Jets prioritize offensive upgrades, surfacing young talent like Perfetti and making defensemen Stanley available.
The Winnipeg Jets may be off until Feb. 25, but there is little rest for the organization’s decision makers.
While Josh Morrissey, Kyle Connor and Connor Hellebuyck continue to live out their Olympic dreams in Milan, Jets management is hard at work evaluating its options ahead of the NHL trade deadline.
Multiple reports in recent days from David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period have outlined what Winnipeg could be looking to do as March 6 approaches.
According to Pagnotta, the Jets are focused on improving their forward group, particularly the second line. Outside of the top trio of Mark Scheifele, Connor and Gabriel Vilardi, offensive production has been inconsistent.
“Offensively it's been a challenge for them beyond that first line, and that's still something that Cheveldayoff and the staff in Winnipeg wanna address,” Pagnotta reported.
One name that has surfaced in trade discussions is pending restricted free agent Cole Perfetti. Pagnotta indicated Perfetti could be in play if the return significantly upgrades the forward group. However, many around the league believe moving the young forward would only make sense if it brought back a high end piece, such as Shane Wright of the Seattle Kraken.
On the other side of the ledger, Winnipeg appears prepared to sell off several pending unrestricted free agents. Pagnotta confirmed that Logan Stanley, Luke Schenn, Tanner Pearson and Gustav Nyquist are all available as the team looks to extract value from veterans on expiring deals.
“Whether it's Luke Schenn or Logan Stanley or Tanner Pearson or, they're gonna try to move Gustav Nyquist,” Pagnotta explained. “They're gonna by all accounts sell those UFA pieces.”
With the trade deadline set for March 6, the Jets will face a quick turnaround once play resumes. The club will have roughly a week and a half to finalize evaluations and execute any moves that could shape the stretch drive.
For now, the players may be focused on international competition, but in Winnipeg, the attention has already shifted to the decisions that could define the remainder of the season.
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