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Doctors Recommend Bryan Little Not Play In 2020-21

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On a day of exciting news all around the league, this comes as quite the depressing story. Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has told reporters that Bryan Little has been instructed by doctors not to play this season. While Cheveldayoff did not comment on whether that means Little’s career is over, it doesn’t bode well for the veteran forward.

Little, 32, played just seven games in 2019-20. On November 5th, 2019, he was struck in the side of the head by a Nikolaj Ehlers slapshot and skated off the ice while holding a bloody towel to his head. Little had already dealt with a concussion earlier that year, but that game against the New Jersey Devils ended up being his last.

Not only was Little a consistent performer on the ice that had spent his entire career with the Jets/Thrashers organization, but he was a beloved teammate and a tireless worker in the community. That dedication to the organization was mentioned by Cheveldayoff today, when he called Little a “special person.”

If it is the end for Little, he’ll leave the league with 521 points in 843 career games, all for the one organization. He is still signed for four more seasons, so his contract will be moved to long-term injured reserve, making it technically possible for a return, but obviously, that’s a decision that won’t be made for some time.

The Jets meanwhile will get some cap relief from moving Little’s $5.3MM hit to LTIR, but they’d rather have the player back. It does help them fit in the recently acquired Paul Stastny, who slots in at on their second-line, a role that Little has occupied in the past.

Winnipeg Jets Extend Luca Sbisa

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Luca Sbisa has joined Nathan Beaulieu in opting to return to the Winnipeg Jets blue line next season. The Jets announced that they have re-signed Sbisa to a one-year, $800K contract. The veteran defenseman played in 44 games with Winnipeg in 2019-20.

Sbisa, 30, was nearly out of the NHL just two years ago, forced to take a PTO with the New York Islanders in order to land a contract for the 2018-19 season only to play in nine games with the team. Yet, he made somewhat of a comeback last year, skating in more than half of the Jets’ games and showing that he can still be a reliable stay-at-home option. The big, physical defenseman is a difficult match-up and can be a useful player even if he isn’t skating every night.

That very well could be the reality for Sbisa, too. Re-signing their current defensemen isn’t going to help a Winnipeg blue line that needs to improve. The team will almost certainly add at least one defenseman by way of free agency or trade and if that happens to be a left-shot defender, that could leave Sbisa and Beaulieu to either play on their off-side or compete for play time.

Winnipeg Jets Re-Sign Nathan Beaulieu

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Nathan Beaulieu took a quick look around the free agent market and realized that his best bet was to stay in Winnipeg. The Jets have announced a two-year extension with the depth defenseman at a $1.25MM AAV. Beaulieu has spent the past season and a half with Winnipeg and will now stay under contract through the 2021-22 season.

Beaulieu, 27, signed a one-year “show me” deal with the Jets last off-season and has now been rewarded with two more seasons. He only played in 38 games and contributed just eight points, but has grown in his defensive awareness and physical play, as evidenced by a career-high in plus/minus and hits per game.

Beaulieu struggled with high expectations in his early days with the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres, but has finally found a good fit with Winnipeg. However, the Jets have not shown that they are willing to put too much on Bealieu and will still likely add another defenseman or two this off-season.

Winnipeg Jets Acquire Paul Stastny

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Friday: The deal is now official, Stastny is a Jet. Vegas will receive defenseman Carl Dahlstrom along with Winnipeg’s fourth-round pick in 2022. The draft pick is conditional on Stastny playing five games with the Jets, according to Craig Custance of The Athletic. This is likely just a safeguard against the possibility of a canceled 2020-21 season.

Thursday: The Winnipeg Jets are working to bring back a familiar face, as Jason Bell of the Winnipeg Free Press and several others are reporting that the team is closing in on a deal for Vegas Golden Knights center Paul Stastny. If the deal is completed, Murat Ates of The Athletic tweets that it will include draft picks headed in both directions.

Winnipeg has long been looking for a second-line center to play behind Mark Scheifele, and for a few games in 2018 they found one. When Stastny was winding down his last contract with the St. Louis Blues, they sent him to Winnipeg in exchange for a first-round pick and prospect Erik Foley, despite being in a playoff run. The veteran forward immediately found success with the Jets on a line between Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers, scoring 13 points in the 19 games down the stretch. In the playoffs, Stastny was exactly what the Jets had hoped for and trailed only Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, and Dustin Byfuglien in postseason scoring.

That offseason, the Jets made an attempt to keep him, even moving Steve Mason’s contract out to make cap room. It didn’t work, as Stastny took a three-year deal with the Golden Knights that carried a whopping $6.5MM AAV and was asked to replace some of the production the team was losing from free agents James Neal and David Perron.

Now, two years into that deal and hours before free agency opens, the Golden Knights obviously feel there are better things they can use that cap space on.

The 34-year-old Stastny was still effective this season, but he did take a substantial step backward in offensive statistics. In fact, his 38 points in 71 games was easily the worst per-game production of his career, though that did still include 17 goals.

More than anything, the Jets may be trying to find a way to recapture that magic the team showed in 2018 when they went all the way to the Western Conference Finals with Stastny in the middle of the ice. Or even perhaps motivate an enigmatic Laine who has expressed his frustration in the past at weaker linemates but did enjoy his time with the veteran pivot. Of course, Laine’s name has also been in the rumor mill quite a bit this summer, and taking on Stastny’s $6.5MM cap hit doesn’t leave a ton of room for upgrades to the rest of the roster.

For the Golden Knights, if they’re able to rid themselves of the entire Stastny cap hit they will not only be cap-compliant again, but a lot closer to taking a swing at one of the high profile free agents. The team has been linked to Alex Pietrangelo, though nothing is certain on that front as the Blues re-engaged their captain recently. They have also been trying to move Marc-Andre Fleury’s deal, which would give them ample space to add on the free agent market. Nate Schmidt and Jonathan Marchessault have also been mentioned as potential trade candidates.

Currently, the Golden Knights project to be nearly $3MM over the salary cap of $81.5MM for next season. While you can operate up to 10% over that ceiling in the offseason, clearing Stastny’s contract off the books would give them a lot more flexibility in the coming days.

Winnipeg Jets Re-Sign Dylan DeMelo

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The Winnipeg Jets dealt with turmoil and turnover on defense last season, trying to navigate the year after losing Jacob Trouba, Dustin Byfuglien and Tyler Myers in one offseason. By the deadline, they had stabilized things by acquiring Dylan DeMelo from the Ottawa Senators. DeMelo will now be returning, stabilizing things once again.

The Jets have announced a new four-year contract for the pending free agent defenseman, one that will carry an average annual value of $3MM. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic breaks down the salary:

  • 2020-21: $2.5MM
  • 2021-22: $3.0MM
  • 2022-23: $3.0MM
  • 2023-24: $3.5MM

The deal includes no signing bonuses but does have a partial no-trade clause throughout. DeMelo will receive quite the raise over his previous contract that carried just a $900K salary.

Though he’s certainly not flashy, DeMelo is, as Jets head coach Paul Maurice so eloquently put it, “coach’s porn.” Finding footage of him turning the puck over is like finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, even if he doesn’t necessarily do anything that stands out either. In 269 career NHL games he has recorded just seven goals and 64 points, even while getting some time on the powerplay in San Jose and Ottawa.

Those were his two stops before Winnipeg and he arrived in the Jets organization by way of trade this season. He cost the team a third-round pick but immediately became a favorite of the coaching staff and ended up averaging more than 21 minutes a night in the Jets short postseason run.

Expect that heavy load to continue next season, given the Jets still only really have three full-time defensemen signed. DeMelo joins Josh Morrissey and Neal Pionk as options for the top-four, while Carl Dahlstrom and Tucker Poolman will both try to prove they are ready to spend the entire year in the NHL. Sami Niku is also a restricted free agent, while Ville Heinola and other prospects could make the jump.

The Jets could also be on the lookout for more defensive help in free agency, but they’ll have to be careful handing out the long-term deals. Remember that Patrik Laine, if staying in Winnipeg, will need a huge raise after this upcoming season.

Winnipeg Jets Tender Qualifying Offers To Six Players

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The Winnipeg Jets are joining several teams to announce their qualifying offers early (before Wednesday’s deadline) as the team announced they have tendered qualifying offers to six players. The players receiving offers were forwards Mason Appleton, Jansen Harkins, Jack Roslovic and C.J. Suess and defensemen Sami Niku and Nelson Nogier.

Many of those players played significant roles for Winnipeg last year. Roslovic is at the top of the list, who has continually improved as a forward in Winnipeg. The 23-year-old broke double digits in goals (12) last season, adding 29 points and many believe the center is a strong candidate to take over as the team’s No. 2 center next year and could be a candidate for a breakout season after a solid February before the season was shutdown. He also saw his ice time increase by almost five minutes last year.

Appleton also played a key role with the team, posting five goals and eight points in 46 games as a bottom-line forward, who will likely take on that role again next year. Harkins is another fourth-line option for the Jets, who posted two goals and seven points in 29 games last season, while the 26-year-old Suess posted career highs with the Manitoba Moose in the AHL with 14 goals and is a solid depth option for the Jets.

Many thought Niku would step into a full-time role when the Jets found themselves short-handed at the beginning of the year. The 23-year-old has been quite effective in the AHL the last couple of seasons, but while he did appear in 17 NHL games last season, the blueliner will have to try to establish himself there once again. His playing time did increase that this year as he averaged 16:10 of ATOI. The 24-year-old Nogier played his entire season in Manitoba and continues to be a depth option for the team.

With seven restricted free agents, one player was told he won’t be back with the team as Michael Spacek wasn’t tendered an offer sheet. Spacek, a Jets’ fourth-round pick in 2015, played three seasons with the Moose, but saw a decline in his play last season, scoring a career-low nine goals and 20 points in 45 games. He hasn’t appeared in an NHL game yet.

Winnipeg Jets Sign Laurent Brossoit

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The Winnipeg Jets have signed their backup goaltender, inking Laurent Brossoit to a one-year deal worth $1.5MM. Brossoit was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next week.

There’s never a lot to do when you’re the backup to Connor Hellebuyck, the league-leader in goaltender games played two of the last three seasons. The Jets obviously like Brossoit in that role, deciding to bring him back even before seeing what is truly available on the free agent market. The question is, why exactly?

There’s no doubt that Brossoit can hold his own at the NHL level. He posted a .925 save percentage in 21 games for the Jets in 2018-19 and put up a record of 13-6-2. But in 2019-20 he reverted to the goaltender who struggled for the Edmonton Oilers, posting just an .895 save percentage and 6-7-1 record in 19 appearances. Those aren’t exactly inspiring numbers for a team that expects to challenge deep into the playoffs, and certainly don’t stand up to some of the other backups that will hit the market in the coming days.

Sure, Brossoit comes at a reasonably low price for a team that has trouble staring them right in the face, but it’s actually a raise on the $1.225MM he earned last season in spite of his poor performance. Obviously, the comfort level with Brossoit is worth a lot to the Jets, but with the compressed schedule expected next season, it puts even more pressure on him to have a bounce-back campaign.

Darren Dreger of TSN broke the news on Twitter.

West Notes: Golden Knights, Stars’ Injuries, Coyotes’ Changes, Samberg

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The Vegas Golden Knights seem to be a team that is being mentioned in multiple rumors for many pending unrestricted free agents despite having little to no cap room to speak of. The most recent one has the Golden Knights ready to pounce on St. Louis Blues star defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who currently isn’t expected to re-sign with St. Louis.

David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal confirms that the Golden Knights are ready to go after the right-shot defenseman, who finished fourth in the Norris Trophy voting this year, assuming he reaches free agency on Oct. 9 and the team will deal with the salary cap juggling after that. Much of the reasoning comes from owner Bill Foley’s will to win and spend to the cap ceiling, while other teams are trying to refrain from that.

Of course, if Pietrangelo does opt to return to St. Louis or chooses another destination, the scribe notes there are other options for the team to upgrade on defense in free agency, including a pair of blueliners who spent time playing for head coach Peter DeBoer in San Jose, Brenden Dillon and Dylan DeMelo.

  • ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski reports that the five Dallas Stars’ players who were “unfit to play” for Game 5 are still unfit as of Sunday. Ben Bishop, Roope Hintz, Radek Faksa, Stephen Johns and Blake Comeau are all expected to miss Game 6 on Monday. A new player to monitor, however, will be defenseman Andrej Sekera, who is considered to be a game-time decision, according to NHL.com’s Mike Heika. Sekera missed half of the first period and all of the second period after blocking a shot during Game 5 Saturday. He did return for the third period, but forced himself to play through the pain.
  • Coyotes beat reporter Craig Morgan reports that the scouting cleanout in Arizona is continuing. The team, who recently fired scouting director Lindsay Hofford and assistant to the GM Jake Goldberg, has removed two more names in the front office. Phil McRae, director of North American Amateur Scouting and Mat Milbury, an amateur scout, are both no longer with the team.
  • Murat Ates of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that Winnipeg Jets defensive prospect Dylan Samberg’s ability to make the NHL squad out of training camp next season could be critical to the team’s playoff chances. Samberg, the 6-foot-4 defenseman out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth, is believed to be close to NHL ready, but might need more seasoning in the AHL. However, with just four defenseman under contract and little cap room to maneuver with, the scribe believes that the quicker that Samberg can get acclimated to the NHL pace could be critical for the team. While there is little worry about this defensive game, there are questions on how well his offense will translate over.

Trade Rumors: Kuemper, Laine, Penguins

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There are many factors that have contributed to Darcy Kuemper being one of the most talked-about names on the rumor mill over the last couple of months. The first and most important is simply that the Arizona Coyotes must shed salary this off-season. The team is arguably in the worst salary cap situation of any NHL club, lacking any room to maneuver under the cap ceiling but with several restricted free agents and superstar trade acquisition Taylor Hall in need of new contracts. One area where they can trim the fat is in net, where Kuemper and Antti Raanta combine for $8.75MM against the cap and Adin Hill is also signed to a one-way contract and will need to clear waivers this season. Of the three, not only does Kuemper carry the highest cap hit, he is also undoubtedly the most valuable on the trade market. The 30-year-old was one of the best goalies in the NHL this season and is signed for two more years at a bargain relative to his performance. While this is seemingly a perfect storm of reasons why Kuemper should be dealt, new GM Bill Armstrong won’t let him go that easy. AZ Sports’ Craig Morgan reports that after Armstrong was hired last week, the asking price for Kuemper went up. An offer must now surpass the value of just one first-round pick in order to pry the talented netminder out of Arizona. If they are not satisfied, the Coyotes will not trade Kuemper. Although his trade value is depleted after a pair of injury-plagued seasons, the team could get nearly as much cap savings from moving Raanta, whose contract expires after this season. While Kuemper is the morename, don’t be surprised to see Raanta move instead barring a top-notch offer.

  • Patrik Laine is another one of the hot names on the rumor mill right now, with reports that the Winnipeg Jets are “serious” about moving the young scoring forward. However, Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe doused those flames somewhat by stating that the Jets’ priority is still to re-sign Laine. It would be difficult for the team to get fair value for Laine and although they have more pressing needs than winger elsewhere on the roster, they could very well be better off holding on to the 22-year-old. A restricted free agent after next season, Laine will command a substantial salary that Winnipeg may find difficult to afford. Yet, Wiebe believes that current trade talks may be overblown so long as the two sides are still amenable to an extension, believing a trade to be more likely next summer – if a deal cannot be reached – rather than pulling the trigger early this off-season. Unless the Jets get exactly what they ask for in exchange for Laine, they have time before they need to get too serious about a trade.
  • The most active team on the trade market so far has been the Pittsburgh Penguins, but things may begin to slow down for GM Jim Rutherford and his club. In a radio interview on Friday, Rutherford stated that his recent acquisition of defensemen Michael Matheson is not a precursor to another major trade regarding his top defensemen. Although there is a considerable logjam on the left side of the Pittsburgh blue line, top-four lefties Brian Dumoulin and Marcus Pettersson will not be traded. Matheson is expected to play on the left side of the team’s third pair, forcing Jack Johnson and Juuso Riikola to compete for a starting job on their off-side with righty Chad Ruhwedel. Matheson’s acquisition has also squashed the Penguins’ interest in free agent defenseman Chris Tanev and others, as Rutherford added that he does not anticipate adding to his defense corps on the open market.

Joona Luoto Loaned To HIFK

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At some point European leagues will run out of spots for NHL prospects, but not today. The Winnipeg Jets have loaned Joona Luoto to HIFK in Finland, though immediately announced that he will be back when the 2020-21 season starts in North America.

Luoto, 22, found himself in the Jets lineup for 16 games this season during his first year in North America but failed to register a single point. The 6’3″ winger came over from Finland as an undrafted free agent and ended up splitting the year between the AHL and NHL.

While offense was clearly not his strong suit this year, Luoto has been playing at the professional level since he was a teenager and should be a fine bottom-six depth option for the Jets next season. He’ll turn 23 tomorrow but still has two years remaining on his entry-level contract.

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