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The Winnipeg Jets won 37 games last season, and the franchise hasn't won more than that since 2006-2007 in Atlanta, the last -- and only -- time that they have reached the playoffs.

 

Off-Season Game Plan looks at a Jets team that has an interesting core, a new coach and a problem between the pipes.

Many of Winnipeg's core players are in their twenties, in and around their prime years, so while that's reason for optimism, it's also reason for some urgency to take advantage of the kind of production being provided by the likes of Andew Ladd, Blake Wheeler and Dustin Byfuglien.

 

Byfuglien is an interesting case for the Jets, having shifted from defence to forward part way through last season. While Big Buff is an effective winger, his preference is to play defence, which might make him appealing as a trade candidate for other clubs that are willing to accomodate that desire.

 

But, if Byfuglien sticks around, the Jets have a quality group of forwards, with potential to be really good if Evander Kane and Mark Scheifele continue to develop. Their defence isn't as strong, overall, without Byfuglien, but Jacob Trouba's strong rookie season was encouraging. Basically, the Jets have a competitive group of skaters. Not great, necessarily, but competitive.

 

Then, it comes to goaltending, and that appears to be the area that needs fixing, only GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has backed Ondrej Pavelec as the team's starting goaltender going into next season. Maybe that's the stance that a GM has to take with a guy under contract for three more seasons, but his performance has been crippling to the Jets' playoff chances and if he starts 50-plus games again next season, that is a serious roll of the dice that the Jets are taking with a goaltender that has finished with a league average save percentage once in five NHL seasons.

 

The Jets did fare better under new head coach Paul Maurice, going 18-12-5 in the last 35 games, but that was largely due to favourable percentages and their possession stats only improved slightly over that span.

 

They are close enough to contend for a playoff spot next season, with a couple of savvy moves this summer and further development from young players, but if they don't do something to upgrade in goal, it may all for naught.

 

The TSN.ca Rating is an efficiency rating based on per-game statistics including goals and assists -- weighted for strength (ie. power play, even, shorthanded) -- Corsi, adjusted for zone starts, quality of competition and quality of teammates, hits, blocked shots, penalty differential and faceoffs. Generally, a replacement-level player is around a 60, a top six forward and top four defenceman will be around 70, stars will be over 80 and MVP candidates could go over 90. Sidney Crosby finished at the top of the 2013-2014 regular season ratings at 87.12.

 

Salary cap information all comes from the indispensable www.capgeek.com.

CF% = Corsi percentage (ie. percentage of 5-on-5 shot attempts), via www.extraskater.com.

GM/COACH
 

Kevin Cheveldayoff/Paul Maurice

Returning Forwards Player Rating GP G A PTS CF% Cap Hit Dustin Byfuglien 77.01 78 20 36 56 50.4% $5.2M Blake Wheeler 75.85 82 28 41 69 49.9% $5.6M Evander Kane 74.81 63 19 22 41 51.5% $5.25M Bryan Little 74.61 82 23 41 64 52.9% $4.7M Andrew Ladd 73.59 78 23 31 54 52.9% $4.4M Mark Scheifele 66.91 63 13 21 34 48.6% $863K Jim Slater 57.45 27 1 1 2 49.6% $1.6M Eric Tangradi 57.40 55 3 3 6 53.8% $675K Anthony Peluso 54.84 53 2 3 5 45.6% $563K

Free Agent Forwards Player Rating GP G A PTS CF% Class '13-'14 Cap Hit Michael Frolik 68.98 81 15 27 42 53.0% RFA $2.333M Olli Jokinen 64.17 82 18 25 43 49.2% UFA $4.5M Devin Setoguchi 63.46 75 11 16 27 48.8% UFA $3.0M Matt Halischuk 58.07 46 5 5 10 44.5% RFA $650K Chris Thorburn 57.18 55 2 9 11 43.3% UFA $867K James Wright 53.76 59 0 2 2 47.7% RFA $650K

Shifted to forward at the end of his run by since-departed coach Claude Noel, Dustin Byfuglien appears to be set for that spot again next season. That presumes that Byfuglien doesn't get moved in the summer, which is always a possibility, but also operates under the premise that the Jets are better with Byfuglien at forward. Byfuglien, individually, had a 51.7% Corsi percentage before he was moved to forward and 48.0% after.

 

That aside, in 32 games at (mostly) forward, Byfuglien had 10 goals, 12 assists and 102 shots on goal. On a per-game basis, those numbers would have placed him with pretty nice company last season. It's a little interesting that the bottom name on that list is Brent Burns, the Sharks' winger who also used to play defence.

 

Over the past three seasons, Blake Wheeler has 174 points, which ranks 22nd in the league over that span and last year's 50 even-strength points was tied for 13th in the league with David Krejci and Thomas Vanek. Wheelers is big and can move, which allows him to create mismatches depending on what gives him the advantage on a particular defender.

 

Evander Kane uses his terrific speed to generate shots at an elite level, but has been a relatively low-percentage finisher. Some of that is due to not getting first-unit power play time and, even at even-strength, could use better linemates to help him out. That doesn't absolve Kane of any responsibility for his production, which has dipped since scoring 30 goals in 74 games in 2011-2012, but there's still a lot to like about what he brings to the game.

 

After scoing 23 goals and a career-high 64 points, there is a case to be made for Bryan Little as an advanced stats All-Star as one of a handful of players to face top-tier competition, start more shifts in the defensive zone and still have a relative Corsi over plus-10 per 60 minutes. The common perception of Little might be that he's a good second-line centre but the 26-year-old is coming off a season in which he was a full-fledged No. 1 pivot.

 

Team captain Andrew Ladd has scored 98 goals over the past four seasons, ranking 24th in that span. He's a reliable two-way player that can be used in any situation and he is, averaging 19:46 per game in four seasons with the franchise.

 

Mark Scheifele had rounded into form, with 12 goals and 29 points in the last 39 games he played before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Considering that Scheifele managed five points in his first 24 games last season, and had his Corsi percentage rise from 46.7% to 49.7% over those splits, counts as positive indications that he could fulfill the second-line centre role going forward.

 

A sports hernia cost Jim Slater two-thirds of last season, and he's mustered a grand total of two goals and four points in 53 games over the past two seasons. While he's hit double-digits in goals three times in his career, Slater has also missed at least a dozen games in six of nine seasons, so it's getting difficult to count on him, even in a fourth-line role.

 

Though he has a paltry 15 points in 136 career games, big winge Eric Tangradi held his own in a depth role last season, putting up positive possession stats. As an inexpensive fourth-line option, the Jets could do worse.

 

Like most forwards that play less than six minutes per game, Anthony Peluso can't risk playing too many minutes, lest he be exposed. He's a scrapper who can handle the big boys, though, so as long as the Jets are going to leave a roster spot for that role, Peluso can fill it. At the same time, they could probably do without.

 

26-year-old Michael Frolik established that he hasn't completely forgotten how to create offence, scoring 42 points, his most since 2009-2010. He's still a low-percentage finisher, but a versatile forward who can play both ends of the rink.

 

A couple years removed from a career-best 28-point season, Matt Halischuk has been battling to keep a regular spot in the lineup and, last season, he was overrun in possession terms. He's a viable fourth-line forward, but also one that could quickly be replaced.

24-year-old James Wright has good size, but there isn't much else justifying his place on an NHL roster. Last season, he was one of eight forwards since 2000-2001 to play at least 500 minutes and not register a single goal.

 

The Jets have a solid core of forwards, but can use a couple of top-nine forwards to effectively take spots of unrestricted free agents Olli Jokinen and Devin Setoguchi. Given the free agent alternatives at centre, the Jets could be okay doing a short-term deal with Jokinen and then find a solid checking forward, like Blake Comeau, Jesse Winchester or Daniel Winnik could round out the group nicely.

Returning Defence Player Rating GP G A PTS CF% Cap Hit Jacob Trouba 71.45 65 10 19 29 49.0% $894K Grant Clitsome 67.12 32 2 10 12 51.7% $2.067M Tobias Enstrom 66.89 82 10 20 30 50.6% $5.75M Zach Bogosian 63.37 55 3 8 11 49.4% $5.143M Mark Stuart 61.70 69 2 11 13 47.6% $2.625M Paul Postma 58.59 20 1 2 3 47.4% $713K

Free Agent Defence Player Rating GP G A PTS CF% Class '13-'14 Cap Hit Adam Pardy 57.93 60 0 6 6 53.7% UFA $600K Keaton Ellerby 57.48 51 2 4 6 48.0% RFA $735K

 

One of the reasons that the Jets might have felt able to move Byfuglien to forward was the emergence of Jacob Trouba, who recovered from a neck injury and led the Jets in ice time following the Olympic break, averaging 23:33 per game. A 20-year-old who can skate, hit and contribute offensively, Trouba will have more responsibility heaped on him, but he has the makings of a No. 1 on the blueline.

 

Back surgery ended Grant Clitsome's season early, but he was logging nearly 20 minutes a night, with positive possession stats at the time of his injury. Clitsome can move the puck and play a solid game, though he's never played more than 63 games in an NHL season, so there's still some unknown regarding his performance over the course of a full season.

 

While Tobias Enstrom's offensive production dipped to a career-low 0.37 points per game last season, he still delivered relatively steady play while facing tough competition. He's small, but mobile and his ability to move the puck is important to the Jets' defence.

Zach Bogosian hasn't really made the mark that was expected when he was drafted third overall in 2008 and, on top of being bitten by the injury bug -- he's missed 70 games over the past four seasons -- Bogosian hasn't been able to successfully lock into a shutdown role. That's the objective, but there is still some unexplored potential in the 23-year-old's game.

 

A rugged veteran, Mark Stuart combined for 389 hits and blocked shots last season, ranking third among defencemen (behind Cody Franson and Radko Gudas), so there's no denying that he lays his body on the line. He also tends to spend more of his time in the Jets' end of the ice, though last season he was taking on tougher matchups, playing more minutes once Byfuglien moved up.

Paul Postma hasn't been able to hold down a regular spot in the lineup, playing 57 career games and while he has some puck skills and a big shot that suit him on the power play, Postma struggled at even-strength last season.

 

Between Postma, Keaton Ellerby and pending unrestricted free agent Adam Pardy, the Jets had a battle for playing time at the bottom of the defence depth chart. Ellerby could take on more minutes if Pardy departs, but that may just mean a more regular turn in the lineup.

 

The wildcard could be top prospect Joshua Morrissey, who is a fast-rising offensive defenceman. If he makes the club, that could raise the group's ceiling.

Returning Goaltender Player Rating GP W L OTL GAA SV% Cap Hit Ondrej Pavelec 60.64 57 22 26 7 3.01 .901 $3.9M

Free Agent Goaltender Player Rating GP W L OTL GAA SV% Class '13-'14 Cap Hit Al Montoya 68.70 28 13 8 3 2.30 .920 UFA $601K

 

Over the past three seasons, Ondrej Pavelec has cost the Jets approximately 45 goals compared to the league average, according to Hockey Reference's Goals Saved Above Average measure. It's one thing to be at the bottom of the league in save percentage and another to continually get played at a starter's workload. The Jets have invested money in Pavelec, but it's really had to rationalize him in a starter's role, especially if the team considers itself ready to contend for a playoff spot.

 

There may be challenges to getting rid of Pavelec, not least of which is that Cheveldayoff has said that Pavelec will be the No. 1 goalie next year, but he also may not be particularly appealing to other teams with the Jets paying half of his salary.

 

Given how much it has been a problem lately, though, the Jets have to investigate opportunities to upgrade their goaltending. A trade for Manitoba native James Reimer could work, or signing a free agent like Jonas Hiller, Brian Elliott, Ray Emery or Tomas Vokoun could be worthwhile.

Top Prospects Player Pos. Team/League Stats Joshua Morrissey D Prince Albert (WHL) 28-45-73, +6, 59 GP Nicolas Petan C Portland (WHL) 35-78-113, +47, 63 GP Adam Lowry LW St. John's (AHL) 17-16-33, -1, 64 GP Eric Comrie G Tri-City (WHL) 2.57 GAA, .925 SV%, 60 GP Scott Kosmachuk RW Guelph (OHL) 49-52-101, +52, 68 GP Andrew Copp C Michigan (Big 10) 15-14-29, +1, 33 GP Connor Hellebuyck G UMass-Lowell (HE) 1.79 GAA, .941 SV%, 29 GP J.C. Lipon RW St. John's (AHL) 9-32-41, even, 72 GP Brenden Kichton D St. John's (AHL) 10-38-48, +8, 76 GP Julian Melchiori D St. John's (AHL) 1-10-11, +19, 50 GP Eric O'Dell C St. John's (AHL)

17-25-42, +9, 42 GP

 

The 13th pick last summer, Joshua Morrissey had an outstanding year in Prince Albert. If the Jets are willing to live with the mistakes of a smart, teenaged offensive defenceman, then Morrissey (who has six points in eight AHL playoff games) could be a viable challenger for an NHL job as a 19-year-old.

 

An undersized playmaker, Nicolas Petan was a second-rond pick last summer and has been tearing up the WHL for the past couple seasons. Between regular season and playoffs, he's tallied 289 points (in 176 games) and while size may be an issue, the only way to find out if it's going to pose a problem is to wait and see how he does at the next level.

 

A 6-foot-5 winger-turned-centre, Adam Lowry completed his first pro season and is probably not far from challenging for a spot in Winnipeg. The third-round pick from 2011 picked up his play after Christmas, scoring 28 points in his last 43 regular-season games.

One of the game's better goaltending prospects, Eric Comrie was a second-round pick in 2013. He struggled in a couple of AHL games at season's end, but had a tremendous season in the WHL. He's also only 18-year-old, so it's going to take time before he's the answer to the Jets' goaltending questions.

 

Drafted in the third round in 2012, Scott Kosmachuk has improved steadily throughout his junior career and had a monster year with a powerhouse Guelph team in the OHL. He can make the jump to the AHL next season to see if his scoring will come to the pro game with him.

 

A solidly-built centre who was picked in the fourth round last year, Andrew Copp is making quick progress, coming off a strong sophomore season at Michigan while also putting up five points in five games at the World Juniors for Team USA.

 

There's not much more that Connor Hellebuyck can do in college to raise his profile. Through two years at UMass-Lowell, Hellebuyck has a .946 save percentage and a dozen shutouts. He's signed with the Jets and might be expected to start in the American Hockey League, but if he keep stopping pucks, there should be room for him.

 

An aggressive winger picked in the third roudn last summer, J.C. Lipon had a solid pro debut and wasn't shy about it, leading the Ice Caps in penalty minutes with 136.

 

Not the biggest blueliner on the block, Brenden Kichton was initially a fifth-round pick of the Islanders, was not signed, and then was drafted in the seventh-round by Winnipeg in 2013. A heady player who can quarterback a power play, Kichton ranked sixth among AHL defencemen in points as a rookie pro.

 

A third-round pick in 2010, Julian Melchiori is a big, stay-at-home defenceman who has missed time with injuries in each of his first two pro seasons.

 

Eric O'Dell turns 24 this summer, which puts him on the older side as a prospect but, in addition to scoring 97 points in 101 AHL games over the past two seasons, he also played 30 games for the Jets last season (3 G, 4 A, 51.0 CF%) so he's able to contribute now.

Jets advanced stats and player usage chart from Extra Skater

 

DRAFT
9th - Nick Ritchie, Nikolaj Ehlers, Jake Virtanen, Haydn Fleury

 

FREE AGENCY
According to www.capgeek.com, the Jets have approximately $49.9M committed to the 2013-2014 salary cap for 16 players.

Check out my possible Jets lineup for next season on Cap Geek here.

 

Needs: Two top nine forwards, one top four defenceman, goaltenders.

What I said the Jets needed last year: Two top six forwards, two top nine forwards, one top four defenceman, goaltender.

They added: Michael Frolik, Mark Scheifele, Devin Setoguchi, Jacob Trouba.

TRADE MARKET
Dustin Byfuglien, Evander Kane

 

Chris Thorburn resigns with Jets. 3 years. $1.2m per year

I thought we might be able to upgrade there but I like the signing. Good 4th line guy. Filled in surprisingly well when we had injuries. Cheap rate for three years

lol are you serious with the cheap rate? you could sign a guy for league minimum to do nothing also. This is an awful deal. 1.2 million for what? no need to watch the free agent frenzy tomorrow cuz we are DOING NOTHING AGAIN.

http://www.capgeek.com/comparables/?player_id=351

Chris Thorburn resigns with Jets. 3 years. $1.2m per year

I thought we might be able to upgrade there but I like the signing. Good 4th line guy. Filled in surprisingly well when we had injuries. Cheap rate for three years

lol are you serious with the cheap rate? you could sign a guy for league minimum to do nothing also. This is an awful deal. 1.2 million for what? no need to watch the free agent frenzy tomorrow cuz we are DOING NOTHING AGAIN.

Disagreeing is one thing. Irrational nonsense is quite another.

 

 

Chris Thorburn resigns with Jets. 3 years. $1.2m per year

I thought we might be able to upgrade there but I like the signing. Good 4th line guy. Filled in surprisingly well when we had injuries. Cheap rate for three years

lol are you serious with the cheap rate? you could sign a guy for league minimum to do nothing also. This is an awful deal. 1.2 million for what? no need to watch the free agent frenzy tomorrow cuz we are DOING NOTHING AGAIN.

Disagreeing is one thing. Irrational nonsense is quite another.

 

http://www.capgeek.com/comparables/?player_id=351 <-- Irrational nonsense? dude, you love every player on the team, i want them to get better, how do you get better if you stay the same? You are the one being irrational. Sheep there with the Jets. This is a bad move. Turrible. awful. Not a step in the right direction.

Not a huge fan of this signing,  Think we can get similar production for what he does on the ice for less money.   Wonder if this is more for what he does in the dressing room.

 

Some interesting comparables from CapGeek.

 

http://www.capgeek.com/comparables/?player_id=351

Lol deep breaths goalie. Deep breaths. I don't love every player. But depth is depth and down thing we need. We can't just take every caps player either. It's one guy who will slot in as the 12th or 13th forward. Wait to see the final line up.

Patience.

This is a pretty cool story on Chase De Leo (drafted this year by the Jets) and Eric Comrie (Jets goalie prospect).

 

Pretty crazy how some things work out! @ericcomrie1 @NHLJets #OneStepCloser #SoSoft pic.twitter.com/yA8bUIkwRc

— Chase De Leo (@Dels9)

June 29, 2014

 

They grew up together, and best friends.  This was a pact they signed together when they were kids, and now, they are both prospects of the Jets, with a very real chance of actually playing in the NHL together.

i dont care about the money, the cap is going up, the money is actually somewhat irrelevant, its the 3 year term that sucks. Do you guys see what the teams in our division are doing? We are years away from competing for a playoff spot, the best thing to do is tank for mcdavid or eichel cuz we got no chance in hell.... trade ladd buff enstrom wheeler little even cuz you know what... we aint competing any time soon.

 

Calling it now, we get a top 5 pick in the 2015 draft. 

 

Every other team is getting better in our division, we are staying the same. I don't see how anyone can think that we actually have a chance at competing, competing for last overall? sure, for the playoffs? not a chance. I liked the pardy signing, he's a solid depth move, i liked the fact they didn't qualify a couple of guys who didn't do much last season, i don't like the thorburn signing, i was hoping we would actually move on and try to get better, we aren't tho, we are content on staying the exact same, the same team that was brought here is the same team we have now minus trouba scheif and frolik really. How have we gotten better? That's what i'm saying, how have we actually gotten better? 3 players? and what? tangradi? wow huge pickup, peluso? huuge pickup, plan the parade we have brought in pardy tangradi frolik and peluso. 

 

I don't see how we get better when we stay the same. Especially when the other teams in our division are going after "stars" left right and centre. 

What's wrong with the Thorburn signing?  The guy is a good community guy,  plays with a lot of grit and a bit more versatile then Peluso.     If he was such garbage then why did San Jose make a pitch for him at the trade dead line?    For that small price it's a decent signing.

 

While it would be awesome to sign some huge superstar....  I would like to know which guys are available right now?   I direct this question to Goalie as he makes it seem like every single other team is signing superstars left and right and the Jets are standing pat.  

What's wrong with the Thorburn signing?  The guy is a good community guy,  plays with a lot of grit and a bit more versatile then Peluso.     If he was such garbage then why did San Jose make a pitch for him at the trade dead line?    For that small price it's a decent signing.

 

While it would be awesome to sign some huge superstar....  I would like to know which guys are available right now?   I direct this question to Goalie as he makes it seem like every single other team is signing superstars left and right and the Jets are standing pat.  

you will see tomorrow, wild after vanek and iginla, hawks and blues after stastny, loser will trade for spezza, nasvhille gonna be active too, nashvilles goalie was hurt all last season pretty much, we are finishing last in our division, bet on it cuz its a safe bet. How are we getting better though? The teams in our division are already very good, the hawks blues an wild and now avs are legit playoff contenders, nashville? maybe not but... we definitely aren't. Teams aren't signing guys right now but they will tomorrow. Count on it. 

 

Maybe we will sign a matt mouslon but i'd suspect not, look for guys none of us have heard of. Thats who the jets will be after. we are in the toughest if not second toughest division in the league, i dont see how we can compete with chicago st louis minnesota and colorado. I just don't see it. If you do, please enlighten me, cuz i just don't see how its possible when they are already better than us and we are doing nothing to get better. 

Yeah goalie you are the definition of irrational.

It's not the deal I would have signed. But Thorburn did have other offers. Who knows what they were. But I doubt thorburns agent said "we want $800,000" and Chevy replied "would you take $1.2 million instead?"

He's versatile in that he can at up and down the line up in a pinch. He may not be successful at it. But when he played on the second line he was not a liability. He didn't do squat but wasn't a liability. There are fourth line guys that can't be anything but a fourth line guy.

We all whine about depth. This is depth. This is a hard working guy who wants to be here. He's the type of guy that when the jets make the playoffs, he will be bleeding and stitched up every game.

We can look at numbers and comps. But we're not on the team. Chevy and Maurice wanted Thorburn back bad enough to pay him.

Don't want vanek. Don't want spezza. Jets made a play for Stastny but were one of many teams he doesn't want to play for. We will be in on jussi. We might be in on Ollie. Maybe moulson.

You want the jets to throw money at superstars? Why. To be a cap team that still isn't a contender. You don't buy a championship. You draft a championship. Be patient.

Don't want vanek. Don't want spezza. Jets made a play for Stastny but were one of many teams he doesn't want to play for. We will be in on jussi. We might be in on Ollie. Maybe moulson.

You want the jets to throw money at superstars? Why. To be a cap team that still isn't a contender. You don't buy a championship. You draft a championship. Be patient.

 

No doubts....  I'd rather the team keep focusing on the young guys ... who knows maybe in a year or two Petan and Kosmachuk join the team and light it up and by that time Schiefle is an all star....   

 

I can see the Jets signing a decent FA or two... but they won't make a big splash.  No need to. 

What's wrong with the Thorburn signing?  The guy is a good community guy,  plays with a lot of grit and a bit more versatile then Peluso.     If he was such garbage then why did San Jose make a pitch for him at the trade dead line?    For that small price it's a decent signing.

 

While it would be awesome to sign some huge superstar....  I would like to know which guys are available right now?   I direct this question to Goalie as he makes it seem like every single other team is signing superstars left and right and the Jets are standing pat.  

 

He's not garbage - he's a perfectly good depth guy.  The problem is the Jets already have a bunch of depth guys.  Too many.  Every team needs a player or two like him; we have a half dozen.

 

Goalie is way over the top in his reactions to...well, everything the Jets haven't done, but in this case there is some validity in this point.  Not all the other crazy that surrounds it.

 

And 1.2 million is a lot to pay a guy who can't score and gets kinda pummeled against the league's heavyweights.  Valiant, but pummeled.

Every other team is getting better in our division, we are staying the same.

 

That's pretty short sighted.  Stockpiling tons of young talent that we did not have before isn't staying the same.  Just because the benefits are not immediate does not mean we are staying the same.

 

 

the playoffs? not a chance.

 

Why are you putting so much weight on making the playoffs?  Why are defining our success as whether or not we make the playoffs this season.  Should the goal of this franchise be to match Columbus?  They made the playoffs.

 

Personally I'm happy the goal of this franchise is to match Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles.  Teams that have a legitimate shot to win the Stanley Cup every year.  Not because they squeaked into the 8th place playoff slot, because they have assembled a powerful franchise.

Honestly the big name FAs seldom wind up being worth the money you spend on them. The best guys to target in FA are the under rated guys you can get on a decent contract. 

Honestly the big name FAs seldom wind up being worth the money you spend on them. The best guys to target in FA are the under rated guys you can get on a decent contract. 

 

It's true...  I looked at the list and you have a bunch of guys making Ollie or more money and they end up scoring as many points as a Frolik and they usually don't have a good two way game.  

 

 

http://www.capgeek.com/free-agents

 

Outside of Stastny ... their is no real superstar free agents on the market.  Most of the guys are either washed up or good depth players.

TSN's Pierre LeBrun @Real_ESPNLeBrun reporting the #NHLJets have signed sign Mathieu Perreault, 3 years x $3 M per year #bn

— Ed Tait (@WFPEdTait)

July 1, 2014

 

Perreault had the same number of G, P as Olli Jokinen did last year. He's younger (26), but he's smaller in stature (5-10, 175) #NHLJets

— Ken Wiebe (@WiebeSunSports)

July 1, 2014

Certainly not a "big" signing, but didn't really expect any from the Jets.

 

Will likely slot in as the 3rd line centre replacing Jokinen behind Scheifele and Little.

 

Apparently he spent some time last season on the Ducks 2nd line with Selanne.

Perreault is a nice signing, he is a good bottom 6 centre.  With that being said though

 

Stastny to our division in st louis, they get better

 

Spezza traded to our division in Dallas, hemsky signs there, they get better

 

Vanek to Minny, they get better. 

 

Chicago is Chicago and Colorado is a very good young team... Face the facts,we aren't doing much this season, lottery pick for sure.

 

Winnipeg Jets: Fueled by Mediocrity. Over the top my ass. 

 

Iginla to colorado. awesome. 

 

Why the playoffs? because, we haven't been there,because our management keeps speaking of the playoffs?  to get our young guys like scheif and trouba some experience? You don't think making the playoffs should be a goal? That's crazy talk if you think that, how do you win a stanley cup if you don't make the playoffs? we aint winning a cup but... it would be nice to actually have a competitive team for a change, not one competing for last in our stacked central division.

I won't criticize Chevy. He's not a horse-trader by nature and nature hasn't called

 

He loves playing his cards close to the vest but checks out when raised.

 

Even with one or two good pickups Jets are still 78 to 86 point mopers next year. (ie. NOT A PLAYOFF SQUAD)

 

No real superstars, indifferent goal-tending, sub-average 3rd and 4th line forward depth. 

 

Another year of floating in near-playoff space buys Chevy time to get some of his younger troops ready for real game action in 2016.

 

So he's not giving up any of his draft picks. Not trading Kane, Buff or Toby Enstrom. Basically leaving things as is. 

 

They'll say they'll be trying to make playoffs but every team says that.

 

The reality is they're still not good enough. 

Actually, after some thinking, the problem for the jets last year was 2 things, goaltending and the bottom 6. Perreault helps the bottom 6. If we could add a couple more wingers or a guy like winnik, we might not be as awful as i originally thought. Goaltending will be an issue though, that is what is holding us back. Hopefully Hutch takes Pavs job and wins a few more games for us. The jets do have a good top 2 lines, Kane Scheif Wheeler and Ladd little frolik are a pretty decent top 6. Perreault is the start of a nice 3rd line also. If we can get some just average NHL goaltending, we might not be as bad as i thought. 

 

I personally don't have much faith because of what the central has done today but... you never know, you dont make the playoffs on July 1st but man oh man, the central division is so stacked its crazy. I'm honestly not sure how we can compete with the other teams in our division, but we will probably be pretty decent in a few years. 

 

Perhaps short term pain for long term gain. Wouldn't hurt if we got a top 3 overall pick in the draft, would actually help lots. Honestly, didn't expect the Jets to do much today, seems to be some massive over payments going on (thats what the "frenzy" is all about) orpik got over paid, i'd argue niskanen will be also. 

 

Buffalo and Florida being active makes sense, they need to get to the cap floor... I just hope the Jets aren't done just yet, couple interesting names still out there that would look good in a jets jersey. Gotta be realistic i guess, the "stars" won't sign here, until we start winning consistently at least, even then, i'm not sure if they do, winnipeg is probably near the bottom of most players lists in terms of where they want to go. 

 

I might take a chance on del zotto and i'd look at winnik too. The rest though? not much left. 

Defenceman Zach Redmond leaves #NHLJets organization for #Avs

— Ken Wiebe (@WiebeSunSports)

July 1, 2014

 

Sad to see Redmond go, would rather have him in our bottom pairing that a guy like Clitsome. But as far as prospect depth, we are probably deepest at D.

Defenceman Zach Redmond leaves #NHLJets organization for #Avs

— Ken Wiebe (@WiebeSunSports)

July 1, 2014

 

Sad to see Redmond go, would rather have him in our bottom pairing that a guy like Clitsome. But as far as prospect depth, we are probably deepest at D.

That sucks but.... like you said, lots of depth on the D. That's too bad, i liked Redmond but... i'm not surprised here at all. He will play more in Colorado.

MP is a very good signing. He's small but has proven to be able to score. He played some 2nd line with a very good Ducks team. As our 3rd liner he brings speed and talent. Very good FO guy which we needed to improve.

The unfortunate part of today is how much our division improved. Yikes.

I would have loved jussi here for the same deal he signed in Florida. Maybe a bit much but I would have done it. Raymond would have been okay too

Sad to lose Redmond. Is suspect the jets aren't comfortable that he can be a regular nhl'er and he wouldn't take a two way deal. He signed for the same deal we got Pardy so disappointed to lose him. We need to keep players we develop. Pressure on Morrissey to make the team.

Day not over yet.