3 Players the Winnipeg Jets Should Trade For This Season
The Winnipeg Jets are currently at the Christmas Break and could be buyers at the trade deadline. Here are three players the Jets should trade for.
As the Winnipeg Jets enter the Christmas break, they currently sit in fifth place in the Central Division with 33 points from 30 games. They sit six points behind a divisional playoff spot and three points behind a wild card spot.
Winnipeg has been inconsistent this season going from winning streak to losing streak which has led them to playing .500 hockey
The Jets are in a stacked division and they will be in a fight for playoff position through the rest of the season. With Dave Lowry now at the helm, the Jets may look to add players as they gear up for a playoff push.
Here are three players Kevin Cheveldayoff and the Winnipeg Jets should look to trade for:
3. Colin Blackwell
As shown with the injuries to Blake Wheeler and David Gustafsson and with the Jets having to reshuffle their lines, the Jets are now lacking depth on their bottom-two lines. In the last game before the break, we watched Kristian Reichel make his NHL debut and C.J. Suess play in his second NHL game.
Although Blackwell is not a household name, he could be a major asset for the Jets. Last season he appeared in 47 games for the New York Rangers and he scored 10 goals while adding 12 assists. He also finished with a plus-two plus/minus. He was a key role player for the Rangers and could be for the same for Winnipeg.
The twenty-eight-year-old then was selected by the Seattle Kraken in their expansion draft and has only appeared in eight games this season due to a lower-body injury and a visit to the COVID-protocol, but he has two goals and one assist in those games.
Blackwell also has a great contract with an average annual value (“AAV”) of $750,000 and his contract is set to expire this upcoming offseason. Seattle may look to trade Blackwell because of this and due to the fact that they sit in last place in the Pacific Division and they may look to gain a prospect and/or a draft pick to build the future of their franchise. The centerman is an experienced player that could be a great addition to the Jets’ bottom-six.
2. Mark Psysyk
Pysyk is the lone defenseman on this list because Winnipeg has an influx of defensemen. The Jets have kept their defense consistent this season with the pairs of Dillon-Pionk, Morrissey-Schmidt, and DeMelo-Stanley, while Nathan Beaulieu has found himself as the seventh defenseman and has been an option when the Jets have dressed eleven forwards and seven defensemen. It does not look like the Jets will be in the market for a defenseman, but there is still time before the trade deadline and things can change.
If Winnipeg is looking to add a defenseman, they should look to Buffalo and Mark Pysyk. During the offseason, Pysyk signed a one-year contract with an AAV of $900,000 with the Sabres and has played outstanding this season.
The thirty-year-old-defenseman is averaging 19:12 of ice time per game and has one goal, five assists, and a plus-three plus/minus. The veteran defenseman has even played some time on the Sabres’ top defensive pairing with Rasmus Dahlin.
Pysyk is a right-handed shot and can be a solid third-pair defenseman for the Jets. He also can be a great asset to the Jets penalty kill, which currently has the third worse success rate in the NHL.
Although a trade for a defenseman looks unlikely, Pysyk could be an option for the Jets down the stretch.
1. Jake DeBrusk
It was reported in the last week of November that the twenty-five-year-old Alberta native, DeBrusk, wanted a trade away from the Bruins where he has spent his whole career.
Since starting in Boston in 2017-2018, DeBrusk has fallen out down the lineup card for Bruce Cassidy and the Bruins. In his first three seasons in the NHL, DeBrusk scored more than 35 points in each of those seasons including scoring 27 goals in 2018-2019.
During the shortened 2021 season, he only appeared in 41 games and scored five goals while adding nine assists. Now during this season, the left winger has played in 25 games and has five goals and three assists. He is currently averaging a career-low in ice time with 14:01 per game.
DeBrusk could be the perfect trade candidate for the Jets. The forward is due to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, which may lower the asking price from the Bruins.
The Alberta native could be a great fit with Adam Lowry and Andrew Copp on the Jets’ third line. Mason Appleton had a career year with these players in 2021 and there is no doubt that these players can bring out the best in Debrusk.
The issue with the Jets trading for DeBrusk is his contract and his potential asking price. DeBrusk has an AAV of $3,675,000 and the Jets do not have any open cap space. Even if Winnipeg does include a current roster player in this trade, Boston will probably have to retain some of DeBrusk’s salary for this trade to work.
Winnipeg Jets Fans: Who do you think the Winnipeg Jets should try to acquire before the trade deadline? Leve your comments below!
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*All Stats Provided by the NHL and all Contract/Salary Cap Information Provided by Cap Friendly*