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Trade season is upon us in the National Hockey League, with the clock ticking toward Friday’s 2 p.m. deadline. Here in Winnipeg, plenty of the focus is on the Jets and how general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff might approach the situation.
His club enters play today nine points out of a playoff spot with just 22 regular-season games remaining. They also have 10 pending unrestricted free agents on the current roster, and the typical course of action would be to try and sell as much as possible to recoup some draft capital and/or prospects.
Whether that occurs remains to be seen.
We don’t expect the Jets to be buyers, as they have been in recent years, but plenty of teams around the league are already extremely aggressive.
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With that in mind, today’s newsletter takes a themed approach to life in general.
BUYING: Everything to do with my Olympic experience. That truly was the road trip of a lifetime, one I’m incredibly thankful the Free Press entrusted me with. Three unforgettable weeks, 52 unique stories and features, and countless experiences and memories that will stay with me forever.
SELLING: The bronchitis and sinus infection I brought home from Italy 10 days ago. That’s one Olympic souvenir I certainly could have done without.
BUYING: Our latest Winnipeg Jets mailbag. Colleague Ken Wiebe and I will be tackling your burning questions in the coming days, with the finished product going online next week. Have a query for us? Just hit reply to this email and send it our way.
SELLING: As many of the hockey club’s unrestricted free agents as possible — at least if I were in Cheveldayoff’s seat. Yes, I know the Jets are not mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, nor should they be publicly waving the white flag. But it would be negligent not to at least try to salvage some draft capital for as many expiring contracts as possible before Friday’s deadline. That’s simply good asset management.
BUYING: Early puck drops! We get a few of them during this season-long, eight-game Jets homestand — 6 p.m. this Saturday against Vancouver, 3 p.m. next Saturday against Colorado and 2 p.m. next Sunday against St. Louis. Trust me when I say this alleviates plenty of stress when it comes to meeting print deadlines.
SELLING: Late puck drops. A 7:30 p.m. start next Tuesday against Anaheim? Booooooo. That’s just unnecessary.
BUYING: The World Baseball Classic, which officially began Wednesday night and runs through March 17. I’m a sucker for international best-on-best competition, and this tournament should be a beauty. Go Canada!
SELLING: Everything to do with Power Slap. Apparently, I’m late to the game on this, since Google tells me it’s actually been around since 2023. Count yourself lucky if you’ve never flipped through the channels and stumbled across one of these “competitions,” which involves two people quite literally slapping each other in the face.
BUYING: Les Misérables. I saw it last week when it made a pit stop here in Winnipeg — probably the 12th time I’ve taken it in during my lifetime — and I was once again blown away by every element of it. I’ve seen a ton of musicals, and any list of the greatest of all time begins with Les Miz, in my opinion.
SELLING: Scream 7. Scary Movie 6. Toy Story 5. C’mon, Hollywood — how about something original? Look, I’m all for nostalgia, but the number of reboots being thrown our way suggests fresh ideas are in short supply these days.
BUYING: Springing forward this weekend. I’m more of a night owl than a morning person, so anything that extends daylight is welcome by me. Sunsets approaching 7:30 p.m.? Yes, please.
SELLING: The current state of my backyard. With warmer temperatures and melting snow comes undeniable evidence of my dereliction of doggy-doo duty over the winter months.
How about you folks? What are you buying or selling in your life these days? Let’s hear it!
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