Intangir
Registered User
At this point, the best course of action for the Jets would be to acquire serviceable defensemen that are slight upgrades on what they have right now on the cheap, just like they did with Dahlstrom, since the kinds of players that would make the Jets' defense more than just a bit better right now and for the future (AKA good young-ish defensemen) are plain not available, and even if they are, they will certainly not come cheap.
A guy like Ristolainen might be had from the Buffalo Sabres, and fair value would likely consist of a First-round pick or similar-quality prospect, another lower pick and a B-level prospect or weaker d-man (basically the Montour and Faulk trades), except that the Sabres still have Montour and Bogosian on IR so it is likely that they would rather keep Ristolainen for now as a quality insurance policy than trade him for fair value. If Montour returns and shows he can play at a high level, Ristolainen could get dealt, but I don't see that happening anytime soon, especially with how Buffalo is playing as a group right now.
In the meanwhile, I fear Winnipeg will find improving their defense difficult and will need to keep weathering the storm and try to outscore their defensive inefficiency until they manage to find a trade partner and a fit roster-wise while not mortgaging their team or future too badly.
A guy like Ristolainen might be had from the Buffalo Sabres, and fair value would likely consist of a First-round pick or similar-quality prospect, another lower pick and a B-level prospect or weaker d-man (basically the Montour and Faulk trades), except that the Sabres still have Montour and Bogosian on IR so it is likely that they would rather keep Ristolainen for now as a quality insurance policy than trade him for fair value. If Montour returns and shows he can play at a high level, Ristolainen could get dealt, but I don't see that happening anytime soon, especially with how Buffalo is playing as a group right now.
In the meanwhile, I fear Winnipeg will find improving their defense difficult and will need to keep weathering the storm and try to outscore their defensive inefficiency until they manage to find a trade partner and a fit roster-wise while not mortgaging their team or future too badly.