Familiar faces flood the wire as roster deadlines loom, forcing Kevin Cheveldayoff to decide if past connections can solve Winnipeg’s final lineup puzzles before opening night.
Kevin Cheveldayoff has never been afraid to revisit the past.
Throughout his tenure as general manager of the Winnipeg Jets, Cheveldayoff has regularly circled back to players already familiar with the organization. But Winnipeg passed on one such opportunity Saturday when former Jets goaltender Eric Comrie cleared waivers after being placed on the wire by the San Jose Sharks.
One day later, several more familiar names are available.
Former Jets Laurent Brossoit, David Rittich, Dominic Toninato and Ville Heinola were among the players placed on waivers Sunday as teams continued trimming their rosters ahead of Monday's deadline.
Photo by Robert Edwards/USA Today The Jets made two moves of their own, placing forward Danny Zhilkin and defenceman Henry Thrun on waivers for the purpose of assignment to the Manitoba Moose. Should both clear Monday, Winnipeg would be down to 24 healthy players and require one more move to reach its opening roster.
It comes one day after defenceman Isaak Phillips and forwards Nikita Chibrikov, Noah Gregor and Parker Ford all cleared waivers. The quartet can now be assigned to Manitoba after being placed on the wire Friday, while goaltender Thomas Milic was assigned directly to the Moose.
While the Jets continue sorting through their own roster, Sunday's waiver wire presents some interesting possibilities.
Brossoit is perhaps the most obvious example of Cheveldayoff returning to a familiar player in the past. The goaltender spent three seasons with Winnipeg from 2018-21 before leaving for Vegas, only to return to the Jets two years later.
Rittich spent the 2022-23 season in Winnipeg, while Toninato became a familiar face between the Jets and Moose after originally joining the organization in 2020.
Then there is Heinola.
Winnipeg selected the Finnish defenceman 20th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft and spent years waiting for him to establish himself as a full-time NHL player. Heinola's time with the organization finally came to an end this summer when he joined the Vegas Golden Knights, only for the 25-year-old to land on waivers before the regular season.
Whether any of those reunions would actually interest Winnipeg is another question.
The Jets' decision not to claim Comrie is a timely reminder that familiarity alone isn't enough. The 31-year-old netminder had one of the more unusual relationships with the organization, having been drafted by Winnipeg, lost on waivers and eventually returned to the Jets before leaving for San Jose this summer. Despite Winnipeg's current uncertainty in goal behind Stuart Skinner, Comrie went unclaimed and is now eligible to report to the AHL's San Jose Barracuda.
There are plenty of intriguing names beyond the former Jets, too.
Forwards Sammy Blais, Philip Tomasino, Jakob Pelletier and Alexander Holtz were among those exposed Sunday, as were defencemen Henri Jokiharju, Juuso Välimäki and Ilya Lyubushkin.
Former Brandon Wheat Kings forward Cole Reinhardt was placed on waivers by the Florida Panthers, adding another Manitoba connection to the list.
The goaltending market is particularly crowded. Along with Brossoit and Rittich, Ilya Samsonov, Vitek Vanecek, Kaapo Kähkönen and Mads Søgaard were all made available.
For Cheveldayoff, the timing is intriguing.
Winnipeg has spent the weekend moving closer to its final roster, going from 26 healthy players Friday to 24 following Sunday's moves. The Jets have one final decision of their own to make before Monday's deadline.
At the same time, 31 other teams have provided them with plenty more to consider.
