Yesterday the astute Elliotte Friedman had the Winnipeg Jets' Zach Bogosian's name floating in the trade market. Certainly a new twist in the rumour mill from the Kane and Byfuglien stories. However today my Twitter timeline caught be by surprise when Jim Toth of CJOB tweeted a link to a story from David Staples in the Edmonton Journal. It said the Jets were trying to land the number one overall pick and that they might be looking for a centre.
Really?
Why a centre? While the Jets have no real position of strength it seems some might think adding centre depth is a good thing. Is that in preparation of the day Bryan Little leaves or that Alexander Burmistrov decides he no longer cares for the NHL, in any market?
I think that's why Bogosian's name is coming up. If Florida wants to move that pick why not acquire a defender in the process and perhaps the Jets 9th pick. So Bogosian and the 9th for the first overall, that's a steep price depending on who you want to take.
Some believe that the top 5 players could be NHL players this coming season or the next but after that it drops off in terms of forward looking impact. Do the Jets need Ekblad or Reinhart so badly that they are ready to give up on Bogosian?
That all depends on the other stories you hear and last night there was no shortage of innuendo on Twitter about Bogosian and possible ill-effect on his room mate Jacob Trouba. It's speculation based on gossip and you won't read any of it here- but I will say that stuff can have an effect on GMs.
What I think happens as the draft inches closer is the Jets have their list of players they want as a first pick. Then they have their list of who they feel they could take later, deeper in the draft. If they cannot get their player at the 9th spot I bet they deal down and get something of a depth player in return for the 9th overall pick.
This may not be the 'wow' move fans want and certainly would not be shaking a stale roster but it does make some sense based on past moves. The Jets need depth on the bottom six and that kind of player could be had for the 9th pick and perhaps a later pick in rounds 2 or back. It may not be that 'player for player' trade that fans are waiting to see pulled off but it might be a smarter move, at least for this GM.
It's a funny set of circumstances really. Chevy is shooting for the moon or simply happy to get a weather balloon in orbit if he can't do the former. Regardless of which move makes the most sense, if the latter happens expect a long line of Jets fans waiting to shoot that balloon down. They are tired or floaters in the bottom six.
More as it happens.