As a previous article mentioned, Trouba really had the Jets at his mercy. His agent could screw them over for one by announcing his intentions (limited trade destinations or two (and most likely) he will not agree to sign with any team, as he wants to hit free agency and have the world his oyster. I am a big Trouba fan and he checks off a lot of boxes for want you want as an all around D-man, including the intangible mean streak, still relatively young yet experienced, in his prime and RH shooter to boot. His arrow is still going up.
So now what? Do they over spend on Myers to bring him back? Do they even have a chance to bring him back? I hear he has eyes for Vancouver? I like Myers (wish the best for him and his family as they have been through a lot) but he is not as consistent as one would like for someone set to make a big pile 💰 of money. Then what? Jets have a bunch of 3rd pairing D left at best.

A meagre return for a top pairing D.
The only blame here is Chevy. We all were well aware 3 years ago that Trouba had no intention of staying in Winnipeg. Chevy needed to act quicker to get a better return.
Or he needed to sweeten the deal with Ehlers etc. to get a worthwhile return. The Jets D is now in shambles. I would say the Cup window just got the shade pulled down a little.
I am not even sure signing Myers to another albatross contract is the way to go. That could start hurting by next year. Sign Morrissey to a max contract next year. But the other contracts handed out;
Little 5 years @$5.3M
Byfuglien 2 years @$7.6M?
Wheeler 5 years @$8.25M

Every 1 good contract comes with a bad one. Plus they have not drafted well. They did great when they were drafting in the top 10 for a number of years but not very good outside of the first round. Which is a real problem when you don’t have one or at the end of the first round (see 20th overall). That is just not going to get it done.

But that is just part of the Jets issues. I don’t think the Jets will ever win anything as long as Maurice is the head coach. His act has grown old. Maurice has never won anything and has a poor playoff record. His regular seasons have generally been ok or very good, but that is because he rides his best players way to hard and they have nothing left for the playoffs. His teams are way too undisciplined and he may be a players coach but even this year there were rumblings about Maurice playing favourites. They even had to reacquire Hendricks because they did not feel there was enough ‘leadership’ in the dressing room. That is a lot of issues to deal with... Chevy not making trades before his return is weak, signing some awful contracts. Needs to hire better scouts / select better players outside 1st round.

A coach that seems he like to hear himself talk in media briefings more than actually dealing with issues in the dressing room. That also overworks his best players and alienate other players.
The Jets are trending down when they should be on top of the league and challenging for the cup! Disappointing...

How does pionk's pending $4m caphit help the jets cap situation?

First of all - Troubs isn't a Ranger and Pionk isn't a Jet

However - the 20th overall pick belongs to the Jets (once more)

So - Rangers have the rights to Trouba as an RFA and he can be offer-sheeted or hold out or sign or whatever ... that's on the Rangers, now

Jets have the rights to Pionk ... who would not be offer-sheeted and doubtfully will hold out if some sorta paycheque is coming his way

This is/was a tough situation that woulda looked a lot different if it weren't a cap league ... f_ck - we wouldn't have our team back if this weren't a cap league

On paper - this is sh_tty for us Jets fans ... curious that Chevy got this the h_ll outa the way before draft weekend but I can guess why

Woulda loved to have been a fly on the wall when Chevy & Chipper were throwing this one around !

I love it for Winnipeg. Trouba is over-rated, and about to get PAID. Pionk will put up decent offense (25-35 points this season), but is cleaner in his own zone and far more discipline. Combine that with getting back into the 1st round of the draft, and no longer having to worry about overpaying a guy who doesn't like winnipeg and its a great deal for Winnipeg.

There really can't be a winner decided until Trouba signs. If he signs for under 6M AAV, then Rangers have a good deal, if he signs 7.5M+ AAV, then the Jets will be laughing.
- bikeguy99

Pionk was the single worst zone-entry defender in the NHL last season, while also logging the 4th worst Corsi rating among dmen with 500+ minutes

As a previous article mentioned, Trouba really had the Jets at his mercy. His agent could screw them over for one by announcing his intentions (limited trade destinations or two (and most likely) he will not agree to sign with any team, as he wants to hit free agency and have the world his oyster. I am a big Trouba fan and he checks off a lot of boxes for want you want as an all around D-man, including the intangible mean streak, still relatively young yet experienced, in his prime and RH shooter to boot. His arrow is still going up.
So now what? Do they over spend on Myers to bring him back? Do they even have a chance to bring him back? I hear he has eyes for Vancouver? I like Myers (wish the best for him and his family as they have been through a lot) but he is not as consistent as one would like for someone set to make a big pile 💰 of money. Then what? Jets have a bunch of 3rd pairing D left at best.

A meagre return for a top pairing D.
The only blame here is Chevy. We all were well aware 3 years ago that Trouba had no intention of staying in Winnipeg. Chevy needed to act quicker to get a better return.
Or he needed to sweeten the deal with Ehlers etc. to get a worthwhile return. The Jets D is now in shambles. I would say the Cup window just got the shade pulled down a little.
I am not even sure signing Myers to another albatross contract is the way to go. That could start hurting by next year. Sign Morrissey to a max contract next year. But the other contracts handed out;
Little 5 years @$5.3M
Byfuglien 2 years @$7.6M?
Wheeler 5 years @$8.25M

Every 1 good contract comes with a bad one. Plus they have not drafted well. They did great when they were drafting in the top 10 for a number of years but not very good outside of the first round. Which is a real problem when you don’t have one or at the end of the first round (see 20th overall). That is just not going to get it done.

But that is just part of the Jets issues. I don’t think the Jets will ever win anything as long as Maurice is the head coach. His act has grown old. Maurice has never won anything and has a poor playoff record. His regular seasons have generally been ok or very good, but that is because he rides his best players way to hard and they have nothing left for the playoffs. His teams are way too undisciplined and he may be a players coach but even this year there were rumblings about Maurice playing favourites. They even had to reacquire Hendricks because they did not feel there was enough ‘leadership’ in the dressing room. That is a lot of issues to deal with... Chevy not making trades before his return is weak, signing some awful contracts. Needs to hire better scouts / select better players outside 1st round.

A coach that seems he like to hear himself talk in media briefings more than actually dealing with issues in the dressing room. That also overworks his best players and alienate other players.
The Jets are trending down when they should be on top of the league and challenging for the cup! Disappointing...


- Tommycasino

This is another well written post. Great work

Pionk was the single worst zone-entry defender in the NHL last season, while also logging the 4th worst Corsi rating among dmen with 500+ minutes
- Rexypoo

This is great! He will fit well with Laine

I love it for Winnipeg. Trouba is over-rated, and about to get PAID. Pionk will put up decent offense (25-35 points this season), but is cleaner in his own zone and far more discipline. Combine that with getting back into the 1st round of the draft, and no longer having to worry about overpaying a guy who doesn't like winnipeg and its a great deal for Winnipeg.

There really can't be a winner decided until Trouba signs. If he signs for under 6M AAV, then Rangers have a good deal, if he signs 7.5M+ AAV, then the Jets will be laughing.
- bikeguy99

How does pionk's pending $4m caphit help the jets cap situation?
- Tumbleweed

I wouldn't be suprised if Chevy went the same route as he did with Morrissey. If so, arbitration would likely award Pionk a 2 year 3.5M AAV which is great considering he will likely be used as #2RD. I mean it could be worse, Chevy could award this guy with a Zaitsev-esque contract before seeing how he fits in the team.

Trouba was leaving one way or the other, and if all EK65 could fetch was Tierney, Balcers, and Josh Norris, than I think Chevy did an adequate job addressing a player who only ever produced in 1 of his 6 seasons. I mean, he hated Wpg and this was well known.

Rangers do not expect him to be #1. He is a solid #2 and will get paid that way
- nyrangers2

Haha he will want 7.5M+, so you better be expecting a perennial 50 point D man

Pionk was the single worst zone-entry defender in the NHL last season, while also logging the 4th worst Corsi rating among dmen with 500+ minutes
- Rexypoo

Certainly not going to dispute your numbers (we all know how important Corsi is ),
but it's worth noting that with his previous experience of 28 games before last season Pionk should NEVER have been seeing the match ups or minutes that he did. NYR had no options to support or shelter him. Winnipeg does.
Does that make it a great trade, or mean he will be a star? No.
But, it also means that there is still a story to be written for Pionk. Maybe this doesn't have to be a nightmare.

I wouldn't be suprised if Chevy went the same route as he did with Morrissey. If so, arbitration would likely award Pionk a 2 year 3.5M AAV which is great considering he will likely be used as #2RD. I mean it could be worse, Chevy could award this guy with a Zaitsev-esque contract before seeing how he fits in the team.

Trouba was leaving one way or the other, and if all EK65 could fetch was Tierney, Balcers, and Josh Norris, than I think Chevy did an adequate job addressing a player who only ever produced in 1 of his 6 seasons. I mean, he hated Wpg and this was well known.
- bikeguy99

winnipeg's defense with poink @ 3.5:

in: pionk
out: trouba, myers, chariott

i wish the leafs could pull off moves like that.

HE had a NTC. he only would go to the Rangers and 1 other team.
- RogerRoeper

What are you talking about?
Trouba is an RFA with arb rights next year.
There is no NTC 😂😂

This trade was inevitable and not much of a surprise.

Clearly The Jets kept Trouba for their efforts in going all in over the last two years. This proved their commitment to the fans and players made on day one of their return. Thus Trouba was rightfully kept in hopes of winning it all.

To say Chevy should have got more is talking without knowing the facts. It is sounding like Trouba only gave permission for deals to involve one or two teams.

This deal frees up cap space, returns the first round draft choice and a decent prospect is had. Only time will tell who wins but clearly the Rangers got the best player for now.

Remember Trouba was a good player at best. He was never in the race for the Norris and showed slightly above average skills. Finally, he just didn't want to be here and for respectable reasons.

Tampa Bay has many great names and impressive players. It did nothing for them in the playoffs.

I hope the Jets build a cohesive room of talented players with heart who want to be here. Trouba would never have been a part of such a Jets team.

Trouba probably didn't want to go anywhere else and so specified teams he knew wouldn't be able to bring him in... Assuming he had a say in the matter

Pionk was the single worst zone-entry defender in the NHL last season, while also logging the 4th worst Corsi rating among dmen with 500+ minutes
- Rexypoo

I looked that up today too Rexy.


I’m TeamEyeTest, but I know there is value in Anal litics.


Peeonks numbers are brutal, like the worst I’ve seen since I started to look at this stuff. It’s disappointing and concerning.

Certainly not going to dispute your numbers (we all know how important Corsi is ),
but it's worth noting that with his previous experience of 28 games before last season Pionk should NEVER have been seeing the match ups or minutes that he did. NYR had no options to support or shelter him. Winnipeg does.
Does that make it a great trade, or mean he will be a star? No.
But, it also means that there is still a story to be written for Pionk. Maybe this doesn't have to be a nightmare.
- Tonybere

Confidence, not being paired with Marc Staal, reduced role, and experience will all help him. This is fair, and we can probably expect a small jump across the board for him as a result.

Having said that, being that bad relative to his teammates so close to his prime is likely incredibly bad news. This is not a case of a decent player being bogged down by a bad team, this is a player whom made almost everyone he played with worse.

Pionk had six goals and 20 assists last season with New York in his second NHL season. Half (13) his points came from the PP. The Jets will be counting on Pionk to fill a void after trading Trouba and likely losing defenceman Tyler Myers in free agency. Pionk was the Rangers’ top option on the power play, which is a role he likely won’t have with the Jets. Byfuglien currently occupies that role. Pionk was the worst Rangers defensemen in scoring chance percentage with 43.84%. The simplistic way to say this is that Pionk gets out-shot and out-chanced at a high rate when he is on the ice.

If that is the case don’t expect a lot of points from Pionk. Actually don’t expect much from a 3rd pairing at best defenseman, Pionk. I am happy he is excited about coming to Winnipeg but will all of Winnipeg be happy by the midway mark next season?
-Tommycasino

T

his trade was inevitable and not much of a surprise.

Clearly The Jets kept Trouba for their efforts in going all in over the last two years. This proved their commitment to the fans and players made on day one of their return. Thus Trouba was rightfully kept in hopes of winning it all.

To say Chevy should have got more is talking without knowing the facts. It is sounding like Trouba only gave permission for deals to involve one or two teams.

This deal frees up cap space, returns the first round draft choice and a decent prospect is had. Only time will tell who wins but clearly the Rangers got the best player for now.

Remember Trouba was a good player at best. He was never in the race for the Norris and showed slightly above average skills. Finally, he just didn't want to be here and for respectable reasons.

Tampa Bay has many great names and impressive players. It did nothing for them in the playoffs.

I hope the Jets build a cohesive room of talented players with heart who want to be here. Trouba would never have been a part of such a Jets team.
-Justsaying

Trouba is an excellent all round defenseman, he will headline the New York Rangers D-Corp for the next 5-7 years at least.
The trade makes more sense knowing that Trouba had the Jets by the ‘pucks’, so to speak.
He only would agree to go to 2 teams with NYR being his top choice. The reason for that was announced because his better half is studying to be a Doctor and she wants to go to school and work in NYC. So they both want to work and live in a big city. So the Jets has no chance... Ever! Thus is why they would not let teams negotiate with him (as they would find out he only wanted to go to NYC). They are lucky to get what they did... 20th pick and a healthy young D-man that they hope still has some growth left in him.
-Tommycasino

Now it was mentioned that the Jets are desperately trying to trade Ehlers...(6 more years at $6M)?

The Jets are in a cap crunch with the announcement that the salary cap will not rise as high as thought.

They still have 14 RFA or URFA they need to sign! Connor, Laine, Roslovic, Myers, Chariot, Tanev, Copp, Beaulieu, Morrow, Pionk, Comrie, Lindholm, Kiselevich and Hendricks. I know they won’t sign half of these guys but Chevy still has a lot of heavy lifting to do!

It was easy being a GM when you had no salary cap issues to worry about until this year, and now they do and from the outside it is looking like it is out of control and Jets are going backwards.
-Tommycasino

[/img]https://images.app.goo.gl/XykUDDtNGHFKycCB8

Hear me out:

1 year deal. Joe Thornton.

Perreault-Thornton-Laine.

You got the human representation of the word “slapshot”, the human representation of the word “assist”, and the human representation of the word “possession”.

Slow their way to success.

Certainly not going to dispute your numbers (we all know how important Corsi is ),
but it's worth noting that with his previous experience of 28 games before last season Pionk should NEVER have been seeing the match ups or minutes that he did. NYR had no options to support or shelter him. Winnipeg does.
Does that make it a great trade, or mean he will be a star? No.
But, it also means that there is still a story to be written for Pionk. Maybe this doesn't have to be a nightmare.
- Tonybere

Well put! He is a project and there is no telling how things will work out. Same can be said with the 20th pick.

This was a bad trade and makes a person wonder what faith does Chevy have in Poolman and Niku when they bring in a player like Pionk? Hopefully they hit a homer with their 20th over all pick. Now don’t trade Ehlers unless its a crazy return.

This was a bad trade and makes a person wonder what faith does Chevy have in Poolman and Niku when they bring in a player like Pionk? Hopefully they hit a homer with their 20th over all pick. Now don’t trade Ehlers unless its a crazy return.
- islansjet

I say trade Ehlers. We are stock piled on wing. We need a 1B center. I would package Ehlers with Lowry and the pick to get a solid return.

Love the avatar bro.
Love it.

- Fakepartofme

Thanks man! Starscream was my favorite decepticon growing up and he happened to be a Jet