What the Jets need to address positionally this off season

[Scheifele55]

If I was Chevy I would entertain the option of dealing Myers ONLY if the return is above average. I would be more eager to move Little and Perreault who are expensive. I wish the Jets would have NOT re-signed Little to a long term deal.

 

[Daximus]

If I was Chevy I would entertain the option of dealing Myers ONLY if the return is above average. I would be more eager to move Little and Perreault who are expensive. I wish the Jets would have NOT re-signed Little to a long term deal.

I think we need Little. His play has regressed a bit but it's not like he's useless. Perreault I'd be fine with dealing this offseason. We have enough wingers that we can mitigate his loss a bit. Myers will likely return a pretty solid package.

 

[Keystone]

I don’t think we have any glaring positional needs. Just some tinkering with what we got. I say if we sign Laine long term this summer, put him up with Scheifele and Ehlers. Wheeler and little have always played well together. Let wheelers production come back to the norm a bit and then resign him mid season if possible.

Ehlers- Scheifele- Laine
Vesalainen- Little-Wheeler
Conner- Roslovic- Armia
Copp- Lowry- Tanev

Morrissey- Trouba
Morrow- Buff
Niku - Poolman

Helle
Mason

Chiarot, Petan, UFA in press box.

Myers and Dano moved for sure and Perrault likely moved. I would like to see Kulikov moved and Morrow resigned cheap if possible, but not likely.

And as opposed to last years XD, I’m not in love with any of Armia, Lowry, Copp and Petan if they have to be moved, or ask for too much money in the short term.

 

[Tommigun]

I'm one of those who likes Myers. With his reach, he is another unique asset we have that virtually nobody else has. Plus, he can skate and puck handle like nobody else with his height. Sure, we get the odd "bad Myers" (like "bad Buff"), but once he strikes the right balance he is irreplaceable. He has helped this team big time on more than one occasion.

I agree that Enstrom's salary can be better used elsewhere. He is simply too small/weak to play that position the way he plays it. Plus, he offers virtually no offensive threat anymore. Niku is the obvious guy to take his place, but I really liked what Morrow brought to the table in the playoffs.

I think there's a good chance Paul Statsny may sign. Take it for what you will, but the grapevine suggests that he was looking for a house in Headingly already (again, that's a non-confirmed rumour, but my source was adamant). With Shief/Statsny/Little/Lowry, we're just fine down the middle. I still hold out a grain of hope for Petan, but this is his make-it-or-break-it season. It would be nice to have one up and coming centre who is still in his early 20's.

I'd still give Comrie another shot at the back-up.

With the team's success in the playoffs, and chance to play with young talent that we have, I have high hopes that we will do much better attracting free agents this coming season as well.

It’s not like I don’t like Myers, but he’s just very expensive for that third pairing role and someone’s gotta go. His value is also high right now so why not trade him?

 

[Tommigun]

If I was Chevy I would entertain the option of dealing Myers ONLY if the return is above average. I would be more eager to move Little and Perreault who are expensive. I wish the Jets would have NOT re-signed Little to a long term deal.

But Little can’t be moved, so that leaves only Perreault and Myers. And I’d rather move him now than for peanuts as a rental after next season.

 

[razorsedge]

Defense is my only concern.

Enstrom wont be back and Trouba returning longterm is up in the air.

 

[Whileee]

But Little can’t be moved, so that leaves only Perreault and Myers. And I’d rather move him now than for peanuts as a rental after next season.

If Myers plays out next season with the Jets he's a UFA after that and the Jets get nothing in a trade for him. I can't see the Jets signing Myers beyond next season unless Trouba is moved. Trading Myers before next season is mostly about what the Jets need most to compete next season. I think a 2C would fill a bigger gap than Myers as 3D.

 

[Tommigun]

If Myers plays out next season with the Jets he's a UFA after that and the Jets get nothing in a trade for him. I can't see the Jets signing Myers beyond next season unless Trouba is moved. Trading Myers before next season is mostly about what the Jets need most to compete next season. I think a 2C would fill a bigger gap than Myers as 3D.

I agree to 100% and that’s what I’ve been advocating, ie to trade Myers now before he goes UFA and get a second center instead. I worded the message you quoted poorly. I’d also move Perreault as that’s a position we have absolutely no trouble filling.

 

[Arthur Fonzarelli]

What a great year. But with the end, comes sifting through the wreckage of an "early exit" and what is required to get over the next hump, next year.

1) Capable backup goaltender: IMO, I believe Helle started to show cracks in his game simply due to fatigue. This was an odd year in terms of the influx of injuries to our backups that saw us have to play Helle an additional 5-10 games more than what he likely should have.

Comrie is not ready, nor will he likely be ready ever... His stock seemed to drop significantly. Mason's injury woes seemed to rear it's head and Hutchinson dumped gasoline on the bridge and burned that sucker down. Phillips and Berdin are obviously not going to be big-league contributers.

Could we look at Mason's injury problem as an outlier or a trend that will continue? That's a big thing that needs to be addressed. Not sure if they pull a Pavelec and send him down to the minors if required... but that will be an interesting scenario to monitor.

2) LHD: You could see often that teams were targeting our LHD when doing zone entries.

Morrissey is fantastic, but it was a pretty large drop off after him.

Enstrom started showing his age in the playoffs simply not getting his game to where it was before injury...His injuries are a big problem and would find it hard to see him come back next season. I expect him to retire. If he does return, I would expect a 1 year extension with a 1M cap hit.

Chiarot, though playing his best hockey he ever had leading up to playoffs, is still Ben Chiarot and is nothing more than a somewhat-reliable 7th/8th.

Kulikov I thought stabilized the bottom pairing with Myers, but has a higher cap hit and could prove problematic in the next couple years. Also, his long term health could be questionable since his back injury seemed to pop up again. Some concerns for sure.

Niku after a big off season in the gym should get a crack at being a full time NHLer paired with Buff. He's proven everything he's needed to at the AHL and looked pretty good this year.

Morrow I thought equipped himself quite well. Now, most players play well when paired with Buff.... but seems like they played well together. Speaking he has RFA status, he could be cheap and a valuable guy if Niku doesn't make the transition as anticipated.

3) Centre Depth:

I may grab some heat, but I'm not confident in running a tandem of Scheifele/Little as a top 2. Now, some may say that it was an off year and that Little will rebound. However, there was statistical analysis prior to Little signing his extension that his play was showing regression. We saw that this year. He essentially ghosted in the playoffs and putting Little between Ehlers and Laine again next year will likely see the same results.

I'm not running out and saying that Jets should resign Stats because we should be leary regarding aging vets that aren't fleet of foot...but something needs to be done to address a 2C to play between Laine and Ehlers. Internal options outside of Scheifele don't seem to be adequate. One could look at Roslovic, but that line would be a disaster defensively and I don't see it there yet.

Appleton and Petan also likely aren't options. Interesting to see what happens with this. Cap complications may make this tough to manage.

4) The three headed monster of Buff, Trouba and Myers. In my opinion, you cannot have all three from a Cap perspective. I believe Poolman showed enough that given the reigns, he could be an adequate bottom pairing D.

Buff with reduced minutes played the best of his career, and hoping we can see the same thing next season.

Myers scares the "Bleep" out of me a lot of times with his play, but he came through with some pretty clutch goals in the playoffs. I think this could be a "Sell High" moment for the team. Could be used towards a 2C, perhaps?

It'll be interesting to see if the Trouba extension actually happens. I could see a scenario that "We wanted to stay, but couldn't make the money work" in the Trouba discussions. It could be a gamesmanship move that they leaked that "he wants to stay" so it could take the villainy out of the Trouba camp if deep down, they still want to move. Keeping my eye on this one.

Love to know thoughts/responses to this.

I've highlighted the issues I have with your thoughts

1) Goaltending
-Bucky's the real deal. No goaltender played more than him this year. Led the NHL with 67 regular season starts. Led the NHL in regular season TOI. Led the NHL in playoffs games. After tonight Holtby will take the lead, but regular seasons and playoffs combined Connor led the pack
-Hutch has burned his bridges, although major media never picked up the story. All the noise comes from his interview in the Athletic. If it wasn't for waivers he'd have returned to the Moose. The Jets may still have plans for him. Whether or not he accepts them is another story entirely. I've had the opportunity to interact with him. He believes he's a starting goalie & every chance he's been give he's proven capable. He's self admittedly a horrible backup. If he's not playing a heavy workload his performance falls apart. With Bucky the #1, Hutch needs to find work elsewhere or learn how to deal with a light workload.
-Comrie isn't a large man. His style is all about agility. Next years Moose won't be as good as this years version. He's gonna get a heavy workload next year
-Berdin. I disagree 100% with your assessment, so much so I don't think you gave this statement much thought. What about a career .928+ goalie don't you like? He's extremely young and still playing junior hockey. As of today an argument could be made he's our best prospect in net.

2) LHD
-Morrissey may be a future Norris contender. Outstanding
-Chiarot beginning to progress. He's a solid press box player & could prove to be a dependable 3rd pairing defender. Certainly not there yet, but I certainly think he showed marked improvement this season.
-Enstrom. I defended him a lot. More so than I should have. He'd still be a fine 3rd pairing defensemen, but chances are he returns to play pro hockey in Europe, particular with the emergence of Niku
-Niku. Outstanding AHL season offensively. Do we rush him into the NHL or allow his defensive game to progress with the Moose
-Kulikov. I've no worries about him. Spends summers working out in Florida with Stamkos & Scheifele. He's gonna be fine.

I'd agree that it's been apparent that the opposition picks on the Jets left side. Nothing new though, This has been going on since Hainsey & Oduya left.Became more apparent once the injuries began to pile up.

3) RHD
-Buff, best season in years. Far too much ice time however. Men his size shouldn't be playing 30 minutes in the playoffs. His gaffes have always been due to him trying too hard. His season improved the moment he concentrated on playing his position.
-Myers. Played the full season & all the playoffs. He's back and one game away from winning my bet with @Bastage 82+5+7+5=99. Your bet jinxed the Jets!! One more game for 100!!
-Trouba. Despite the occasional gaffe, he's been a dominant defender. Would like his offensive game to jump 10-15 points considering the cash we're about to pay him.
-Poolman. Would be the 3rd pairing defensemen on many teams. Should have played the season in the AHL. One of the only management mistakes I feel I have to vocalize. Sitting as much as he did, did him no good.

Jets moving a RD is a topic done to death. I'm of the position one right defensemen is dealt. Buff's full no movement now gone, Myers value is back to where it was, Trouba proved his worth. Buff 7.5+ Myers 5.5+ Trouba 6+ is 20 million on 3 players. Upcoming season is the last season the Jets can afford this luxury. We should have won the cup with these three.

4) Centre
-Scheifele for MVP? What a playoff run!
-I've no issues with Little at 2C. I think he was banged up. Little had to be forced to admit he was "kinda injured", so perhaps he has a rebound season.
-Lowry...love him!
-Roslovic. If being groomed as a centre, he should have been playing there on the Moose. My only other management complaint. Perhaps this usage hints at him playing RW & thus a free agent centre is coming. See below...
-Stastny. Looks like he belongs. Anyone else think it telling he was included with Scheifele & Wheeler in the exit interviews? Sign him & give him an A
-Petan. Great season in the AHL. Not sure what else is expected out of him. He'll be waiver eligible. He'll be traded otherwise makes the team and creates cap space.

I expect at least one more trade. Our roster looks to be 25 men strong. Two have to go. Most will say Dano & Petan.

You didn't get into wingers, but ours are the best in hockey.

Next season is our year. Go Jets go!

 

[surixon]

If Myers plays out next season with the Jets he's a UFA after that and the Jets get nothing in a trade for him. I can't see the Jets signing Myers beyond next season unless Trouba is moved. Trading Myers before next season is mostly about what the Jets need most to compete next season. I think a 2C would fill a bigger gap than Myers as 3D.

I would like to deal him myself but he was name dropped with Little unprovoked by Maurice as one of the veteran drivers off the ice that helped set the tone for this season. Given the glowing comments I have a hard time seeing the org wanting to send him anywhere. In my opinion they deal a Perrault first (I wonder how they feel about his public comments about being a healthy scratch even if it was a dumb decision by the coach)

 

[redneckjabronie]

I don’t think we have any glaring positional needs. Just some tinkering with what we got. I say if we sign Laine long term this summer, put him up with Scheifele and Ehlers. Wheeler and little have always played well together. Let wheelers production come back to the norm a bit and then resign him mid season if possible.

Ehlers- Scheifele- Laine
Vesalainen- Little-Wheeler
Conner- Roslovic- Armia
Copp- Lowry- Tanev

Morrissey- Trouba
Morrow- Buff
Niku - Poolman

Helle
Mason

Chiarot, Petan, UFA in press box.

Myers and Dano moved for sure and Perrault likely moved. I would like to see Kulikov moved and Morrow resigned cheap if possible, but not likely.

And as opposed to last years XD, I’m not in love with any of Armia, Lowry, Copp and Petan if they have to be moved, or ask for too much money in the short term.

I think we have to be careful not to confuse Vesalainen with Laine. Not the same caliber of player, he could be more like Armia who took 2-3 seasons to make the jump. My guess is that he may be more of a Rantanen type, needing at least one year in the AHL. He won't start the season this fall IMO. Same with Appleton, I think he has more of a Roslovic trajectory and may need to start the season with the Moose, but eventually get called up in the middle of the season.

I agree with those 4 forwards. I don't think Petan would be an issue, if they offer him a one way, he'll probably take it. The others, it will be interested to see what inflated self worth they have. Armia is talented but inconsistent, the other two are bigger lumbering guys that were totally exposed by the speed of Vegas. Keep them but if they get a bit too much of themselves, they can be replaced, especially Copp.

I still can't see the logic in moving Myers right now. Who steps in and replaces him? He was easily one of the 3 best defensemen in the playoffs, along with Buff and Morrissey. Niku is unproven so far and Enstrom is likely gone, so there would be a lot of question marks on D.

 

[StatisticsAddict99]

Though our Top 6 is as good as any in the league I’m concerned with what they are gonna do, there are so many options, as long as we don’t have ELL line I’m fine(that’s just a bad chemical reaction right there) but I will still be concerned with Little at 2C.

I’m also concerned with how we will approach our Goalie backup and wether or not Niku can handle the pressure of the NHL and how he will improve his defence.

 

[Adam da bomb]

I can't understand the lack of Lowry love by some ppl on here but we all have players we are not sold on.

 

[Keystone]

I thought Lowry was great vs the Wild and then not so much. For such a big guy I wish he would have imposed himself during Vegas series. The whistles had gone away for the most part. Mix it up, get in fleurys face. Do something when you aren’t providing offence.
I like Lowry, but I suppose I’m concerned about what kind of money he wants when I see him as a 4th line centre.

 

[Adam da bomb]

I thought Lowry was great vs the Wild and then not so much. For such a big guy I wish he would have imposed himself during Vegas series. The whistles had gone away for the most part. Mix it up, get in fleurys face. Do something when you aren’t providing offence.
I like Lowry, but I suppose I’m concerned about what kind of money he wants when I see him as a 4th line centre.

There are much more expensive players not providing offense. Ppl will point to Little's injuries which we don't know what they are but we do know Lowry's injuries. We did see him in pain on the bench and ppl did talk about how he was most likely not going to be healthy with his injuries in the playoffs. I see him as a 3c like bonino if we could move little, but, we can't so yes he's a 4c who took all the tough matchups in the regular season to free the Ell line and first line up and scored at a decent rate. Still a lot cheaper than Perrault who didn't score much better in the playoffs. He should cost more than Armia copp and Tanev but not a lot more than 3 mil.

 

[surixon]

I think we have to be careful not to confuse Vesalainen with Laine. Not the same caliber of player, he could be more like Armia who took 2-3 seasons to make the jump. My guess is that he may be more of a Rantanen type, needing at least one year in the AHL. He won't start the season this fall IMO. Same with Appleton, I think he has more of a Roslovic trajectory and may need to start the season with the Moose, but eventually get called up in the middle of the season.

I agree with those 4 forwards. I don't think Petan would be an issue, if they offer him a one way, he'll probably take it. The others, it will be interested to see what inflated self worth they have. Armia is talented but inconsistent, the other two are bigger lumbering guys that were totally exposed by the speed of Vegas. Keep them but if they get a bit too much of themselves, they can be replaced, especially Copp.

I still can't see the logic in moving Myers right now. Who steps in and replaces him? He was easily one of the 3 best defensemen in the playoffs, along with Buff and Morrissey. Niku is unproven so far and Enstrom is likely gone, so there would be a lot of question marks on D.

Good points and I agree. I would also like to add one more condition that will be a very large factor in any decision with Ves and that is his ELC is eligible to slide one more year. The organization is at a point where Chevy is really going to have to start managing contracts. Barring Vesalinen really kicking the doors in and playing like a bonifide top 6 player right off the batt I have a hard time seeing the org blowing a year on his ELC to allow him to develop in the NHL. We are past that point as an org. His ELC will be much more valuable to the team 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22. He will likely follow the Roslovic path.

 

[kylbaz]

The team is talented enough to win the cup. Needed more effort, better coaching with adjustments, and less mental breakdowns on D. How many breakaways and two on ones did we give up? How many did we get against Vegas? Not many.

 

[Adam da bomb]

Good points and I agree. I would also like to add one more condition that will be a very large factor in any decision with Ves and that is his ELC is eligible to slide one more year. The organization is at a point where Chevy is really going to have to start managing contracts. Barring Vesalinen really kicking the doors in and playing like a bonifide top 6 player right off the batt I have a hard time seeing the org blowing a year on his ELC to allow him to develop in the NHL. We are past that point as an org. His ELC will be much more valuable to the team 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22. He will likely follow the Roslovic path.

If he really kicks the doors down and proves that he plays like a a bonafide top 6 do you move someone else like Wheeler for a young bonafide center, A LD or something else? After all there is a limited number of top 6 wingers you need as there are a limited number of minutes and the team has other needs.

 

[Ippenator]

I wonder what would it take to get Sebastian Aho from the Canes? He would be an absolutely great player for the Jets. Of course he has great chemistry with Laine, but first of all because it really seems likely that he is going to be a center in the NHL. He played already as a center at the end of this season, and now just recently he played as a center in the WHC tournament, where he was chosen as the best forward of the whole tournament, over McDavid and Kane, whom both were also great in the tournament.

He is a very good skater, has great hands and passing skills and he can also score goals and is a very good player defensively. Could be of course that he is kind of untouchable for the Canes. But I was still wondering if there would be any options after all to get him with any players outside of Scheifele, Wheeler, Hellebuyck and Laine, as I pretty much see them as the only Jets that I wouldn’t want to see going anywhere in any circumstances at the moment.

 

[GNP]

If Myers plays out next season with the Jets he's a UFA after that and the Jets get nothing in a trade for him. I can't see the Jets signing Myers beyond next season unless Trouba is moved. Trading Myers before next season is mostly about what the Jets need most to compete next season. I think a 2C would fill a bigger gap than Myers as 3D.

______________________________________________________

As much as I like Myers --I do agree with this post --makes sense. If they let him play out next year to UFA-(unrestricted free agent status) --is Chevy going to sign a guy who's had Hip operations--and operations on his knees ?? Very scary proposition for Chevy to "gamble" on. He'll likely have these injuries recur.

As much as I love offensive defenseman like Myers--he'd be best off to be bundled with Perrault for a great 2nd line center.

This is only possible if Trouba signs first--long term. If Trouba does not sign long term--we'll have to gamble with Myer's health and "trade Trouba."-simple as that.

I should add here--if Myers did not have these health issues--I would sign him long term and trade Trouba straight up for a good 2nd line center--and he would return one.

 

[sipowicz]

I can't understand the lack of Lowry love by some ppl on here but we all have players we are not sold on.

Lowry doesnt produce even a little, not good, very, very bad for a supposed 3rd line C, becoming injury prone at a young age, another overrated Jet.

 

[Gil Fisher]

Lowry doesnt produce even a little, not good, very, very bad for a supposed 3rd line C, becoming injury prone at a young age, another overrated Jet.

Well Sip may be a bit harsh here, but Lowry is the type of player that seems to be valued highly around GM offices, but doesn't seem to produce points at a decent enough rate. I think there is a thought that Copp could provide the same contribution at a much lower price. Lowry may be worth more in trade than keeping around on the 3rd/4th line.

 

[sipowicz]

Well Sip may be a bit harsh here, but Lowry is the type of player that seems to be valued highly around GM offices, but doesn't seem to produce points at a decent enough rate. I think there is a thought that Copp could provide the same contribution at a much lower price. Lowry may be worth more in trade than keeping around on the 3rd/4th line.

Neither Lowry or Copp produce, sure they are good defensively but do you really need two of the same type of player on your third line? Think I would keep Lowry over Copp, smarter player, more physical and better defensively!

 

[Arthur Fonzarelli]

Lowry doesnt produce even a little, not good, very, very bad for a supposed 3rd line C, becoming injury prone at a young age, another overrated Jet.

These over rated Jets will win the Presidents trophy next year.

Next stop Stanley Cup Finals!

 

[Adam da bomb]

Neither Lowry or Copp produce, sure they are good defensively but do you really need two of the same type of player on your third line? Think I would keep Lowry over Copp, smarter player, more physical and better defensively!

So I guess you guys would get rid of Armia to? Because he provides less offensively and defensively.