Jets GM lands winger Tlusty from Hurricanes

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This article was published 25/02/2015 (3857 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has pulled the trigger on another deal, landing forward Jiri Tlusty from the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Jets sent a third-round draft choice in next year’s NHL Draft and a conditional sixth-rounder this year (if the team makes the playoff the pick becomes a fifth rounder) in exchange for the 26-year-old veteran Czech left winger.

The club also announced it has placed forward Blake Wheeler in IR, retroactive to Feb. 22nd, although head coach Paul Maurice said earlier today he could be back in the lineup by Sunday against the Los Angeles Kings.

“Jiri has the ability to play with skill players. He’s seen some time here with the Staal brothers (Eric and Jordan) in the last couple of games and we’ve had people watching him,” said Cheveldayoff in a conference call Thursday afternoon.

“He’s got the ability to play on the power-play, he can score some goals but there’s a checking side to Jiri as well that Paul knows well from his time with him. He can play left side or right side and that can be important as time goes on here with different injuries and as you get into the stretch run.

“There’s some familiarity with several players on our team, so I think fitting into the locker room is going to be an easy thing for Jiri.”

History with Maurice

Tlusty has a history with Maurice both during his days with the Canes and the Leafs, is childhood friends with fellow Czechs Michael Frolik and Ondrej Pavelec and is reunited with another former Carolina teammate in defenceman Jay Harrison, acquired earlier this year.

Tlusty has 396 NHL games under his belt with the Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs, who originally selected him 13th overall in the 2006 NHL Draft. The product of Slany, Czech Republic has 165 career points, including 86 goals. This year he was fifth on the Canes with 23 points, including 13 goals. His career-best season came in 2012-13, the lockout-shortened campaign, when he had 23 goals for the Hurricanes – fifth best in the NHL that year.

The deal helps augment the Jets forward depth, and comes just a few weeks after the blockbuster deal that sent Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian, along with goalie prospect Jason Kasdorf, to the Buffalo Sabres for Tyler Myers, Drew Stafford, junior star Brendan Lemieux, Joel Armia (now with the St. John’s IceCaps) an a late first-round draft choice in 2015.

Asked about the price paid to land Tlusty, an unrestricted free agent, Cheveldayoff added:

“The third-round pick is a high price to pay at this time of the year and it’s something we don’t take lightly. But as a group here we’re trying to push, we’re trying to push this group to give it an opportunity to make the playoffs and help in the development of this franchise. Sometimes you get road bumps along the way with some of these injuries, but that’s all part of it.

“We feel excited about adding Jiri to our group and are looking forward to getting a couple players back in the lineup as soon as possible, health permitting, in Wheeler and (Matt) Halischuk. Obviously, when Matty Perreault’s ready it will be a big boost.”

Cheveldayoff also said he will continue to listen to offers or consider moving more pieces in advance of next Monday’s NHL trade deadline.

“I’d rather under-promise and over-deliver,” he said. “You don’t know how these things play out. We will be active on the phones up until the chiming of the deadline. That doesn’t necessarily mean there is something out there, but we’re certainly going to be active and see where things are at and where the market’s at.”

Wheeler out at least one more game

Blake Wheeler will be absent and on the mend for the Winnipeg Jets for at least one more game.

Jets coach Paul Maurice confirmed after practice today that the speedy right winger will miss Thursday’s home date against the St. Louis Blues, his second straight, but hopes to have him back in the lineup Sunday against the Stanley-Cup champion Los Angeles Kings.

Wheeler’s absence means the Jets will again be without their third-leading scorer and fifth-leading scorer, including Mathieu Perreault. Wheeler’s 44 points trails only Andrew Ladd (49) and Bryan Little (50); Perreault’s 34 points ranks just behind Dustin Byfuglien, who has 36.

“He’s one of our best players, we miss all parts of his game,” said Maurice. “He’s a quiet guy… mostly because he’s trying to catch his breath (on the bench). He spends everything he has on every shift. His recovery is fantastic. He comes (to the bench), breathes heavy for a while and he goes back out. But because of the body of work he has, he does have a place in that room to say something in between periods.

“But we’re not missing that. We’ve got a bunch of guys doing it. We miss the player, first. I mean, he’s a good leader and he’s been really, really consistent. But we’ve got some good leaders in the room.”

Andrew Ladd missed practice today but will be good to go against the Blues. Eric O’Dell, recently called up from the St. John’s IceCaps, was on the ice at practice working in Ladd’s place alongside Bryan Little and Michael Frolik. Maurice said he hasn’t decided yet whether he would insert O’Dell.

“Part of this is just if I’m going to put Eric O’Dell in, I’ve got to take somebody else out,” he said. “So I’m going to have a conversation with that person first before I say yes and then I don’t have four guys wondering who is coming out… unless, of course, I want four guys wondering who’s coming out and you’re trying to get a different emotional response.”

And the timetable for a return of Matt Halischuk remains sometime in early March.

Thursday’s matchup against the Blues will be the second of a four-game homestand that includes Sunday’s date with the Kings and wraps up next week against the Ottawa Senators. It also underscores how important Tuesday’s 4-2 victory over the Dallas Stars was for the Jets.

“We needed that one, especially the way the last couple of games have gone,” said Drew Stafford. “It was good to get a nice regulation win. That’s huge for the confidence in here. We still have that confidence in here… the Toronto game, the Washington game didn’t go our way, but we talk about cutting those off, forgetting about them and moving on because we’ve got a lot of good hockey to play here.

“We’ve got a really important homestand here and to get off to a good start, we’ll take it.”

Ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait

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