Goals with this team:
- Clear out the culture rot. We will likely never know which of Wheeler or Scheifs poisoned the dressing room, but Winnipeg truly cannot afford to risk either of them staying aboard. Wheeler's been on trade boards for a while, and we get value from Edmonton where his still-high points totals will matter more (plus he can't be more toxic than Kane.) Scheifele goes because his defense-exempt status has surely pissed off a number of young players over the years. Cutting his time to second-line duties to shelter his defensive woes won't sit well. It's time to unblock PLD in hopes of keeping him in town.
- Build three scoring lines. No Bones about it - Winnipeg (and a number of other teams) have seen greater success with greater scoring depth. I built a fourth line around Lowry that's cheap, defensively capable and young enough to grow beyond a shutdown role in years to come.
- Shift toward two-way responsibility. Marchment, Puljujarvi and Jarvis have all demonstrated two-way chops. The latter two are due for a jump in offence based on Xg (Puljujarvi) and development (Jarvis.)
- Retool without rebuilding. The team is clear they don't have the stomach or wallets for a tear-down. Hellebuyck would have earned a game-changing return and DeMelo/Lowry a few more picks too. Yet, there are enough sneaky-good forwards available to sign or acquire this summer that are either entering their primes or available on shorter-term deals (Trocheck.) This team doesn't take a step back, but a step sideways toward lower-event hockey while managing to land two first-round picks for next year's banger draft class.
Before you chirp:
- I'm aware Bones ran a top-6/bottom-6 layout in Dallas, and why would he change his ways? I'm betting on him seeing the value in young talent as he did in Dallas, and being willing to play the Jets version of the Kid Line regularly.
- I know Winnipeg has an incredibly hard time signing FAs, so why am I building the team around 3 UFA acquisitions? Yep, any of the three may not sign here. Burakovsky is the key one, needed to replace some of the lost points from Wheeler and Sheifele's exits. Either of the Strome brothers could sit in for Trocheck - I picked him because he's older and a shorter contract will help create room for Lucius, Perfetti or whomever takes over the 2C role in the next few years. Marchment is great to have aboard and would be the younger re-incarnation of a versatile middle-sixer (please come back, Andrew Copp) but a third-line winger is replaceable.
- Why the heck would Carolina cough up Jarvis AND a first? Carolina needs to get over the hump and are losing their 2C (ironically, to the Jets.) As we saw in the NYR series, they need some game-breaking scoring and Scheifs is good for that, backed by a team that has a lot more two-way acumen to cover for his defensive lapses. It's a great fit. Jarvis, being a Winnipeg boy, is as good a bet as we might get to land a talented RFA who would sign long-term here. The first is to account for the spread in point production between Scheifs and Jarvis short-term.
- You might say Wheeler is too slow to run with the Oilers. Well, everyone is slower than McDavid and Drai. Edmonton has a well-established pattern of taking on and trusting older players, so I think they tolerate a slower step for a still productive former captain who won't be in charge of the dressing room. Given they won't have to sign Puljujarvi, and given Keith's retirement and salary retained, I believe Wheeler will fit in under their cap without blocking getting a new goalie - could be wrong on the math there though. Again, why a first? You could talk me out of it, but the Oilers are getting a nearly point-per-game player for one that doesn't score like they need. Go ahead and make it a second if you need.
- Some weird line combos in the middle six? Yep, I could see there being quite a bit of shuffling there, depending on how quickly Jarvis and/or Perfetti break out. Marchment and Puljujarvi are spread out to add some zone entry and exit chops. They could pair up on a more shutdown-like line if needed. Lucius, Gus or even Bemstrom could get looks on a scoring line as well.
Sheifele doesn’t have a spot on the Canes. And the Canes aren’t giving up Jarvis, let alone adding a first on top of that for a player that would fail in their system. Wheeler doesn’t have anywhere close to that value.
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