.
Minor Transactions: 05/23/23
Moves continue outside of the NHL sphere as the European transfer season progresses, although things should be winding down as teams continue to finalize their rosters for the 2023-24 campaign. As always, we’re keeping track of all today’s notable moves from outside the NHL right here.
- The DEL’s Nürnberg Ice Tigers have signed AHL forward Cole Maier to a one-year contract, per the team. Maier has played the last four seasons with the Manitoba Moose, affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets, but never received an NHL contract. He’s coming off back-to-back 15-goal seasons, even serving as an alternate captain for Manitoba in 2021-22. The 27-year-old will now try to work himself into a starring role in Germany with an NHL opportunity likely behind him.
- The AHL’s Utica Comets today signed forward Samuel Laberge to a one-year extension for 2023-24. The 26-year-old Québec product posted 16 points in 43 games with the Comets last year as he continues to try and earn an NHL deal with his parent club, the New Jersey Devils. Laberge, once the captain of the QMJHL’s Rimouski Océanic, now has nearly 200 games of AHL experience under his belt.
- 23-year-old center Sam Bitten has signed a one-year deal with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, joining his brother, William Bitten, who’s on an NHL contract with the St. Louis Blues. Sam has played the last three seasons in Europe after wrapping up his junior career, but recorded just one goal in 48 games with Czechia’s HC Plzen this season. He’s likely destined for an ECHL demotion come October.
This page will be updated throughout the day