TSN: John Lu on what the Winnipeg Jets could be looking to add before the March 3rd trade deadline.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Jay Onrait: “John, let’s talk about the trade deadline. The Jets are one of the very few teams in the National Hockey League that have a little cap space to work with if they wanted to add a player without having to send too much salary the other way.
You’ve heard the Jets mention it, a lot of reports, a lot of rumors about potentially bringing in another defenseman. Is that the type of player you think Kevin Cheveldayoff will be targeting as we get set to head to the deadline?”
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Lu: “Well, I think that every GM feels that you can’t have enough NHL defensemen, experienced NHL defensemen. And frankly, the Jets could use a little bit of shoring up in that regard simply because they only have two right-shot defensemen.
So ideally if they had someone who’s playing from his strong side or right-shot, veteran. Somebody who could kill penalties, add a little bit of offense but certainly the type of defenseman who would be comfortable jumping into the play, cause that’s something the Jets do very much part of their identity. The coaching staff absolutely demands that the defense activate, that they are part of the rush through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone.
So, that could be something the Jets could be looking at. Ideally, I think that if they could shore up their top nine. Find somebody that has some scoring punch but also good, two-way, a good two-way forward and somebody who’s good at faceoffs because the Jets are 16th in the league in overall faceoff percentage. That’s a concern that Rick Bowness has had since the beginning of this season as well.
I mean, the way I’m talking Jay, I’m kind of banging the drum for Winnipeg native Jonathan Toews to be re-patrionated.”
Onrait: “I knew it as you were saying all those traits. I’m like, that’s Jonathan Toews in a nutshell. Mr. Winnipeg himself.
Lu: “Well absolutely. You know what, one of the greatest leaders in the game for the last dozen years. Three Stanley Cups, a couple Olympic golds, World Championship gold.
He’s having a pretty resurgent season. He scored, he just surpassed his goal total from last season already. He’s number one the league amongst regular centers with a 63.3 percent faceoff percentage. That’s something the Jets could absolutely use. And just that leadership pedigree. He knows how to win. Somebody that could really be part of this expanded leadership crew that the Jets have right now. He would be a perfect fit here.
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That $10.5 million cap hit, well if the Blackhawks needed to retain any sort of salary in that sort of deal, they’ve got a ton of cap space. The Jets have a projected nine available at the deadline. And of course, Toews controls any negotiation with a full no-movement clause but maybe, maybe just maybe there’s something in what he could see potentially in this current edition of the Jets that would entice him to come home.”
