Breaking Down Recent Trades Between Winnipeg Jets and NY Rangers
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.