E.L. wrote:
What's going on in Winnipeg? They still good? Are they going to get Laine and Connor locked up long-term? They've got a decent amount of cap space to get it all done, and guys they can jettison like Kulikov.
Had no choice and let Myers/Chiarot walk, but I don't think they'll regret it. Beaulieu kinda seems like a fit here. Given his physical attributes they could squeeze out some minutes from him.
Connor-Schiefele-Wheeler
Ehlers-???-Laine
Perreault-Little-Roslovic
Copp-Lowry-Vesalainen
Morrissey-Buff
Beaulieu-Pionk
Poolman-Niku
Hellessoit
It all comes down to two players: Laine and Hellebuyck. If they are dominant, the Jets will win the talent-packed Central. If they're more like what they were last season, they'll be a bubble team.
They have no choice now but to try Roslovic at 2C.
I admire Chevy a great deal, but the Jets are a cautionary tale in that they probably waited a little too long before finally going for it. I also believed at the time that reinvesting in Bryan Little instead of selling high on him was going to be a big mistake. Even savvy moves like signing Perreault are looking like future salary cap casualties at this point. If they essentially lose Ehlers for nothing I think they may be in for a very rough season.
I'm still at a loss as to why the Jets' underlying numbers, especially when Wheeler and Scheifele were on the ice, went in the tank. What the hell happened there!? Has the team just tuned out Paulie? Speaking of Maurice, I'm kinda surprised the transition from him to Vincent didn't happen this offseason. It most assuredly will during the year if the Jets struggle at all.