Chairot is the purest form of an NHL defenceman being carried by a constant stream of top tier partners.
- Rexypoo

True. But coaches don't seem to mind to play him with top tier talent, it's not a bad thing if Samberg can take the same position. Jets just need a top RD talent

Without question Morrissey, Toews and Pionk.
- JetFuel

DeMelo is vastly better than Pionk. He’s better at the things Pionk is known for, for the most part

The Avs very much missed Eric Johnson in the playoffs, sorry Rexy but you can't run a D core entirely of small guys, as good as Girard is he got exposed in the playoffs.
- JetFuel

You absolutely can. Girard was fine

Appleton, Harkins, Hellebuyck, Copp, Lowry, Poolman maybe Niku, Samberg and Gustafsson - maybe not all 2nd rounders but all drafted after the first round - or about 33% of their roster. Not that shabby! Also you have Pionk, Thompson and DeMelo drafted by other teams. No idea when they were picked?

Just because your second rounders haven't yet panned out to be stars (some picks were traded away I believe) doesn't mean they are never going to.

If you don't have that pick, you have zero chance of finding that hidden gem. Also a valuable chip if you need, due to injuries, to trade for the needed deadline player.
- grahamzky

Other then Helly that list is entirely replacement level players, a few could still grow into more but as of now they're nothing special.

Yeah so trade picks for what you need like a top 4 dman, trading for rentals at the TDL is terribly poor asset management especially for a team that's based in Winnipeg. I'd much rather see Chevy trade picks for RFA's like D.Toews then throw them away on useless rentals like he's done too many times already!

I can't believe we're worrying about missing out on a hidden gem, by now they should have a roster built to a point where that isn't even a consideration.

DeMelo is vastly better than Pionk. He’s better at the things Pionk is known for, for the most part
- Rexypoo

Pionk is much better and it's not close imo.

You absolutely can. Girard was fine
- Rexypoo

We see it differently and that's fine.

Samberg as a 4 or 5 dman seems reasonable to me. Maybe he becomes a steady presence like the way Chiarot has been used when paired with Buff and now Weber.

Side note I liked what I saw from Kovacevic last year, should be able to make the team as a bottom pairing guy for the Jets in a year.
- BWJumper

Hopefully Kovacevic or Gawanke can make the team in the future, I always felt Nogier could've been a 3rd pair dman for the Jets but they haven't given him a chance, hopefully in the future the second tier of D prospects will be given a fair shake.

Forbort in a vacuum is a good signing at that price.
Forbort-Pionk is an overpowered 3rd pairing.
Forbort-Pionk as a 2nd pairing isn’t very good, and it gets even worse if Morrissey doesn’t recover.

The thing that pisses me off here is that we likely have two ready made, top 4 talents right here and now in Ville Heinola and Dylan Samberg. We know Heinola can get the most out of Pionk, and Samberg would fit well in Mo’s system with his “slow the game down” style.
But of course, as soon as these bright lights appear at the end of the tunnel, the Jets make sure to have eight 1-way, waiver eligible defencemen on the roster, with the extra d*ck kick of Niku still being ranked 8th.

As for DeMelo, what makes you lack confidence in him? He makes a good “first pass”, he’s never out of position, and he’s a visible example of high hockey iq.
Also an analytics darling, so naturally I Stan
- Rexypoo

I just think DeMelo is far too slow, he's a 3rd pair dman imo.

Barry Trotz* has had success there. Barry Trotz has gotten the most out of an Islanders lineup that is now heavily in decline.

They are in cap hell, with no visible end in sight, and just lost arguably their best defender. Barzal, Beau, and Pulick are the only three players on their roster right now that aren’t heading into their decline years, or have time to improve.

The Islanders are super f*cked
- Rexypoo

Rexy, I 100% agree. Only good move he made was bringing in Trotz. The guy makes every goalie he coaches a top 5 in the league. And yes, Islanders are totally pooched going forward. Terrible contracts that ensure the oldest roster in the NHL for at least the next 3 years. No money for Barzal. And Lou won GM of the year?

DeMelo is vastly better than Pionk. He’s better at the things Pionk is known for, for the most part
- Rexypoo

Hard to judge. Opposite players. Offense vs a stay at home D. Pionk notched 45 points in a shortened season, while Demelo has just 64 points in his 5 NHL seasons combined. Both are capable of top 4, and both can log big minutes when needed. Tough to compare, and yet understandable why they each make 3M AAV.

We see it differently and that's fine.
- JetFuel

What? No! Don’t be polite and considerate, yell at me

Pionk is much better and it's not close imo.
- JetFuel

I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I rather like Pionk. I do. He’s fun, when he’s well supported.
DeMelo is the definition support. He managed to level out Morrissey, and carry heavy minutes successfully on arrival. There’s a reason Ottawa played him so much with Chabot

Hopefully Kovacevic or Gawanke can make the team in the future, I always felt Nogier could've been a 3rd pair dman for the Jets but they haven't given him a chance, hopefully in the future the second tier of D prospects will be given a fair shake.
- JetFuel[/quote,

Yes, I've kind of always wondered "what if" when I see Nogier play as well. Actually thought he might some day be a fixture on the Jet blue-line. But, not yet.

Jets see him all the time at the AHL level, so guess they know better than us. What's he lack - vision?

Who knows, maybe he'll be the next "hidden gem?"

Wonder if the NHL might be like major league baseball - no farm teams, but expanded rosters? (what 25-26 players on team?)