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NHL Announces General Manager Of The Year Finalists

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The Jets’ Kevin Cheveldayoff, the Stars’ Jim Nill, and the Panthers’ Bill Zito are the three finalists for this year’s Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award, the league announced today.

Unlike most other major league awards, GMOTY honors take playoff performance into account. Voting for the award is also done by a jury of their peers – all 32 NHL GMs, plus a panel of NHL executives, print and broadcast media, comprise the voting, which takes place after the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs concludes.

Cheveldayoff is the relative newbie of the trio in terms of being included among the finalists. It’s his second time making the cut – he previously finished second in GMOTY voting after Winnipeg had its then-best season in franchise history in the 2017-18 campaign. That club had 114 points, a mark this year’s Jets beat by two en route to winning their first Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history. This year’s notable moves included promoting Coach of the Year finalist Scott Arniel to the head role last offseason following Rick Bowness’ retirement as well as acquiring winger Brandon Tanev and defenseman Luke Schenn at the deadline.

His nomination stems more from identifying his core and sticking with it through ups and downs. Most of Winnipeg’s driving forces – namely Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, and Josh Morrissey – have been there for years and were all drafted under Cheveldayoff.

Nill, meanwhile, is going for a three-peat. He’s already one of just two GMs to win the award twice, alongside former Islanders boss Lou Lamoriello. While he’s wholly responsible for the Dallas core that’s now advanced to three straight Western Conference Finals, his in-season moves may have him well-positioned to take home the honors yet again.

Playoff performance will be a factor here – after Nill traded for and signed Mikko Rantanen to a massive eight-year, $96MM extension at the deadline, he’s returned the favor as the Conn Smythe favorite so far with a playoff-leading 9-11–20 scoring line through 14 games. His draft record among mid-to-late first-round picks in recent years, highlighted by Wyatt Johnston, Jake Oettinger, and Jason Robertson, is arguably the biggest reason they’ve been able to enter their lengthiest contention window since winning the Stanley Cup in 1999.

As for Zito, he’d have won one by now if not for Nill’s reign. He’s a finalist for the third year in a row and the fourth time overall during his stint at the helm of the Panthers. His offseason work, with depth pickups like Nate Schmidt performing well in lieu of big-name players who left in free agency following last year’s Stanley Cup win, already had them well set for a repeat. Acquiring stars Brad Marchand and Seth Jones in separate pre-deadline deals, both of whom have been among the Cats’ best postseason players, is the main reason he finds himself on this year’s list, though.

Axel Jonsson-Fjallby Signs Three-Year Deal In Sweden

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Jets pending unrestricted free agent winger Axel Jonsson-Fjallby has signed a three-year contract with Brynas IF of the Swedish Hockey League, the club announced Friday.

Jonsson-Fjallby, 27, didn’t see any NHL time this season after clearing waivers and heading to AHL Manitoba during training camp. He’s wrapping up a two-year, partial two-way deal he signed in free agency with Winnipeg in 2023 and earned the full league-minimum $775K salary this year despite not receiving any callups.

It was the first season that Jonsson-Fjallby hadn’t touched NHL ice since making his debut with the Capitals in the 2021-22 campaign. A fifth-round pick by Washington back in 2016, he was claimed off waivers by the Jets at the beginning of the 2022-23 season and has remained in the Winnipeg organization since.

Not too long ago, it looked like the speedy 6’0″ winger had what it takes to be an everyday bottom-six forward. He appeared in a career-high 50 games with Winnipeg in 2022-23 following the waiver claim, averaging 10:27 per game but still managing to record six goals and eight assists for 14 points. AJF only got 26 NHL games the following year, though, as he passed through waivers unclaimed and bounced between the majors and minors.

His chances of making an NHL comeback likely ended with a poor showing in Manitoba this season. After hovering well north of a 0.7 points per game rate in the prior few years, Jonsson-Fjallby produced an underwhelming 12-15–27 scoring line in 65 showings for the Moose, just 0.42 points per game. As such, it would have made little sense for Jonsson-Fjallby to hold out hope for a two-way deal as a UFA this summer when there was a much more stable offer waiting for him back home in Sweden.

There aren’t many better places for a potential resurgence overseas for Jonsson-Fjallby than Brynas, which just took home the top spot in the SHL in the regular season. His previous top-flight experience in Sweden came with Djurgardens IF from 2016 to 2019, recording an 8-19–27 scoring line in 102 games there as a youngster.

Including his time in Washington, Jonsson-Fjallby has a 10-13–23 scoring line with a plus-five rating in 99 career NHL games.

Jets Still Hopeful To Re-Sign Nikolaj Ehlers

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Although it’s already been heavily reported that winger Nikolaj Ehlers has no intention of signing a new contract with the Winnipeg Jets, that won’t change the team’s approach. According to TSN’s John Lu, the Jets are still expected to make a run at Ehlers before he hits the open market.

There is a slight chance that Ehlers may re-sign with Winnipeg, despite earlier reports this year. He’s arguably the second-best winger on the free agent market this summer behind Mitch Marner, and he may become a rebound candidate for teams that strike out on the former, giving the Jets some additional time.

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Jets Notes: Lowry, Ehlers, Vilardi

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The Winnipeg Jets are holding their final interviews of the 2024-25 season on Wednesday, offering a chance for many players to share insight on their futures with the club. The first up was team captain Adam Lowry, who will be eligible for an extension on July 1st and set to hit free agency next summer. Lowry emphasized to reporters that he’ll be ready to sign a deal as soon as the Jets are, and that he wants to stick with the club through the end of his career, per Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press.

Lowry was named Winnipeg’s captain at the start of the 2023-24 season, after wearing an ’A’ in the year prior. The title rewarded Lowry’s career-long commitment to supporting Winnipeg’s bottom-six. He was originally drafted in the third-round of the 2011 NHL Draft, and made his NHL debut three seasons later in 2014-15. Lowry carved out a gritty role in the depth of Winnipeg’s lineup right away, recording 24 points and 46 penalty minutes in 80 games as an NHL rookie. He was full time in the league within two seasons, and quickly found a knack for tenacious plays, full-ice impacts, and routine 20-point seasons.

But he’s started to blossom in his later years, recording a career-high 36 points in the 2022-23 season – followed up by 35 points last year and 34 this year. He also scored a career-high 16 goals this season – all while continuing to operate from a strong role on Winnipeg’s second and third lines. Lowry will flirt with free agency throughout the 2025-26 season, but it’s hard to envision Winnipeg letting such a carved-out piece of their lineup walk away.

The same can be said for winger Nikolaj Ehlers, who will face the pressures of free agency this summer rather than next. Ehlers is another lifetime Jet, having spent the last decade with the club and totaling 520 points in 674 career games. that includes a dazzling 24 goals and 63 points in 69 games this season. That’s the highest scoring pace of Ehlers’ career, though it falls one point shy of his career-high total set in the 2016-17 season. Like Lowry, Ehlers has dedicated significant time to finding the lineup role that works for him.

With his deal set to expire this summer, Ehlers’ teammates have made sure to know how much they like having him around. Cole Perfetti called Ehlers a “joy to life” to reporters, and shared that he both hopes and knows that Ehlers feels how much the Jets franchise appreciates him – shares Murat Ates of The Athletic. Perfetti and Ehlers rotated as wing partners throughout the season, and outscored opponents 25-to-18 at even-strength in their minutes together. It was a career year for both players, and with his public words of encouragement – Perfetti could give Ehlers yet another reason to find a deal that works this summer.

Forward Gabriel Vilardi has also expressed interest in re-signing with the Jets when he hits restricted-free agency this summer, per Ates. Vilardi added that he hasn’t yet thought about if he wants a short-term or long-term deal, though. Either option could be a sensible bet, after Vilardi broke out with 27 goals and 61 points in 71 games this season. Both marks were new career-highs, confidently lapping the 23 goals and 41 points he scored in 63 games of the 2022-23 season. Vilardi’s rise in scoring coincided with a rise in ice time and lineup trust. He performed well with added responsibility, though only managed four points in nine postseason games.

71 games of this season is the most Vilardi has ever played in a single year. Those signs of newfound health could go a long way in solidifying Vilardi’s projection as a staple of the second-line. Winnipeg will have a chance to put a price to that faith in exclusive negotiations this summer.

Winnipeg Jets Notes: Connor, Morrissey, Schenn, Fleury

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Although the Winnipeg Jets extended a few of their pending unrestricted free agents shortly before the end of the regular season, they still have a few to iron out. One of which is winger Kyle Connor, who’s eligible for an extension on July 1st.

According to Murat Ates of The Athletic, he’s fully expecting the Jets to make Connor’s extension a priority this summer. It would be the second contract extension that the University of Michigan alum has signed in Winnipeg, following the seven-year, $50 million deal that was signed in 2019.

Connor’s next deal is sure to include a substantial raise, considering his impressive average of over a point per game for the last seven years, along with multiple 30- and 40-goal seasons, and two campaigns with over 90 points. With the salary cap continually increasing, the Jets should face no financial issues. The only hiccup could be Connor’s desire to stay in Manitoba.

Other Jets notes:

  • In a report from TSN’s John Lu, defenseman Josh Morrissey won’t require surgery on his injured knee from Game 6 of Winnipeg’s Round Two series against the Dallas Stars. Still, it wouldn’t have mattered to the Jets’ Stanley Cup aspirations, as Morrissey shared he would have been done for the postseason regardless. He’ll be ready in time for training camp in September, at any rate.
  • Morrissey wasn’t the only injured player on Winnipeg’s blue line. According to Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press, trade deadline acquisition Luke Schenn had been playing through the playoffs with a fractured rib. Schenn didn’t let the injury affect his physicality, as the veteran blue liner collected 47 hits in nine games after purportedly suffering the fracture.
  • Staying on the Jets’ blue line, team color analyst Mitchell Clinton shared that depth defender Haydn Fleury would love to stay in Winnipeg for the foreseeable future. Fleury, the pending unrestricted free agent, appeared in 37 games for Winnipeg this year, tallying seven assists while averaging 15:56 of ice time per game.

Jets’ Morrissey Injury “Not Good,” Says Coach Scott Arniel

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The Winnipeg Jets not only lost Game 6 against the Dallas Stars, ending their season, but they also lost key defender Josh Morrissey to a potentially significant injury, per a TSN report.

Morrissey was injured in the second period of Game 6 after getting tangled up with Stars forward Mikko Rantanen. His knee appeared to twist awkwardly, and after struggling to get to the bench, Morrissey was helped to the locker room and did not return. Following the game, head coach Scott Arniel said the injury is “not good,” but that the team would learn more upon returning to Canada. Arniel noted that Morrissey’s injury was among a series of obstacles the team had to face against the Stars.

“Again, losing Josh tonight was a big blow. Just a lot of circumstances that happened. Our leadership within our group kept grinding everybody and pushing everybody. It’s growth. It hurts a lot. But we lost to a great team,” Arniel said.

Morrissey enjoyed a fantastic regular season, recording his third consecutive campaign with over 60 points. Typically a model of durability — with at least 78 games played in each of the last four seasons — Morrissey wasn’t as fortunate in the playoffs, where he sustained two separate injuries that forced him to miss time. He was also injured in Game 7 of the first round against the St. Louis Blues after being hit by Oskar Sundqvist, which caused him to miss Game 1 against the Stars.

It remains unclear whether the injury Morrissey suffered against the Stars is related to his earlier ailment, and the full extent has yet to be revealed. If the injury proves to be serious, he’ll have the entire offseason to recover with the goal of being ready for the start of the 2025–26 campaign.

Sam Gagner Confirms Retirement, Joins Senators’ Front Office

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Longtime NHL forward Sam Gagner has confirmed his retirement and will join the Senators as their director of player development, the team announced.

“Sam had an incredible career as a player and we look forward to launching his next chapter,” Ottawa general manager Steve Staios said. “A true character individual, Sam has contributed to the success of his organizations, both on and off the ice.”

Gagner, 35, last played in the league during the 2023-24 season when he appeared in 28 games for the Oilers, his third go-around with the team that drafted him sixth overall in 2007. He cracked the 1,000 game plateau a few years ago. He finished his career with 1,034 regular-season appearances but played just 11 postseason contests over 17 years in the NHL, only reaching the Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Flyers in 2016 and the Blue Jackets in 2017.

After tantalizing with 118 points in just 53 junior games with the OHL’s London Knights in his draft year, the 5’11” center never arrived as an elite scoring presence in the pros. He was still a consistent yet sometimes injury-prone 40-point scorer, especially early in his career with Edmonton. He averaged 17 goals and 50 points per 82 games over the first seven years of his career with the Oilers and averaged north of 17 minutes per game.

One season into a three-year, $14.4MM contract he signed with the Oilers as an RFA, Gagner was flipped to the Coyotes via the Lightning in the summer of 2014 after underwhelming with 37 points and a -29 rating in 67 games the year prior. So began the journeyman stage of Gagner’s career as his offensive production fluctuated wildly from year to year, even resulting in some time in the minors. Between 2014 and 2020, Gagner would suit up for the Flyers, Blue Jackets, Canucks, the Oilers for a second time, and the Red Wings in addition to his year in Arizona. During that run, he scored a career-high 50 points in 81 games with Columbus in the 2016-17 campaign.

Gagner got a modicum of stability to end his career, spending two full seasons with Detroit after they acquired him from Edmonton at the 2020 trade deadline. He spent the 2022-23 season with the Jets before signing his final NHL deal with the Oilers nearly two years ago. The versatile right-shot pivot finishes his career with 197 goals, 332 assists, 529 points, and a -139 rating, averaging 15:37 per game and a 45.6 FO%. He earned approximately $38.1MM in salary throughout his career, per PuckPedia.

While Gagner didn’t play in the NHL last season, he was still active on an AHL deal with the Senators’ affiliate in Belleville, giving some context for his joining the front office of a team he never suited up for in the majors. He recorded 10 assists in 19 games for the B-Sens, appearing in his last game on March 5.

Ottawa also announced they’ve hired Matt Turek to serve as Belleville’s GM while taking a player personnel role with the parent club. He arrives in Ottawa after spending the last decade with the Hamilton/Brantford Bulldogs of the OHL as a scout and, later, their GM. Senators majority owner Michael Andlauer also owns that club, and Turek also worked under Staios as a scout when the latter was Hamilton’s GM before succeeding him upon his departure.

Turek will take on most of the responsibilities vacated by former assistant GM Ryan Bowness, who the Senators told clubs earlier this month won’t be back with the team next season.

Image courtesy of Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images.

Logan Stanley Set To Be Healthy Scratch For Jets

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Despite a clean bill of health, Winnipeg Jets defenseman Logan Stanley is expected to be a healthy scratch for Game 4 against the Dallas Stars, per Mike McIntyre of Winnipeg News.

Known for his physical presence, Stanley was injured in Game 6 of the team’s first-round matchup against the St. Louis Blues. Before his injury, he posted 42 penalty minutes in five games and had no points and a negative plus-minus to show for it. The massive 6’7” presence could give the team a physically imposing force on the back end, but his style of play may not be the best matchup against Mikko Rantanen and the Stars’ skill-heavy attack. The 26-year-old recorded one goal, 14 points, 88 hits, 76 blocked shots, and 78 penalty minutes in 63 regular-season contests this season.

As the Jets look to even the series, Haydn Fleury will remain slotted into the lineup on the team’s third defensive pairing alongside veteran Colin Miller. Fleury recorded seven assists and a minus-12 in 39 regular-season games. However, his playoff metrics have looked much better, as he’s produced a plus-two rating and chipped in two assists in five games thus far. Additionally, he has averaged 17:24 of ice time per game in the playoffs — a solid increase from his regular season average of 15:56 — showcasing a growing level of trust in the 28-year-old’s play. That figure was certainly inflated by their double-overtime victory in Game 7 of the first round. However, that opportunity provided Fleury with the platform to highlight the impact Fleury can have on the blue line, as he logged a career-high 33:02 after Josh Morrissey left in the first period with an injury.

Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel recently told media, including NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers, that Fleury provides the team with a mobile option on the back end. “Again, another skillset. He’s real mobile, he can skate out of trouble. Another guy that can be a part of that rush, a part of what we’re talking about getting after Dallas here and getting on our toes. And that’s what he brings to our game,” Arniel said.

Winnipeg Jets Recall Parker Ford

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Needing additional depth due to the unknown status of a few key players, the Winnipeg Jets have made a small recall from their AHL affiliate. The Jets announced they’ve recalled forward Parker Ford from the Manitoba Moose for tonight’s contest against the Dallas Stars.

Earlier today, head coach Scott Arniel told reporters that forward Mark Scheifele, defensemen Josh Morrissey and Logan Stanley are game-time decisions for tonight’s contest. Scheifele has arguably been the most notable loss, missing Game 5 and Game 6 in the Jets’ opening-round matchup against the St. Louis Blues. He scored two goals and six points in the five games he played.

Ford won’t be tasked with replicating Scheifele’s offensive capabilities, but he’s an interesting plug-and-play option for Winnipeg. The Wakefield, RI native debuted in the NHL this past season in late January, scoring his first goal in his first NHL game.

Appearing in a postseason contest, on the fourth line or not, would be a big step for the former collegiate free agent out of Providence College. He’s only in his second full professional season and is on the heels of an 18-goal, 41-point campaign in 2023-24. Ford’s offensive output understandably decreased with fewer games played, as he scored 14 goals and 21 points in 41 contests for the Moose during the 2024-25 season.

Jets’ Mark Scheifele To Miss Game 7, Logan Stanley Questionable

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The Winnipeg Jets received grim news to start their Sunday, as it’s been revealed that star center Mark Scheifele won’t be health enough to dress for Game 7, per Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press. Both players were absent from Winnipeg’s morning skate. The details of Scheifele’s injury haven’t been disclosed. He exited Game 5 in the first period a few shifts after receiving a big hit from St. Louis Blues captain Brayden Schenn. Scheifele sat out of Game 6 but took the ice at Saturday morning’s practice, donning a track suit. Wiebe also shares that defenseman Logan Stanley will be a game-time decision.

Scheifele will stick in the track suit as Winnipeg faces a must-win game on Sunday. He’s been a true star for the Jets all season long, having appeared in all 82 games of the regular season and scoring 39 goals and 87 points – both second on the team behind Kyle Connor’s 41 goals and 97 points. Scheifele’s strong scoring carried nicely into the postseason, where he managed two goals and six points in five games, or 13 periods, of action.

The Jets offense simply doesn’t function the same without their high-motor, high-speed center leading the charge. Winnipeg turned to Vladislav Namestnikov and Adam Lowry to fill the roles of top-six center in Game 6, which added plenty of pressure to the shoulders of top wingers Connor, Gabriel Vilardi, and Nikolaj Ehlers. The Jets only managed two goals with that makeup – both coming on the power-play, where they had the clearest advantage over the Blues. That could be Winnipeg’s silver lining, as St. Louis has recorded the second-most penalty minutes in the postseason so far, with 148 through six games. Unfortunately, the only team above them is indeed the Jets, who have recorded seven more penalties than St. Louis.

Efforts to balance out penalties could be made a bit easier if hard-hitting defender Logan Stanley is forced to sit. He leads the entire postseason with 42 penalty minutes in five games played, and has no scoring and a negative plus-minus to show for it. Stanley is an imposing six-foot-seven and capable of squaring up opponents seemingly every time they try to break into Winnipeg’s zone. That will be a tough role to fill should Stanley indeed be forced out of the lineup. Winnipeg’s next man up would likely be Haydn Fleury, who recorded seven assists and a minus-12 in 39 regular season games.

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