Winnipeg Jets: 3 Defensemen the Jets Should Consider Trading For

2. Mattias Ekholm

Mattias Ekholm was the most sought-after defenseman this past season at the trade deadline and the Jets did try to acquire him. Nashville ended up keeping the veteran defenseman partly because they made a late season run into the playoffs, and partly because they did not receive an offer that they liked.

Since the offseason started the Predators have already traded one of their core players Viktor Arvidsson to the Los Angeles Kings, and general manager David Poile has hinted that more trades are likely.

This would be a perfect time for the Jets to revisit dealing for Ekholm who has an excellent contract at an AAV of $3.75M that will expire in the summer of 2022. The Jets and their fans know Ekholm well from our Central division battles with the Predators.

Ekholm played well during the 2021 season. He had six goals and 17 assists in 48 games played and led the Predators in plus/minus with a plus-19 plus/minus.

Ekholm is a left shot defenseman but has played on the right side, meaning that he could slot in on the top pair with Morrissey, or slide on to the next pair with Neal Pionk.