Speculation: Rumour, Trade, and Free Agent Speculation 2018-19 - Part V

[Whileee]

I'd love Stone, but the obvious spot on the Jets for him is where Wheeler is for the next 5 seasons. I don't see him coming.

He and Wheeler are interchangeable on the 1st line. He would make any line better, and I think he might be the ideal linemate for Laine.

 

[surixon]

Why are we trading for Ekblad???

View attachment 181295

Agreed, Ekblad is incredibly overrated. I'd just as soon pay Trouba the 7.5 million that Ekblad currently makes as he is a significantly better dmen at this point.

 

[Hunter368]

Even if Jets re-sign Stone the Sens would need to add big time to get Laine. If Stone is moving on as a UFA anyway you can't get much more than a rental price for him and Laine would be much more than a rental price.

Laine & Roslovic & 1st rd pick for signed Stone & Duchene (I would do a character check with vets on Duchene before trading for him)

 

[Whileee]

Agreed, Ekblad is incredibly overrated. I'd just as soon pay Trouba the 7.5 million that Ekblad currently makes as he is a significantly better dmen at this point.

If Ekblad is worth 7.5M, Trouba is worth 8.5M at least.

 

[Whileee]

Laine & Roslovic & 1st rd pick for signed Stone & Duchene (I would do a character check with vets on Duchene before trading for him)

But why??? If you want Stone so much, why not just clear the decks and sign him as a UFA in the off-season. I would think that Wpg would be very near the top of his list of potential destinations.

Trading Laine now would be like selling all your stock after the big crash.

 

[Hunter368]

But why??? If you want Stone so much, why not just clear the decks and sign him as a UFA in the off-season. I would think that Wpg would be very near the top of his list of potential destinations.

Trading Laine now would be like selling all your stock after the big crash.

For fun post.......plus zero guarantee either reaches UFA. Duchene won't sign here as a UFA, Stone likely won't either......likely signs in the US

 

[surixon]

Laine & Roslovic & 1st rd pick for signed Stone & Duchene (I would do a character check with vets on Duchene before trading for him)

Where are the Jets getting the 17.5 million in cap space that they will need to keep both?

Laine would going the other way would only offset about 9 million of it. Add to that we need to reup Conner and Trouba (Or pay for a Trouba/Myers equivalent) We all of the sudden become way too forward heavy.

I am absolutely shocked at the number of people who want to run Laine out of town. He is a whopping 20 years old. Scheifele had 13 goals and 34 points while also being sub par from a possession stand point and being weak on the wall and not great in his own end. We will completely regret moving him if we deal him.

 

[VictoriaJetsFan]

But why??? If you want Stone so much, why not just clear the decks and sign him as a UFA in the off-season. I would think that Wpg would be very near the top of his list of potential destinations.

Trading Laine now would be like selling all your stock after the big crash.

Agreed, Laine needs to improve significantly before we could deal him, he 's the biggest risk in the trade market right now I don't have a clue with what we have in him. Dealing him would be an Edmonton Oiler type move...Chiarelli style.

 

[Hunter368]

Where are the Jets getting the 17.5 million in cap space that they will need to keep both?

Laine would going the other way would only offset about 9 million of it. Add to that we need to reup Conner and Trouba (Or pay for a Trouba/Myers equivalent) We all of the sudden become way too forward heavy.

I am absolutely shocked at the number of people who want to run Laine out of town. He is a whopping 20 years old. Scheifele had 13 goals and 34 points while also being sub par from a possession stand point and being weak on the wall and not great in his own end. We will completely regret moving him if we deal him.

As stated it was a fun post. We submit our request for a cap exception (another joke).

Seriously, I couldn't careless about Laine......he's just an asset. If we can exchange one asset for another asset to make the team better........Ill drive Laine to the airport myself. People become too attached to players we draft IMO, they're just asset pieces to be used and traded no different then stock investments.

 

[Hunter368]

Agreed, Laine needs to improve significantly before we could deal him, he 's the biggest risk in the trade market right now I don't have a clue with what we have in him. Dealing him would be an Edmonton Oiler type move...Chiarelli style.

No one would trade a player in a epic slump if it hurts his value significantly......that goes without saying.

 

[surixon]

As stated it was a fun post. We submit our request for a cap exception (another joke).

Seriously, I couldn't careless about Laine......he's just an asset. If we can exchange one asset for another asset to make the team better........Ill drive Laine to the airport myself. People become too attached to players we draft IMO, they're just asset pieces to be used and traded no different then stock investments.

Sure and I don't disagree, but two pending UFA's that we would need to give UFA contracts to isn't high on my list of assets that I deem valuable.

If I am dealing Laine it is for an equivalent aged player. The template would be something akin to the Jones for Johansen deal.

 

[Hunter368]

Sure and I don't disagree, but two pending UFA's that we would need to give UFA contracts to isn't high on my list of assets that I deem valuable.

If I am dealing Laine it is for an equivalent aged player. The template would be something akin to the Jones for Johansen deal.

I don't actually believe both would sign here in a million years......I was joking. I need to use symbol in the future.

But talking trading Laine, I'm perfectly open to it if it makes our team better........which I think trading him might.....albeit not at this moment during his epic mind blowing slump. He has a significantly long road of imporovement required before I would call him untouchable like a Mark S.

 

[Whileee]

For fun post.......plus zero guarantee either reaches UFA. Duchene won't sign here as a UFA, Stone likely won't either......likely signs in the US

If neither would sign here as a UFA, then there's no chance they'll agree to a sign and trade to Winnipeg. Just sayin...

By the way, I do think Stone is a realistic option as a UFA. It's not just that Winnipeg is home, but that the Jets will be a Cup contender for the foreseeable future.

 

[Heldig]

Would LOVE for the Jets to sign Stone in the off season. Cap issues dictate some salary has to be shed to even consider it. And Little is still the 2nd line C? And Laine plays where?

Ehlers - Scheifele - Wheeler
Connor - Little - Stone
Copp - Lowry - Tanev
Lemieux - Roslovic - Laine

 

[Hunter368]

If neither would sign here as a UFA, then there's no chance they'll agree to a sign and trade to Winnipeg. Just sayin...

By the way, I do think Stone is a realistic option as a UFA. It's not just that Winnipeg is home, but that the Jets will be a Cup contender for the foreseeable future.

Bolded - I know, that's partly the joke. Zero chance both would ever sign here......nevermind in the same year. Not to mention it would be a cap increase of about 9-10 million even trading Laine away. In the future I'll make my sarcastic/joke posts clearer, my bad.

Stone - Money talks.......I fully expect other teams to offer him much more then we could/would.......highly doubt he signs here.......like less then 5% chance.

My other comment about Laine is serious though......I would trade him in a blink of an eye for the right deal. What deal? No clue.....too much work thinking up possible options.......but there would be many players/packages I would take.

 

[Hunter368]

Would LOVE for the Jets to sign Stone in the off season. Cap issues dictate some salary has to be shed to even consider it. And Little is still the 2nd line C? And Laine plays where?

Ehlers - Scheifele - Wheeler
Connor - Little - Stone
Copp - Lowry - Tanev
Lemieux - Roslovic - Laine

Trade Laine for a young 1B centre or young top RHD to replace Trouba. Trouba is traded for futures/prospects.

 

[Flair Hay]

He and Wheeler are interchangeable on the 1st line. He would make any line better, and I think he might be the ideal linemate for Laine.

No doubt. Hossa looked like overkill for the Hawks back in the day too. Heaven forbid they have to trade a young guy like Ladd to make it happen

We are blessed to have young first liners like Ehlers and Connor. But you send them packing for a nice return if the opportunity to sign a guy like Stone comes along. He is better than either will ever be, in all likelihood.

That said signing him as a UFA would be extremely difficult. But you never know I guess.

 

[Whileee]

It might be a bit unconventional, but my view is that we think way too much about offense when considering the role of centers. The reality is that two dynamic offensive wingers can drive a line offensively even if they don't have a top offensive C. The role of the C is to make sure that the line doesn't spend too much time in their own zone and can push the play into the offensive zone where the wingers can go to work. That's why I think the Jets might consider focusing on winger talent and not sell the store for an offensive C like Duchene.

The Jets have two elite defensive centers in Lowry and Copp. Pair either of them with two highly talented wingers and I think offense will be created, assuming that they can tilt the ice in the other direction. Right now, Laine (and Roslovic) are a heavy lift in their own zone and without more offensive zone time they just aren't going to produce any offense.

Consider options at the TDL. Hayes and Duchene are offensively productive centers that struggle defensively. Do we really want a C with Laine or Connor or Roslovic that will struggle in their own zone? I think we might have the same issue we have with Little. Would the Jets be better off with Hayes or Duchene, or should they consider using a very good defensive C like Copp paired with another good winger that can also drive some offense (like Zuccarello). Before any quick reaction about Copp's offensive deficiencies, perhaps consider that his points/60 this season is the same as Perreault and higher than Connor. His on-ice shooting % inflates that a bit, but he's not really a black hole on offense.

The charts below illustrate the performance characteristics of a few trade options, and for Copp. All things considered, should the Jets perhaps consider giving Copp a bigger role and bringing in another winger that can tilt the ice and create some offense?

Ehlers-Scheifele-Wheeler
Laine-Copp-Zuccarello
Connor-Little-Roslovic
Perreault-Lowry-Tanev

 

[ps241]

It might be a bit unconventional, but my view is that we think way too much about offense when considering the role of centers. The reality is that two dynamic offensive wingers can drive a line offensively even if they don't have a top offensive C. The role of the C is to make sure that the line doesn't spend too much time in their own zone and can push the play into the offensive zone where the wingers can go to work. That's why I think the Jets might consider focusing on winger talent and not sell the store for an offensive C like Duchene.

The Jets have two elite defensive centers in Lowry and Copp. Pair either of them with two highly talented wingers and I think offense will be created, assuming that they can tilt the ice in the other direction. Right now, Laine (and Roslovic) are a heavy lift in their own zone and without more offensive zone time they just aren't going to produce any offense.

Consider options at the TDL. Hayes and Duchene are offensively productive centers that struggle defensively. Do we really want a C with Laine or Connor or Roslovic that will struggle in their own zone? I think we might have the same issue we have with Little. Would the Jets be better off with Hayes or Duchene, or should they consider using a very good defensive C like Copp paired with another good winger that can also drive some offense (like Zuccarello). Before any quick reaction about Copp's offensive deficiencies, perhaps consider that his points/60 this season is the same as Perreault and higher than Connor. His on-ice shooting % inflates that a bit, but he's not really a black hole on offense.

The charts below illustrate the performance characteristics of a few trade options, and for Copp. All things considered, should the Jets perhaps consider giving Copp a bigger role and bringing in another winger that can tilt the ice and create some offense?

Ehlers-Scheifele-Wheeler
Laine-Copp-Zuccarello
Connor-Little-Roslovic
Perreault-Lowry-Tanev

View attachment 181323

View attachment 181325

View attachment 181327

It’s insane how good Copp is defensively. He has been one of my favorite forwards to watch play without the puck for some time. Very underrated in Jets land because many fans inherently focus on offense when it comes to forwards. Watching Copp Lowry and Tanev dominate the Bergeron line last season in our building was still one of my favorite nights since I consider Bergy Pasta and Rat face to be the top line in hockey.

 

[Arthur Fonzarelli]

Agreed, Ekblad is incredibly overrated. I'd just as soon pay Trouba the 7.5 million that Ekblad currently makes as he is a significantly better dmen at this point.

If I had my druthers I'd rather keep Trouba as well, but if he would accept $7.5 long term, he'd be signed already. Remember Trouba's ask for this single RFA year was $7 million, whereas the Jets countered with $4 million.

I guess we'll never truly know his intent until he's signed or traded, but after years of thinking he'd sign, I've joined the bandwagon of believers who assume he either wants out or wanted to be paid UFA dollars years ago.

We could certainly do worse than Ekblad. I wouldn't mind the deal at all.

 

[Arthur Fonzarelli]

He and Wheeler are interchangeable on the 1st line. He would make any line better, and I think he might be the ideal linemate for Laine.

I love Wheeler to death, but I'd take a signed Stone over Wheeler in a heartbeat.

It would be a heartless move, but Wheeler only has a modified NTC clause at the moment with 14 teams he can specify he won't accept a trade to. That becomes a full NMC July 1st 2019.

My dream scenario has the Jets winning the cup and then dealing him immediately, using that cap space for Stone.

 

[voyageur]

Full disclosure, I don't really like dealing away 1st round picks and top prospects on rentals. Generally, I think the TD is where you are tinkering and adding depth, not overpaying and sacrificing long term sustainable success for a short term coin flip.

That being said, I'm not sure if a trade and sign with a guy like Duchene is the road I would want to go down. He's going to cost a pretty $ to extend, and he doesn't seem like a player you want to lock up to big $ and term.

Earlier, I thought getting some depth forwards would be all the Jets might need. And they still might look at a depth forward, but I think more and more the team could use real help in the middle 6. I really like Roslo, but he is just not a plus player right now IMO. Sometimes he looks like dynamite, and his skating is impressive. But he's just not doing anything offensively, and lately, his D play has been poor. There also seems to be a chemistry issue on our second line. I don't think we really have anything close to 3 scoring lines, and sometimes not even 2.

I hate to spend quality assets on a rental, but maybe for a player with 1 more year like Muzzin I could do it. I wonder if Chevy could go back to back deadlines and make a deal with the Blues and acquire Schenn. With the Muzzin trade, I would imagine the deal would be a 1st and two prospects not named Vesalainen (Liljegren), or Samberg (Sandin). I don't think I'd spend more than that. If you can add Schenn, the team only needs to have one of Lemieux/Roslovic/Appleton in the lineup. The Jets would also have him for a cup run next year, which means we're not buying again next February.

Ideally this works for me if Schenn can play C. Not sure he's playing C anymore on the Blues.

Schenn is an intriguing acquisition. I think he's one centre you could put between Ehlers and Laine.

But that's a 1st, and keep adding.

Maybe minimum 1st (19), 2nd (20), Gustafsson and Kovacevic. Expect others to bid high.

And then you have to figure out how to keep him. And re-sign your RFAs.

People can say trade Perreault, etc. But Chevy has built a strong cohesion, family in this team. Losing Perreault I think would hurt us on and off the ice.

We have to replace Trouba, Myers, Chiarot with something. That's 3 of your 5 PKers, which is a huge aspect of being a top team.

Go into next year with

Morrissey-?
?-Buff
Kulikov-Niku/Poolman

That's a lot of question marks.

I think with Scheif, Lowry, Little we can get out of the West. Nobody in the West is overwhelmingly more talented up the middle, and we have strengths in other positions.

But to win against the East I think we'd be in tough.

I still like low rental Brassard.

Ehlers-Scheif-Wheeler
Connor-Little-Roslovic
Tanev-Lowry-Perreault
Copp/Lemieux-Brassard-Laine

You really can't have enough centres. The more you have, the more options, and players don't get pigeon holed. It would be good to move Copp into different looks, or Little as Maurice did last year.

 

[Board Bard]

This could be totally irrational but I just have a spidey sense that Duchene would be a really bad fit on the Jets in terms of both style of play and personality.

Interesting that Chevy has said publicly he leans on the room and some of the vets when it comes down to it too, whether they feel someone fits or not.

I kinda think Duchene and Maurice wouldn't get along. They don't seem made for each other, anyway. Have a feeling Maurice would see him as a cross between Nic Petan and Evander Kane (the problem stuff, not the manly stuff), and slowly but steadily marginalize him. Duchene would compensate by taking up perogies, and soon you've got another Buff but six inches shorter.

I'd rather have Stone if they could keep Ehlers and Connor and Morrissey long term (eventually, assuming they all keep getting better). Stone isn't a center but the way he drives a line makes up for it. Maybe he's the breath of fresh air Laine needs. Or Ehlers. Or Petan (yeah, forget that). The draft picks they give up for him they could recoup from Trouba, actually probably get a little bump up the draft order.

 

[Board Bard]

Cernak is a keeper. and they dont have a 1st this year if i recall (i think it's part of the McDonagh trade as a conditional pick)

That's okay, take their first for 2020, when they'll have a better pick. One way or another the Jets will have a first round pick this year.

 

[Board Bard]

Agree that Trouba doesn't get the respect he deserves. And discussing trades with other fan bases is usually a waste of time.

When was the last time counting scouts led to accurately forecasting a trade? All of the teams are scouting all of the other teams all of the time - heavily.

And they go drinking after, so it's easy to get them there.