The Winnipeg Jets currently have two defensemen sidelined with an injury. They are Tobias Enstrom and Dustin Byfuglien. Both guys are some of the Jets top defensemen. They’ve been out for a while, and won’t be back very soon.
The Winnipeg Jets are a team who is very prone to injuries. We have this problem every year, and I’m hoping it doesn’t escalate this year. We’re always short on guys, but we can’t afford more. We’re currently short two of our top 3/4 defensemen, and if another goes down, we could be in trouble.
Currently, our D lineup looks like this:
Morrissey – Trouba
Kulikov – Myers
Chiarot – Poolman
Healthy scratch: Julian Melchiori
If we were to lose one of those top four guys, things could start getting bad. It wouldn’t be as bad if it was one of the bottom two. We could deal with a loss of Poolman, Melchiori, or Chiarot. We’d just be able to call up another guy and move on. We can’t have someone like Myers go down. Myers is a bit injury prone as most of us know, but he’s one of our best blueliners. Hopefully nothing happens to him, or anyone before Byfuglien or Enstrom return.
Trade for a solid d-man?
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Now that the Jets have announced they are trading Matthias, could he bring back a good defender in return? Would Chevaldayoff be able to deal him off in exchange for a defenseman that could make a huge difference? Probably not. Would he be able to get a bottom two defender? Maybe, but probably packaged.
The Winnipeg Jets also have another player that needs to go, and his name is Marko Dano. Dano hasn’t played for a long time, and clearly doesn’t fit in right. I think Chevy should package them up and send them on their way to Chicago. Sure, they’re a division rival, but we’ve done deals in the past. Dano played for them, and didn’t fit in, but he’s older now and has some value. Matthias would be a great depth addition assuming the Jets retained some salary. For the Jets, the best return we could get from them is Cody Franson. Franson would likely be a rental, but we’d hardly be pawning that much off for him. He’s a depth defender who could help us down the road in terms of injury troubles.
Here’s a deal I put together that I think would make sense:
Jets Receive:
Cody Franson, Erik Gustafsson (25 years old, Rockford/AHL)
Blackhawks Receive:
Marko Dano, Shawn Matthias (50% retained), 5th round pick
We would pick up two defensemen for down the road (playoffs). They would get some forward depth and have needed that for a very long time.