Jets GM seemingly content with minor adjustments

Opinion

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This article was published 09/10/2020 (1799 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Kevin Cheveldayoff apparently believes the best way to improve his team’s future is to turn back the clock to the recent past.

A curious strategy indeed, considering the track record of the Winnipeg Jets isn’t exactly filled with glory. I probably don’t need to remind you that the local hockey club didn’t even make it out of the qualifying round in this summer’s expanded 24-team Stanley Cup tournament, one year removed from a quick first-round playoff exit.

That would have many general managers reaching for the “implode” button regarding their roster. Jim Rutherford in Pittsburgh and David Poile in Nashville — two franchises, I should note, that fared better than Winnipeg this season — have done just that in recent days with big, bold moves.

And yet, Cheveldayoff is seemingly content to keep most of the band together and hope the music they can make doesn’t have you reaching for the ear plugs or changing the channel.

Just look at how Friday’s first day of NHL free agency played out. A trade for old friend Paul Stastny, and the re-signing of depth defencemen Nathan Beaulieu and Luca Sbisa is as much of a “frenzy” as we got around here. That came on the heels of re-upping pending unrestricted free agents Dylan DeMelo, another defenceman, and goaltender Laurent Brossoit earlier in the week.

Whether this homecoming ends up being a happy one remains to be seen. But it speaks to how deep loyalty runs within the Jets organization, sometimes to a fault. On the positive side, at least fans won’t have to worry about buying new jerseys or programs to identify who’s who next year.

Cheveldayoff, in his late-afternoon availability to discuss the moves he’d made, repeatedly mentioned the word “fit” when describing the above players. On the ice, in the room and in the community. And, taken on their own, a case can be made that they all make some degree of sense.

But we can’t lose sight of the fact this a results-oriented business, one that can be downright cruel at times. Look at the Tampa Bay Lightning, who thanked centre Tyler Johnson for his role in helping them win the Stanley Cup by putting him on waivers Friday morning in a clear attempt at a salary dump.

Nice guys often do finish last in the world of pro sports.

By adding Stastny and his US$6.5-million salary, the Jets are now very close to the US$81.5-million cap ceiling, with restricted free agents Jack Roslovic, Jansen Harkins, Mason Appleton and Sami Niku still to be signed. They will eventually get to place Bryan Little’s US$5.2-million hit on long-term injured relief with the veteran centre unable to continue his career, but there’s not a whole lot of cash left to play with.

But Cheveldayoff can’t truly be done tinkering, is he?

There’s still the not-so-small matter of shoring up his beleaguered blue line, with the only change so far being the addition of rookie Dylan Samberg and the departures of Dmitry Kulikov, Anthony Bitetto and Carl Dahlstrom. Ville Heinola, 19, will also be an option after returning to Europe following a short NHL debut last year.

But throwing youngsters Samberg and Heinola into the fire and asking them to save the day seems like a recipe for failure. There’s got to be something else coming in the form of a legitimate top-four defender who can provide size and sandpaper, which Winnipeg’s blue line is sorely lacking.

If not, expect a major strain on the same two goaltenders who were often under siege last year, Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck and his backup, Brossoit.

And expecting more from your forward group — so far just the aging Stastny has been added, while semi-regulars Cody Eakin, Nick Shore, Gabriel Bourque and Logan Shaw are gone — is also a stretch.

Something’s gotta give. Mathieu Perreault’s US$4.125-million cap hit sticks out like a sore thumb, especially for an often-injured player who is primarily in the bottom six and has slowed greatly in speed and production.

Cheveldayoff has to find a way to unload that. He may have to go the Steve Mason route, in sending Perreault along with a sweetener (a la Joel Armia to Montreal along with Mason) to get out from under that. Perhaps a team like Ottawa, in the early stages of a rebuild and trying to get to the salary cap floor, could be persuaded.

One thing I no longer expect to see based on this week’s events is a trade involving Patrik Laine. The Jets didn’t bring Stastny and his big cap hit in just to send their Finnish sniper packing. They brought him in to play with Laine, a pairing (along with Nikolaj Ehlers) that had great chemistry during the 2018 run to the Western Conference final.

Like a favourite old sweater, there’s a comfort with Stastny that couldn’t be guaranteed with any other middle man on the open market. He is truly a temporary stop-gap, meant to keep the seat warm for what the Jets hope will be Cole Perfetti, the 18-year-old Ontario Hockey League scoring star they picked 10th overall in Tuesday’s draft.

With no contract beyond next season, Stastny should be a motivated player. Reuniting him with Laine, who will be a restricted free agent looking to cash in after next season, seems like a win-win.

Ultimately, Cheveldayoff will be judged by the performance of the familiar group he’s clearly prepared to double-down on — and perhaps stake his immediate future to. The words of former football coach Bill Parcells — “You are what your record says you are” — ring true. And since that big run in 2018, that hasn’t been nearly good enough for the Jets.

Perhaps this time it will be different, even if it mostly looks the same. Just be wary of the old saying: Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg