Expect nothing, Jets fans… …and you won’t be disappointed

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/07/2013 (4509 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If it were easy, Kevin Cheveldayoff would simply push a shopping cart up and down the aisles of the NHL free-agent market and help himself to whatever talent upgrades he could find for the Winnipeg Jets.

But if the last two free-agent periods for the Jets have provided any sort of foreshadowing for what to expect in the third — which opens Friday — then we can take a wild guess at this unfolding over the next few days or so:

Cheveldayoff & Co. will make a ton of phone calls, serve up some legit offers and then cross their fingers one of their feelers gets a bite.

Yes, throwing dollars around like a Saudi prince has never been the Jets’ approach to free agency because it is the antithesis of their core draft-and-develop blueprint. But it doesn’t mean they won’t be active, or at least, attempt to be active, in playing the game and augmenting their roster.

A year ago the free-agent additions featured Olli Jokinen, Alex Ponikarovsky and Al Montoya — none of which made any significant contributions. And in Year 1 it was Kyle Wellwood, Randy Jones, Derek Meech and Tanner Glass. Role players and depth guys every one of them.

And so if Jets fans are hoping/praying/expecting the club to do what the Minnesota Wild did last summer — throwing 13-year, $98-million deals at both Ryan Suter and Zach Parise — then, well, prepare to be bitterly disappointed.

An example: Paul Krepelka, the agent for Boston Bruins right-winger Nathan Horton, told the Free Press Thursday in an email he had spoken to Cheveldayoff, but it was “unlikely” his client — who has already visited Columbus — would sign with the Jets.

Worth noting is the Jets have already committed $42 million to 15 players signed for next season and, presuming some of their restricted free agents get healthy raises — Zach Bogosian, Blake Wheeler and Bryan Little key among them — then the club will have some room to make a big pitch to land a right-winger they covet.

The more likely scenario over the next few weeks/months is for the Jets to make a smaller splash in free agency and then try to deal for Top 6 help — just as they did with Michael Frolik on Sunday.

Here’s a look at where the Jets are with their current roster and the cap and a handful of players they may be/should be pursuing when the market officially opens.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPEdTait

The Jets go to market

Players signed for 2013-14: 15

(Figures indicate 2013-14 cap hit; courtesy capgeek.com)

Goaltender: Ondrej Pavelec ($3.9 million), Al Montoya ($601,000)

Defencemen: Toby Enstrom ($5.75 million); Dustin Byfuglien ($5.2 million); Grant Clitsome ($2.07 million); Jacob Trouba ($1.83 million); Mark Stuart ($1.7 million).

Forwards: Evander Kane ($5.25 million); Olli Jokinen ($4.5 million); Andrew Ladd ($4.4 million); Michael Frolik ($2.33 million); Jim Slater ($1.6 million); Mark Scheifele ($1.56 million); Chris Thorburn ($866,667); James Wright ($650,000)

Cap payroll total: $42,208,500

2013-14 salary cap ceiling: $64.3 million

2013-14 salary-cap floor: $44 million

Jets’ cap space: $23,316,500

Restricted free agents:

RW Blake Wheeler ($2.55 million)

C Bryan Little ($2.38 million)

C Alex Burmistrov ($1.5 million)

LW Eric Tangradi ($726,000)

RW Anthony Peluso ($605,000)

D Zach Bogosian ($2.5 million)

D Zach Redmond ($875,000)

D Paul Postma ($550,000)

D Arturs Kulda ($550,000)

Unrestricted free agents (2013 salary):

D Ron Hainsey ($4.5 million)

C Nik Antropov ($4.06 million)

C/W Kyle Wellwood ($1.6 million)

C/W Mike Santorelli ($1.6 million)

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Thursdays

Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.

Sign up for Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

RW Antti Miettinen ($1.35 million)

C Aaron Gagnon ($562,500)

Filling the right side

Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has made no secret of his desire to find forward help for his Top 6, preferably on the right side. Here’s a list at some of the RWs available in free agency:

• David Clarkson, NJ: 2013 salary: $3 million; gritty, tough, resilient and can score. Drawing lots of interest.
• Nathan Horton, Bos: 2013 salary: $5.5 million (cap hit: $4 million); visited Columbus, also interested in Nashville. Still just 28 and a big dude at 6-2, 230 but ‘unlikely’ to come to the Jets, according to his agent.
• Michael Ryder, Mtl: 2013 salary: $3.5 million; now 33, but can still score: had 16 goals in 46 games last season and 35 the year before.
• Damien Brunner, Det: 2013 salary: $1.35 million; fits what the Jets are chasing: younger (27), can score (12 goals, 26 points in 44 games) and figures not to come with a gaudy price tag.
• Brad Boyes, NYI: 2013 salary: $1 million; certainly not prolific, but a decent winger.
• Jarome Iginla, Pitt: 2013 salary: $7 million; it is 2013 and not 2003, right?
• Jaromir Jagr, Bos: 2013 salary: $4.55 million; it is 2013 and not 1993, right?
• Daniel Alfredsson, Ott: 2013 salary: $1 million (cap hit of $4.875 million); hard to imagine him in anything other than a Sens uni.

Other juicy names on the market