Winnipeg Jets: Playoff Team or Lottery Bust

It’s almost already January and the trade deadline is soon approaching. That is where teams make the decision of if they are going to be a playoff team, or go for a high pick in the NHL entry draft. The Winnipeg Jets will have a big decision to make, as they could go for all, or they could go for nothing.

The Jets are going to have quite the decision to make in the next two months. That decision is if they are going to be a playoff team or be a lottery team. Here is what could happen and what the pros and cons would be for both options.

Lottery Team

If the Jets do make the decision to become a lottery team and “sell” their players to contending teams, they would have plenty of options.

First thing said first, the players who become Unrestricted Free Agents at the end of the season are Drew Stafford, Chris Thorburn, Paul Postma.

So if the Jets make the decision to tank, the best trading option of the three is Stafford. Even though he hasn’t been playing very well, many teams would want him for a playoff run as he could provide depth. His downside is his cap hit, but the Jets could always retain part of his salary.

Trading Chris Thorburn isn’t really something the Jets would consider in my mind, because he’s a good team guy everyone likes to have around, and there wouldn’t be a huge return if they traded him.

Paul Postma has struggled a bit this season but could provide useful as a 7th or 8th defenseman on a contending team. A shake up might be the best thing for Postma and his career.

Now the Jets could also look at shopping some players who’s contracts are up yet such as Tobias Enstrom, or even Mark Stuart if someone was willing to take his contract.

Tobias Enstrom is a player who would be much harder to trade due to his no movement clause. The Jets could consider trading him, because they wouldn’t want to protect four defensemen in the expansion draft so they can keep more forwards, and Enstrom would be the odd one out. It would be insane to leave someone unprotected that could have been kept if the Jets had traded Enstrom. If the Jets were to trade him, they would have to do it soon. Knowing that Enstrom is a solid defensive defenseman means they could command a high price for him.

If the Jets can find someone who wants to take Stuart’s salary, they will most likely get a deal done, so they have more cap space for the upcoming free agency.

If the Jets take this route, they will receive more futures for their upcoming dynasty. However, this route could cause some trouble with the fans, because every year they are out of the playoffs, there is more disappointment.

Playoff Team

A much more exciting route for the fans, the playoffs.

If Jets take the playoff route, here’s what could happen.

So the Winnipeg Jets have decided to try to make a playoff push, and are now considered as “buyers”.

The Jets would want to start by looking to trade with some lower end teams like Arizona, or Colorado.

Any buying team is going to try to help fix their weakness, and for the Jets, it’s goaltending. Connor Hellebuyck is a good goalie, but he’s still young and needs someone else who can help in the crease. Their first option would probably be trying to get Ben Bishop from Tampa Bay. They would probably need to send over a prospect, but it’s worth it if Bishop takes them for a long playoff run.

They could also pursue some other veterans such as Joe Thornton, or even Jarome Iginla.

The positives to doing something like that is that they could possibly go deep in the playoffs and get the fans into it. The negative part is that they could lose a ton of players that they paid a prospect or a pick for, to free agency.