Free agency focus: ‘things can change quickly’ Winnipeg Jets have decisions to make with holes to fill, money to spend By: Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe Posted: 6:50 PM CDT Friday, Jun. 28, 2024

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This article was published 28/06/2024 (464 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Could there be Canada Day fireworks for the Winnipeg Jets? Or will Monday’s start of NHL free agency resemble more of a birthday cake sparkler that quickly fizzles out around here?

There’s no question the hockey club has some holes to fill and money to spend, with the exact quantity still a bit of a mystery at this point.

Forwards Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli, defencemen Brenden Dillon and Colin Miller and backup goaltender Laurent Brossoit are all pending unrestricted free agents as of July 1. Should they all find new hockey homes, the Jets will need to replace them — either internally or externally — by next season.

Toffoli, Miller and Brossoit are out the door, while the future of Monahan and Dillon is a bit foggy.

“We’ve kind of remained in constant communication with all the camps really to try to understand what their wants and desires and wishes are and does it fit and does it work within the cap and stuff like that,” general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said Friday afternoon in Las Vegas just prior to the start of the NHL draft.

“It’s a day-by-day business here right now, where there’s lots going on in a short period of time and hopefully all those things will come to some sort of conclusion at some point.”

Down on the farm, Manitoba Moose forwards Jeff Malott and Jeffrey Viel, defenceman Kyle Capobianco and Ashton Sautner and goaltender Collin Delia are also UFAs.

According to Cap Friendly, Winnipeg currently has US$79.2 million accounted for next season, representing 18 players listed below. That doesn’t include new contracts required for restricted free agent forwards Cole Perfetti and David Gustafsson and defencemen Logan Stanley and Ville Heinola.

Once you add those, along with an understudy to Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck, there’s a good chance the Jets will be getting fairly tight to the US$88 million salary cap ceiling.

That’s where things get tricky: Could they clear some cap space by moving the likes of defencemen Nate Schmidt (US$5.95 million) and Neal Pionk (US$5.875 million) or forwards Nikolaj Ehlers (US$6 million) and Alex Iafallo (US$4 million)? All four of those players have just one year remaining on their deals and have been the subject of recent buzz.

Cheveldayoff called Ehlers a “big part of what we have going forward,” so that might pour some cold water on trade talk, at least for now.

“We’re very focused on trying to put the best team on the ice that we possibly can in order to compete for a Stanley Cup,” he said. “We had a good year this year, 110 points. We’re going to make some tweaks just generically by nature, there’s going to be some opportunities for some different players to come into the lineup.”

Jets head coach Scott Arniel said in an interview on Thursday that he’s excited to see how things unfold over the course of the coming days.

“There’s lots going on with our hockey club. We got (Dylan) DeMelo done, which was huge,” said Arniel. “Hopefully we can get the other guys done and see where it goes. You kind of get a feel for what’s going on in the league. Who is fishing for what kind of fish and those type of things.”

Here’s a position-by-position breakdown of what the Jets have, what they need, who’s in the pipeline and who could be on the free agent radar:

Goaltending

What they have: Connor Hellebuyck.

What they need: A legitimate NHL backup.

In the pipeline: Thomas Milic is coming off a terrific rookie campaign that began in the ECHL and led to a well-deserved AHL promotion. Another season, or more, with the Moose will be to his benefit. The Jets also have Domenic DiVincentiis, who just finished his third OHL season with the North Bay Battalion.

On the free agent radar: How about a reunion with old friend Eric Comrie (Buffalo), who thrived as an understudy to Hellebuyck and under the tutelage of goalie coach Wade Flaherty — 10-15-1 in 16 starts and 19 appearances during the 2021-22 campaign.

Other capable puckstoppers on the open market include Anthony Stolarz (Florida), Winnipegger Chris Driedger (Seattle), Casey DeSmith (Vancouver), Scott Wedgewood (Dallas), Kevin Lankinen (Nashville) and Kaapo Kahkonen (New Jersey).

“You look at the situation we’re in, we have the best goaltender in the NHL as our goaltender, so he’s going to play a lot. He thrives on playing a lot,” Cheveldayoff said of the qualities a No. 2 netminder must possess.

“You need somebody that can understand that, can accept that, but can work with that and can be ready. Someone that has a good outlook of where they’re at in their career and can understand the situation in front of them. We are open and honest when we will get into discussions with players about that role. The goalie carousel is a very, very different one. It seems like there are lots of spots and then all of a sudden, the music stops and everyone tries to grab a chair. That’s always an interesting dynamic.”’

 

Defence

What they have: Josh Morrissey, Dylan DeMelo, Dylan Samberg, Neal Pionk, Nate Schmidt, Logan Stanley (RFA) , Ville Heinola (RFA).

What they need: A top-four upgrade, preferably on the right side. Some additional depth.

In the pipeline: Elias Salomonsson.

On the free agent radar: While Heinola, who is not waiver exempt, is sure to make the opening-night 23-man roster, Salomonsson (a right-shot) is a bit of a wildcard as he comes over to North America to get his feet wet following a championship season in Sweden. Is the club comfortable with the current crop, or is a blue-line boost in the cards especially if Dillon isn’t re-signed?

Big fish on the market include Brandon Montour (Florida), Chris Tanev (Dallas), Matt Roy (Los Angeles), Brett Pesce (Carolina), Brady Skjei (Carolina) and Sean Walker (Colorado), but term and salary may be too much for Winnipeg. Looking at the next tier, a defender like Alexandre Carrier (Nashville) could be a great fit that probably wouldn’t break the bank. Vincent Desharnais (Edmonton) would also provide some serious size and snarl.

This is where a potential Ehlers trade becomes interesting, as a return could address this situation in a way free agency likely can’t. The status of Pionk and Schmidt on what appears to be a crowded and rather costly back-end adds some additional intrigue as well.

“Everything is on the table when it comes to having to deal with the cap,” Cheveldayoff said when asked about utilizing a potential buyout on one of his players. “You have to understand what levers you do have in front of you, yet still try to put the most competitive team on the ice in front of us. Again, nothing’s off the table.”

 

Forwards

What they have: Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Gabe Vilardi, Nikolaj Ehlers, Cole Perfetti (RFA), Nino Niederreiter, Adam Lowry, Mason Appleton, Alex Iafallo, Vlad Namestikov, Morgan Barron, David Gustafsson (RFA), Rasmus Kupari, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby.

What they need: A second-line centre. A bottom-six boost with penalty killing prowess. Some additional depth.

In the pipeline: Brad Lambert, Nikita Chibrikov, Chaz Lucius, Rutger McGroarty (for now), Colby Barlow.

On the free agent radar: Lambert appears ready to push for a job following a stellar rookie season with the Manitoba Moose, and Chibrikov might not be too far behind him.

Monahan is a major question mark, as he would solidify the 2C position should he be re-signed. If not, it remains a need unless the organization wants to give Lambert a look, or go back to someone like Namestnikov.

Unless some cap space is cleared, you can rule out a huge swing in a rather thin market. Elias Lindholm (Vancouver), Chandler Stephenson (Vegas) and Alex Wennberg (New York Rangers) are all centres who should attract plenty of interest, while wingers including Yakov Trenin (Colorado), Teuvo Teravainen (Carolina), Jordan Martinook (Carolina), Anthony Duclair (Tampa Bay) and Anthony Mantha (Vegas) check off plenty of boxes.

William Carrier (Vegas) would bring a number of qualities, including a physical presence and championship pedigree.

Has Arniel already started to draw up potential line combinations on the board in his office?

“I’m going to wait,” he told the Free Press. “Until the third or fourth of July. Then I’ll take a look at that. Things can change quickly.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld