Future not Chevy’s concern now

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This article was published 01/04/2018 (2720 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Now is really not the time to ask Kevin Cheveldayoff about his lengthy to-do list and what takes precedence.

The Winnipeg Jets general manager will, indeed, have his hands full as about a dozen regulars become either unrestricted or restricted free agents following the 2017-18 NHL season.

All-star goalie Connor Hellebuyck, defenceman Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey and centre Adam Lowry head the list of restricted free agency who will command raises, while decisions need to be made on UFAs Paul Stastny and Toby Enstrom.

Does captain Blake Wheeler, a UFA in the summer of ’19, get re-upped sooner rather than later? Does Patrik Laine, in Year 2 of a three-year entry-level deal, get inked to a long-term, multi-million-dollar extension this summer, ala Connor McDavid in Edmonton?

All boxes will be checked off at another time, Cheveldayoff maintains.

“Yeah, we have to win Game 1 of the playoffs, that’s our priority,” he said, in a phone chat Sunday. “Everything else is really secondary.”

While Jets players enjoyed a day away from the rink, Cheveldayoff took a side trip to Guelph, Ont., to watch blue-line prospect Logan Stanley perform with the Kitchener Rangers, who are locked in an Ontario Hockey League playoff battle with the Guelph Storm.

“For me, with the business of hockey there’s a time and a place. The business takes care of itself. Everyone’s focus right now is on the here and now, and that’s where it should be.”

The Jets have secured a berth in the NHL post-season for just the second time in seven years since the franchise relocated north from Atlanta. Three years ago, the Anaheim Ducks swept the Jets in an opening-round series.

That squad barely squeezed into the Stanley Cup chase, while the current rendition has 106 points with four games left in the regular season, occupies second spot in the highly competitive Central Division and is third in the Western Conference.

Winnipeg trails four teams, the Nashville Predators, Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights, in the overall standings.

Some will say it’s taken far too long to build a contender, while others will point to the Jets’ roster — led in many respects by athletes not even in their mid-20s — and note the club’s development is actually ahead of schedule.

That’s not how Cheveldayoff views things.

“They’re on their own schedule. There isn’t a chart on my wall or anything in a manual that says this is schedule that a certain player goes on, whether you’re a veteran or a first-year player,” he said. “Every professional athlete has to find what makes them go, and what makes them go consistently, because that’s the essence of the game that they’re in, which is competing at a high level all the time.

“With our group, we’ve earned the right (to be in the playoffs) and they’re going to cut their teeth together. Ultimately, when we took over the team and started this process, our guiding principle was that his group was going to grow together.”

Cheveldayoff and head coach Paul Maurice were both given multi-year contract extensions prior to the start of the season. Neither the length of the contracts nor financial terms were released.

The Jets GM was convinced then Maurice was the best man for the job, and the team’s success has given credence to that position.

“The thing for me is Paul’s ability to communicate with and understand today’s player, whether it’s the relationships he has with Wheeler or (Dustin) Byfuglien or (Bryan) Little, or the opportunities that get presented in front of him to play an 18-year-old like last year in Patrik Laine,” said Cheveldayoff. “There’s not a lot of coaches out there that are able to do both things, appeal to the veteran guys but also have the courage and the belief in himself to go out and play young guys and to help them grow.”

Cheveldayoff’s bold trade-deadline deal to acquire Stastny from the St. Louis Blues cost the club a first-round pick in this summer’s draft in Dallas. So, because of their lofty standing the Jets likely won’t select until late in the second round.

“Hopefully, it’s 62nd,” he said, a witty reference to what transpires if his team claims the Stanley Cup.

He said a late draft position doesn’t alter how they go about the business of scouting.

“Our list will still be done in the same fashion. You never know what comes in front of you between now and then, so you don’t slough it off. I have a lot of faith in our scouting department,” said Cheveldayoff. “When we made the trade, one of the first texts I got was from Mark Hillier, head of our amateur scouting, He said, ‘We’ll find someone great in the second and third.’ That’s the level of excitement within the organization we’re at, where everyone felt comfortable to make that acquisition.”

Cheveldayoff said he’s sensing the playoff buzz around the city.

“This is Winnipeg’s team. They’ve watched us now for years, they’ve seen us draft players, they’ve seen us trade for players, sign players. They’ve seen the product come together,” he said.

The True North ownership group is pushing the ‘Whiteout’ in its playoff marketing, and has adopted a ‘We are Winnipeg’ phrase to pump up the Central Division squad’s post-season fortunes.

“I do think whoever came up with the phrase ‘We are Winnipeg’ got it right, It really is Winnipeg’s team,” said Cheveldayoff. “It’s something we hope can be a sense of pride, not only for the next couple of months but something that can be built upon.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell