Jets Draft Options Part 2
The last blog discussed the variables that the Winnipeg Jets have with this upcoming draft- if you want to review it the fascinating details can be seen HERE. This part will look at the variables that do not involve trading the picks to move within the draft but to another team.
The advantage that Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has is that he has two things teams in current salary cap danger area need, cap space and draft picks. While Winnipeg may be far from the top of most desirable cities in the NHL Chevy is dealing from a position of strength in terms of his bargaining power. He just needs to find the right team to prey upon.
If we use the great site for cap related information General Fanager a short list can be made of teams who need cap relief and would make the preliminary first cut of targets.
Flyers: 5 spots/players to fill/sign $365,000 in space Lightning: 5 spots/players to fill/sign $1,112,000 in space Canucks: 8 spots/players to fill/sign $3,205,000 in space Canadiens: 8 spots/players to fill/sign $4,725,000 in space Bruins: 8 spots/players to fill/sign $4,888,000 in cap space Blackhawks: 12 spots/players to fill/sign $4,950,000 in cap space
That’s the top six the entire list can be seen by clicking HERE.
Of those six teams at the top the Blackhawks present the most intrigue as with 12 players needing to be signed or spots filled they have 8 UFAs. While letting players like Kimmonen and Vermette walk is fine, they still need to fill those holes with some one else and that likely means they have to create space. Can it come from within? That would be a question for John Jackel but ruling out a trade between these two teams seems silly- they have too much history.
In fact the trade history between the two is a lot like former division rivals Calgary and Colorado where being close competitors seemed not to matter. The issue with Chicago’s UFAs and RFA is that they are accessory pieces, some vital and some not but still pieces that need replacing. To do so the Hawks needs space and for that reason alone I suspect Chevy and Bowman will be talking if not already about what they can do.
Another team that has been linked to liking Jets players is the Flyers. Whether it be Byfuglien or former Jet Bogosian there has been no shortage of speculation about trades between these two teams, but that was under Paul Holmgren management. Ron Hextall is a different GM altogether and knows he has no easy route out of the cap hell he inherited.
There are some interesting players on the Flyers roster but many suspect to get at them you would need to take back one of the many catastrophic contracts handed out by the former regime. For the Jets a player like Matt Read or more preferably Wayne Simmonds would be a huge acquisition it won’t come by moving a single pick in the first round, at least it shouldn’t. Hextall will be selling the likes of Lecavalier, MacDonald and Umberger and depending on how desperate he is he may have to retain some salary. Even though moving Read or Simmonds is easier it wont help much as those two players do what teams want and are paid at affordable levels. It’s not going to be easy for Hextall and it won’t be any easier getting what any GM wants out of the burning car that is Philly. You may save one good player but you lose an arm doing so and that’s only noble if you are actually saving a life not with hockey contracts.
The Lightning could be an interesting scenario given the run they are on but what they are losing could be replaced from within or relatively easily on the open market. If they are a team on the rise making cap bold cap moves may seem a bit unlikely.
The Boston Bruins are another team where some are trying to figure out what they want to do versus what they should do. With a new GM the belief is that they want to put a stamp on their team but this is Boston and who knows what strings are being pulled at any moment. If you believe in the value of offer sheets and that this may be the year fans see some in the NHL then should Chevy cash in with his extra pick and offer sheet Dougie Hamilton?
Think of it this way- with draft pick compensation a team has to give their own picks so that would mean the 17th and they would still have one left this year. While I believe the compensation happens the following year is it expected to be as deep a draft? Offering Dougie Hamilton 6 mill a year and giving up one 1st, 2nd. and 3rd round pick seems like a chance worth taking especially if timed right so that the Bruins would have trouble matching due to grace cap temp over spending. Aside from getting Hamilton it would be a great way for Jets ownership to ‘stick’ it to Jeremy Jacobs for this Alleged Exchange during the lockout in 2012.
Offer sheets rarely work but there is this belief across the NHL that due to the cap situation this summer may see more attempts and a maybe a successful attempt. Of course adding Hamilton, as unlikely as it would be, might force the Jets to move Byfuglien, which, would not be a bad move.
What about the Canadiens and the Canucks, the two Canadian teams furthest apart from one another? The Canadiens have little the Jets should want and what any teams would want the Bleu Blanc et Rouge are not giving up. Its probably the same with the Canucks too unless Jannik Hansen floats your boat but moving Hansen is not going to help the Canucks much, Alex Burrows would though. Biggest question is what does Burrows do when he’s away from his meal tickets, Daniel and Henrik Sedin? Is he going to fare any better than Stafford while being 3 years older? That’s too many questions marks for Chevy, even if assistant GM Craig Heisinger is whispering in his ear ‘I found Burrows, you know that right?’.
The interesting part of all this speculation is realizing that with that extra draft pick in this year’s deep draft using an offer sheet might not be a bad move for the Jets as the picks would be next year. The problem is the Jets do not have a 3rd round pick in 2016, that belongs to Carolina after the Tlusty acquisition. They could get it back but that might be prove to be difficult or costly.
The issue here is that the Jets are not the only team with cap space, draft picks and resources who are looking around at teams needing relief. There are the obvious targets but there are lesser ones too and that might be the next logical place to look if the Jets are planning on using their accumulated assets during the draft and UFA period.