Jets need changes but they wont do it

Nobody seems more fitting for a fresh start like Kristian Vesalainen. Despite all the opportunities he has been given by the Jets, he has failed to make the argument that he may be prominent in the top six or even the bottom six. It simply has not worked out in Winnipeg and therefore, he is traded to a team that could use some younger pieces up front. I think at this point, a third round pick is the most the Jets can salvage from a team, considering his lacklustre play.

The Dallas Stars take a chance on Kristian Vesalainen, hoping he can find his scoring touch in the NHL. The Stars could also benefit Vesalainen with the openings up front in Dallas, considering Radulov potentially leaving the team and Seguin and Benn not getting any younger these days.

Although the Jets needed to solve some issues on defence last off season, I never really understood why they traded for Nate Schmidt to be completely honest. Sure he can be a great player offensively and is a great character in the dressing room but his contract simply does not make any sense at all for the direction of this team. Schmidt is making just under 6 million dollars for three more years after this season concludes. The term on that deal is wayyyyy to long, considering that guys like Heinola, Samberg, and Kovacevic are NHL ready waiting for a spot. As a part of the retool of this group, the Jets move on from Schmidt after only one year and move his contract to Arizona. Because of Schmidt’s inconsistent play, and the fact that he makes a lot of money for a while, the Jets add in a sweetener pick to get the deal done with the Coyotes.

The Coyotes are once again, sticking to what they know best and taking on bad contracts to attain more draft picks. Although they still give up a fourth and only get a sixth, they still make their team a little more competitive for upcoming seasons and also pay less than the Jets did to acquire Schmidt the year prior (a third to the Canucks).

Yes, when I said this team needs a new leadership group I was not just talking about Blake Wheeler but also Mark Scheifele too. It’s sad to see him go but at the same time, this team needs new leaders that are willing to be committed defensively. The locker room has obviously been tamed so that it’s players think whenever they are playing bad it is okay to spring on excuse after excuse to avoid the real problems. Mark and Blake have consistently talked about how Covid has been a real impact this year on the team but every team has to deal with Covid. Scheifele is a great player with high end skill, he can skate, shoot, pass and has great hockey IQ however, has no idea how to defend. Scheifele easily has had one of the worst defensive metrics over the past four seasons along with his buddy Wheeler and it needs to stop now. The Jets finally refresh their roster and trade Scheifele to the Flames for highly anticipated prospects Jacob Pelletier (LW) and Jeremie Poirier (LD), both high scoring prospects that will be huge pieces for this team in the future. The Jets also fetch a first and second round pick along with a fourth round pick. The value here is absolutely fair in my mind. If Mark Scheifele is traded, the trade should easily be compared with Jack Eichel, two players in my mind with similar value. Jansen Harkins is also given a much needed fresh start in Calgary.

The Calgary Flames get a much needed 2 line centre to play behind Flames star Elias Lindholm in Mark Scheifele. Yes, as of right now, I think Lindholm is the better player and would be still on the first line considering his chemistry with Gaudreau and Tkachuk. Although the Flames aren’t too thrilled with parting ways with some of their top prospects and their first round pick, at the end of the day you need to give up good to get good. The Jets also add in some late draft picks just to sweeten the deal a bit.

The Jets need a bit of a revamp on defence. They need bigger bodies that can come in, move the puck out of the zone efficiently and be physical as well. This is exactly what Jacob Chychrun provides, not to mention the offence package he can bring to the table as well. He is really cheap and will go straight to playing top defensive minutes on the team. He can be a game changer on the blue line for this team. Aside Chychrun, the Jets also trade for RFA Lawson Crouse, a big presence that can play physically in the bottom six while also providing some offence and responsibility. He is a perfect fit with the Jets, as they are a team that could use some more grit and toughness. Because Chychrun is very good and for cheap, the Jets give up multiple values picks and give up defensive prospect Ville Heinola. It’s sad to see him go but at the same time, the Jets could use some more bigger bodies on the blue line with already lots of small guys in Pionk, Morrisey, and Demelo. Heinola could also use a fresh start, being taken in and out of the lineup with the surplus of young defencemen in the Jets lineup. The trade to Arizona will give Ville some stability.

For Arizona, they give up two great values players in Crouse and Chychrun however get loads of value back and continue to stock pile the draft picks. Arizona gets a first, two seconds, a third and basically another first round pick in former first round pick Ville Heinola. Although losing Chychrun hurts a lot, Heinola eases the blow a bit with his quick puck moving ability and ability to produce offence. Although great offensively, Ville struggles in the defensive zone at times, specifically with teams that like the high paced forecheck style of game.

Once again, the Jets need a revamping of their defensive core and I think Brenden Dillon is one of the odd men out. He hasn’t really fit in great in Winnipeg and although it’s only been one year, the Jets move him to the Canucks for high draft picks in which they can potentially flip as part of a package for a top six forward.

The Canucks have great offensive talent and skill however are once again struggling because of their poor defense. I think Brenden Dillon is a guy that would fit in well with the Canucks and potentially bring some stability to their blue line.

After trading forwards Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler, some forwards openings were made available in the top six. And because the Jets typically can’t convince free agents to sign with them, they usually have to trade for players. When evaluating the spots in the top six, it was made clear that there was a big hole in the RW position, so the Jets clean this up by acquiring veteran forward Jordan Eberle. Although this trade may be complicated with his no movement clause (he probably won’t wanna come to Winnipeg), if this trade did come to fruition it would be a perfect fit for the Jets as he is highly productive offensively, is responsible defensively, can provide some leadership to the revamped core of the Jets with his veteran experience and has two years left on his deal. The two year term is a perfect term because it makes the Jets extremely competitive while also giving Jets prospects like Chibrikov and Lucius a couple more years to develop and then they will be able to fill up those rolls in the top six once Eberle contract expires. I can definitely see Eberle having great chemistry with Connor and Dubois or you could even move him around with perfetti and Pelletier, giving the young guys someone to look up to for guidance. Although Svechnikov has had a pretty good season with the Jets, I don’t see him as a long term fit with the team.

The Seattle Kraken are a team heading in the direction of selling off valuable pieces to get young guys and picks to build around Beniers. The Kraken know Eberle obviously isn’t a long term fit and trade him for great value with two seconds, a fourth, Henri Nikkanen and a guy with a lot of potential upside in Evgeny Svechnikov.

Despite Stanley shockingly coming out of nowhere last season and proving to all the haters that he is not a bust, he has still proven to be only an inconsistent 3 pairing d man. He has come a long way compared to when he first started however he still has major holes in his game. Stanley does not use his big frame enough to get body position in front of the net, he has poor puck management, he has proved to be an unreliable penalty killer and always seems to be missing the net when he has a chance on net. Stanley will be missed by Jets fans but in the end, spots need to be made for better players like Samberg,Chychrun and Kovacevic on the back end.

New Jersey has consistently allowed 4+ goals this season and could use some more defensive depth. Adding Stanley to the backend could spice up their defence and potentially provide some surprising stability to the team. PK Subban is also a UFA this summer, so a spot opens up for the Devils.