Winnipeg Jets: 3 Defensemen the Jets Should Consider Trading For

The Winnipeg Jets need significant upgrades to their defense for next season. Here are three defensemen the Winnipeg Jets should consider trading for.

Every offseason since the departure of Jacob Trouba, Ben Chiarot, and Tyler Myers, combined with the surprise retirement of Dustin Byfuglien, the Winnipeg Jets’ biggest weakness has been on defense.

As we watched during the Stanley Cup Finals between the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning, it is glaringly apparent that both teams have a far superior defense than the Jets. The Jets have some young prospects ready to compete for an NHL roster spot, but as colleague Kieran Hurley pointed out in his excellent article here, they really need to start considering free agent defensemen they could sign to upgrade their roster.

I agree with Kieran, and would also recommend that in addition to a free agent signing, the Jets need to be aggressive in considering upgrading their back end through a trade. The Jets have been linked to the biggest potential fish in terms of available defenseman, Seth Jones from the Columbus Blue Jackets.

However, I think it’s unlikely that the Jets would be able to acquire the top trade prospect in the NHL, and unlikely that Jones would even agree to a trade with the Jets. Here are three more realistic trade targets that the Jets front office should consider:

3. Rasmus Ristolainen

It is no secret that many of the Buffalo Sabres’ top players have expressed a desire to be traded, most notably star center Jack Eichel. At the end of the season, Rasmus Ristolainen did confirm to several media sources that he would be open to a trade.

Ristolainen is 26 years old and has one year remaining on his current salary of $5.4 million AAV. The Jets would be getting a big, physical right shot defenseman who has played on the first and second pairing while with the Sabres.

This past season was his lowest offensively in terms of points per game, but it should also be noted that he missed some time with COVID-19 and reported that he had difficulty recovering physically.

Pairing Ristolainen with Josh Morrissey might benefit both players. Morrissey would have a big, physical partner, similar to former Jet Jacob Trouba. Ristolainen would play top pair minutes with a veteran, on a playoff team during a “prove it” contract season before he hits free agency in 2022.

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.