Breaking Down Recent Trades Between Winnipeg Jets and NY Rangers
The Winnipeg Jets have made some high profile trades with the New York Rangers. Here’s how both teams have faired over their past three trades.
On trade deadline day 2022, the Winnipeg Jets made a huge trade with the New York Rangers as they sent pending unrestricted free agent, Andrew Copp, to the Rangers in exchange for top prospect, Morgan Barron, two 2022 second-round conditional draft picks, and a 2022 fifth-round draft choice.
When seeing Copp head to the Big Apple, many people have said that the Rangers are one of the winners of this deadline and this trade, but this is too early to tell who actually won this trade.
The Jets and Rangers have made trades in prior seasons and the implications of those trades still impact these teams today.
This article looks at the three most recent trades between Winnipeg and New York and what happened to the players and draft picks involved in those trades. We start by looking at these trades in chronological order from 2015 to the present.
3. Veteran Stempniak heads to Winnipeg for prospect Klingberg
In early March of 2015, both the Jets and the Rangers were making a push for the playoffs so they decided to make a player-for-player trade.
The Jets acquired NHL journeyman, Lee Stempniak, for prospect Carl Klingberg. Klingberg was originally drafted in the second round of the 2009 NHL draft and at the time of this trade, he had played 11 games for the Jets while spending most of his time in the AHL.
Stempniak played in 18 games down the stretch of the season for the Jets and scored six goals and added four assists. He then played in all four Jets’ postseason games as the Jets were swept by the Anaheim Ducks and scored one goal in that series.
Stempniak’s time in Winnipeg did not last long, during the 2015 offseason, the veteran forward signed a contract with the New Jersey Devils.
On the other hand, Klingberg did not play an NHL game with the Rangers and the season with the Rangers AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. The Rangers wound up going a couple of rounds further than the Jets during the 2015 postseason. Ultimately the Rangers lost in the Eastern Conference Final to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
After that season, Klingberg left North America and signed a contract in the KHL. Klingberg played one season in the KHL and has spent every season since in Switzerland.
2. Kevin Hayes for the Jets’ 2019 Playoff Push
The Jets were going all-in for a Stanley Cup push in late February of 2019, and then they subsequently made a trade to acquire, pending unrestricted free agent and top player, Kevin Hayes from the Rangers in exchange for Brendan Lemieux, and the Jets’ 2019 first-round draft selection and Winnipeg’s conditional 2022 fourth-round pick.
The conditional pick was only be transferred to New York if the Jets won the 2018-2019 Stanley Cup and as we all know, the Jets ultimately fell short of their goal.
Kevin Hayes definitely added some firepower to the Jets’ offense. In 20 regular season games, Hayes had five goals and eight assists en route to the Jets clinching the second seed in the Central Division.
Unfortunately, the playoffs did not go to plan for the Jets as they lost the first round in six games to the St. Louis Blues. Hayes had two goals and one assist during that playoff series.
Since Kevin Hayes was a pending free agent and the Jets did not think they could resign him, in early June of 2019 the Jets traded Hayes to the Flyers for a 2019 fifth-round draft pick. The Jets picked Harrison Blaisdell with the draft selection they received from Philadelphia. Blaisdell has yet to sign with the Winnipeg Jets organization and currently plays at the University of New Hampshire.
As you will learn in the next slide, the Jets reacquired that first-round pick that they gave up in this trade from the Rangers, and since the conditions were not met, the Jets also hung on to that 2022 fourth-round selection.
Lemieux is no longer with the Rangers as he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings at the 2021 trade deadline.
After seeing how this trade worked out in the long run, the Jets could be seen as Winners of this one. Since both of the main players involved in this trade are no longer with the team that they were traded to, the Jets simply rented Hayes for the postseason, and then Winnipeg reacquired both draft picks.
1. Jets Trade Jacob Trouba to Broadway for Neal Pionk and a First Rounder
As you know, by reading the last slide, the Jets gave up their 2019 first-round draft choice for Kevin Hayes. But only a few months later in June 2019, the Jets reacquired that first-round selection and Neal Pionk when they traded Jacob Trouba to the Rangers.
A couple of short days after this big trade, the Jets then went on to draft Ville Heniola with the 20th overall selection in the draft.
Neal Pionk has been extremely impressive and is arguably the Jets’ best all-around defenseman. In his three years with the Jets, Pionk has played in 184 games and has amassed 12 goals and 94 assists, and a plus-twenty plus/minus in those games. Pionk has also played in 12 postseason games for Winnipeg and has six assists in those games.
In that same timeframe, Jacob Trouba has played in 172 games with the Rangers and has 19 goals, 52 assists, and a plus-seven plus/minus. He has also played in three postseason games during that time and has one lone assist during those contests.
Then you look at the differences in both of these players’ contracts considering their stats. Last summer both of these players signed deals with their respective teams. Pionk signed a four-year deal with an average annual value of 5,875,000, while Trouba signed a seven-year contract with an AAV of $8,000,000.
Ville Heinola has not had the biggest impact with the Jets as he has only appeared in 21 NHL games since he was drafted, but he is considered one of the Jets’ top defensive prospects.
Since this trade, both teams made the postseason at the end of the 2019-2020 season due to the “COVID bubble playoffs”. Then during the shortened 2021 season, only the Jets made the postseason, while the Rangers missed out. This season the Rangers have been in a battle for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division and have a high probability to make the playoffs, while the Jets have a low probability to make the playoffs and are chasing the Western Conference Wild Card playoff spots.
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After reviewing the past three trades, prior to the Copp trade, between Winnipeg and New York, it will be extremely interesting to see how the Copp trade plays out in the long run. Including if the Rangers sign Copp to a long-term deal this offseason? Can Morgan Barron make an impact with the Jets in the future? And what happens to the draft picks the Jets received in the trade, will the conditions be met for the Jets to receive those draft choices and what will the Jets do with those picks?
There is no doubt that this trade can have significant implications not only for the end of the 2021-2022 season and playoffs but for the futures of both of these teams.
Winnipeg Jets Fans: Who do you think will be the long-term winner of the Andrew Copp trade? Leave your comments below!
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