Jets have decisions to make before Kraken draft

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This article was published 09/07/2021 (1570 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Fare thee well, 2021 NHL season. We weren’t sure what to expect when you started cautiously and quietly back in early January, but you sure packed a punch by the end.

That was quite the swan song down in stormy Florida this week, one that should have every other organization green with envy. From pulling off the rare Stanley Cup repeat to having a jam-packed arena that brought a boatload of cash to their coffers, there’s no doubt the Tampa Bay Lightning are on top of the hockey mountain right now.

The question now for 31 jealous other teams: How the heck can we get there next year? Work on that front should already be well underway, with the sprint that is the off-season now upon us.

A flurry of events are on tap. The window for buying out contracts, decisions on restricted free agents including potential arbitration hearings, re-signing or cutting loose pending unrestricted free agents, finalizing protected lists, the Seattle Kraken expansion draft, the league’s annual amateur draft and free agent frenzy will all happen later this month. We’ll also get the release of the 2021-22 schedule and a final decision on Winter Olympics involvement.

So much for the lazy, hazy days of summer.

With that in mind, here’s what the to-do list of Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff currently looks like, along with my two cents on how he should approach the important tasks at hand.

1) BUYOUTS: The Jets are fortunate not to have any of the so-called boat anchor contracts dragging them down, especially with the salary cap stuck at US$81.5 million for the foreseeable future. Are some deals concerning? Sure. Blake Wheeler’s, for example, probably won’t age well. But there’s nothing to see here in terms of one you’d be willing to pay the price to get out of.

2) PROTECTED LIST: I’d expect Winnipeg to protect the following 11 skaters under the 7-3-1 format: Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers, Kyle Connor, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Blake Wheeler, Andrew Copp and Adam Lowry up front; Neal Pionk, Josh Morrissey and Dylan DeMelo on the blue-line and Connor Hellebuyck in goal.

Which likely means losing either Logan Stanley or Mason Appleton.

No question that will sting, but Cheveldayoff would be wise to avoid a side deal which could actually make the situation worse.

I might be enticed to protect Stanley, and expose DeMelo, gambling that the Kraken would then choose a young forward like Appleton rather than a solid stay-at-home defender like DeMelo. Cheveldayoff must submit his list by July 17, ahead of the July 21 expansion draft.

3) ENTRY DRAFT: The Jets have the 17th-overall pick in the first round of the entry draft on July 23, which will be done virtually for a second straight year. That should give them a solid future prospect. Zach Parise, Tomas Hertl and a guy you may have heard of around here, Kyle Connor, all went in that same spot in previous years.

Winnipeg has four other selections on July 24, in the second, third, fifth and seventh rounds after previously trading their fourth-round pick (to Vegas for Cody Eakin in 2020) and sixth-round pick (to Vancouver for Jordie Benn in 2021).

This is where the amateur scouting department, which has been a real strength of Winnipeg’s, will need to do the heavy lifting. Many of these teenagers have barely played over the past 16 months due to the global pandemic, so the crapshoot that is the annual talent show is an even bigger roll-of-the-dice this year.

As always, my advice would be to pick the best player available, regardless of position or organizational need. But after a heavy emphasis on the blue-line in recent years (13 defencemen, 12 forwards and four goalies over the last five drafts), a focus up front might be in order.

4) UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS: There are eight in the fold, who can also shop their services around to the rest of the league if not re-signed by July 28. Forwards Paul Stastny, Mathieu Perreault, Trevor Lewis and Nate Thompson, defencemen Derek Forbort, Tucker Poolman and Jordie Benn, and backup goaltender Laurent Brossoit.

I’d be surprised if at least a few of these familiar names aren’t back for another run. Brossoit is a perfect companion to Connor Hellebuyck, Poolman is a drafted and developed player that Paul Maurice is high on, and Stastny is beloved by the team for all he brings. But again, it’s a matter of what they might fetch elsewhere, too. With the bulk of the core signed long-term, and existing holes on the roster needing to be filled, there’s only so much money available.

5) RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS: Andrew Copp and Neal Pionk, both with arbitration rights, are major priorities. They’re both coming off impressive campaigns and likely in line for big pay hikes. Pionk made $3 million last year while Copp made $2.28 million.

The Jets already took Copp to arbitration two summers ago, an experience that left a chip on the shoulder of the versatile 27-year-old Michigan product, who can play centre or wing and up and down the lineup. They’d be wise to avoid it again. Locking them up on long-term extensions would be the best-case scenario, but I have to think you’re starting with a “4” on both players when it comes to average annual salary.

Stanley, provided he isn’t scooped by Seattle, is the other RFA, but his deal will be far more simple, and inexpensive.

6) FREE AGENT FRENZY: Much of what the Jets do starting July will be based on decisions made with their own UFA’s and how much they’re spending (or projecting to spend if the deals aren’t done) on Copp and Pionk. But there’s no question the blue-line has to be a top priority, with the focus on landing a big fish if possible.

Problem is, there’s not a whole lot out there except for Dougie Hamilton, who is likely going to get a massive haul as part of a bidding war for his services.

There are some intriguing veteran second-tier names, such as Alec Martinez, Alex Goligoski, Jamie Oleksiak, Alex Edler and Niklas Hjalmarsson on the left side, and Tyson Barrie, Brandon Montour, David Savard, Adam Larsson and Travis Hamonic.

Bottom line: With only Morrissey, Pionk, DeMelo, Stanley and Nathan Beaulieu under team control next year, in addition to young players such as Sami Niku, Ville Heinola and Dylan Samberg, there’s a lot of work to be done. Throw in potentially needing a new No. 2 goalie, a couple middle-six skaters and several depth forwards and defencemen to round out a roster, and this really could be a frenzy around here.

7) THE CHICAGO SITUATION: Last, but certainly not least. Cheveldayoff will be doing multiple media availabilities coming up, and the former assistant GM of the Chicago Blackhawks will be asked what he knew about two players who reported to management back in 2010 that they were sexually assaulted by video coach Brad Aldrich.

In a subsequent lawsuit, one of the players accuses the organization of a cover-up. Former associate coach John Torchetti and former defencemen Brent Sopel and Nick Boynton have all confirmed publicly it was well-known within the organization. An independent investigation has been launched.

It’s important to note Cheveldayoff was not reportedly present for an internal team meeting where the matter was discussed, then ultimately not reported to police. Aldrich left the organization, was given a glowing letter of reference and went on to molest a high school hockey player, for which he was convicted and jailed. Still, as a former member of that Stanley Cup-winning club, the elephant in the room must be addressed.

Add it all up and business, as they say, is about to pick up. And the Jets of today may look a heck of a lot different in a few weeks from now.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg