Status quo not going to cut it

Opinion

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This article was published 08/07/2022 (1170 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MONTREAL — So here’s the biggest problem for the Winnipeg Jets coming out of the NHL draft in Montreal: They did absolutely nothing to improve the team in the here and now.

Oh, sure, there’s plenty to like about their latest haul. Rutger McGroarty looks like the real deal, one who should become a fan favourite. Brad Lambert, with speed to burn, could end up being the steal of the week. The five teens taken on Friday have plenty of potential, too, along with interesting back stories. That’s great. Hopefully they can become solid contributors in a few years.

Unfortunately, there remains a clear and present danger when it comes to the current state of the hockey club. We’re no closer to finding out what, if anything, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff plans to do about it.

This outfit wasn’t nearly good enough last season, missing the playoffs for the seventh times in 11 years. Running it back with virtually the same roster seems like a recipe for disappointment, if not outright disaster. Yet here we are, with nary a single trade having been made to either clear some valuable cap space for a team that spent to the ceiling, or change the mix of a lineup that clearly isn’t built to compete for the Stanley Cup.

Memo to True North: The status quo isn’t going to cut it around here.

The Jets have been selling hope for more than a decade, and the closest they came was that magical 2018 run to the Western Conference Final which, we were told, was supposed to be the start of something truly special after years of patience. Instead, it would appear to be a one-off, a case of one step forward followed by several steps back.

Many fans have grown angry. Plenty are downright apathetic, as proven by the fact the organization didn’t have a single sell-out last year. Something has to change. At some point, you need a return on the investment, rather than continue to kick progress down the road.

The Andrew Copp trade is the perfect example. He was a drafted-and-developed product, one who became an extremely valuable player who could do a little bit of everything. He wanted to sign here long-term, but the Jets had other priorities at the time. And so he waited. And waited. And eventually priced himself off the team with his continued strong play. To the point Cheveldayoff had to pull the plug and get something, rather than lose him for nothing, at the trade deadline last year with Winnipeg out of contention.

It says here Cheveldayoff may have turned lemons into lemonade. Not only did the Jets get promising young forward Morgan Barron back for Copp, but they also landed two draft picks this year which have now become Lambert and Swedish defenceman Elias Salomonsson. Turning an expiring asset into three younger, cheaper ones is a great piece of business, one that will look even better if the New York Rangers don’t ultimately re-sign Copp and he ends up just being a two-month rental for them.

Still, the fact Copp had to be moved in the first place underlines a longstanding issue with the Jets. Far too often, it seems to be more about what’s around the corner. Which was perfectly fine when the NHL first came back to town, but has grown pretty old as the years have piled up.

There has been nothing to move the needle in this market or generate significant buzz so far in this all-important off-season. Yes, they tried to hire Barry Trotz, but the Dauphin product turned them down. Good on the Jets for at least taking a big swing, but you don’t get any participation trophies at this level.

Rick Bowness seems like a suitable, short-term Plan B. But what exactly is the veteran bench boss going to have to work with?

Winnipeg has yet to re-sign two pending unrestricted free agents that would leave significant holes in the lineup. Forward Paul Stastny was a staple in the top six. And Eric Comrie proved to be a valuable backup who could spell off Connor Hellebuyck. If one or both those players finds a new hockey home, that’s one or two more areas that will require attention in addition to the existing ones including Copp’s late-season departure.

Coming to Montreal, there was plenty of buzz about captain Blake Wheeler potentially being moved in order to free up his more than US$8 million in cap space. The draft seemed like a perfect time to make such a move, especially with Winnipeg likely needing to add a sweetener such as a pick or prospect to a team taking on the final couple years of his deal. Same goes for veteran defenceman Brenden Dillon, whose name was coming up in rumours as one the Jets might ship out to save some cash while also clearing a spot for a young blue-liner on the Manitoba Moose whose path to full-time NHL work is currently blocked.

While we saw several clubs do these kinds of deals over the past couple days — including powerhouses such as Colorado, Tampa Bay Toronto, St. Louis, Carolina and Edmonton — Winnipeg was eerily quiet.

That doesn’t mean the door is entirely closed, of course. The clock is ticking louder by the day with free agency beginning on Wednesday and the Jets, in their current state, having very little financial flexibility. There’s also the ever-present questions about Pierre-Luc Dubois and Mark Scheifele, who could walk as UFAs in two summers from now. Same with goalie Connor Hellebuyck.

All of which should be adding a lot more urgency to the situation. Yet, somewhat surprisingly, we saw none of that on display in Montreal.

As always seems to be the case with the Jets, the future looks pretty bright. But it’s time to start making the present priority No. 1 around here, don’t you think?

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg