Kevin Cheveldayoff went into this years trade deadline with a goal. His goal was to be a buyer and acquire another forward to further improve the team’s depth. Chevy followed through, and the Winnipeg Jets are now the NHL’s deepest team.
Paul Stastny and Joe Morrow. Those two guys weren’t the first two to come to mind when making my trade deadline previews. They weren’t my first thought, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like both of the trades, in fact I really do like what the Winnipeg Jets acquired yesterday.
I think our depth now should be very scary to other teams. Our third line is better than most teams first lines! I think depth is what wins you championships and the Jets have more than enough of that.
Our lineup now
Forwards:
Connor – Scheifele – Wheeler
Perreault – Little – Roslovic
Ehlers – Stastny – Laine
Hendricks* – Copp* – Armia
*Lowry is currently injured and will take one of these two players spots when he returns.
Defence:
Morrissey – Myers
Enstrom – Byfuglien
Chiarot or Morrow – Kulikov
Goalies:
Hellebuyck and Hutchinson
If you take a look at the lineup above, we are extremely strong. Our lines will probably get to be rolled because no line is that much worse than another. Our defence likely won’t shift too much with the addition of Morrow, but we will definitely have him in the lineup if an injury comes our way.
Stastny is going right into our third line with Ehlers and Laine for a sweet scoring line. IF we play that line against other teams third lines, we’re bound to be unstoppable.
Trade Grades
Stastny trade:
When we swapped for Paul Stastny, we gave up a lot to get a good player. Stastny will bring a great veteran presence, along with quite a bit of playoff experience.
Statsny is currently on a line with Ehlers and Laine, so he’s basically set up for success. I think right now, I’d give the Winnipeg Jets either a A- or a B+ on this trade. The reason I didn’t go higher is just because we had to give up a heck of a lot for him. We’ll have to see what he brings to further evaluate.
Morrow trade:
The Joe Morrow trade was a steal in my opinion. We got a defenseman to provide good insurance, in exchange for the small price a 4th round pick. I think it was totally worth it, so the Jets get an A on this one.
Next: Winnipeg Jets acquire Paul Stastny
All that’s left is to wait and see whether these guys were worth it for the Jets. They might be a bit shaky to start, so we need to give them a bit of time to get used to playing in Winnipeg.