January 22, 2025 | 10:57am ET
TheFourthPeriod.com
JETS FOCUSED ON ADDING, PUT FREE AGENT TALKS ASIDE
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Nikolaj Ehlers, forward
The Winnipeg Jets are concentrating on competing for a Stanley Cup this season and that mindset flows throughout the organization, on and off the ice.
With a five-point lead atop the Central Division, the Jets are laser-focused on the task at hand and GM Kevin Cheveldayoff is exploring the market for strategic additions to help his team’s chances down the stretch.
As management looks for a mid-six centre and a top-four calibre defenceman, as TFP’s David Pagnotta mentioned Tuesday on “Jets @ Noon” on 680 CJOB in Winnipeg, the team has not yet engaged in contract negotiations with any of their pending free agents.
Cheveldayoff acknowledged Monday evening that the team has had conversations with their pending RFAs and UFAs, actual negotiations haven’t started and that appears to be by design.
During Tuesday evening’s edition of “The Latest” on TFP, Pagnotta also noted Jets players have an understanding of where their focus is and any contract talks are being pushed for the time being.
“Negotiations haven’t begun yet for any of their pending free agents, restricted like Gabe Vilardi or unrestricted like Neal Pionk or Nikolaj Ehlers,” Pagnotta said. “And I think that’s because the mission at hand – go for a Stanley Cup. This is eye on the prize. ‘We’ll worry about the contract stuff later.’
“They’ve had loose discussions. There’s an understanding as to where kind of everybody sits, but I think the notion is, ‘let’s focus on competing for a championship. We’ll worry about that stuff after the fact.’”
Vilardi, Rasmus Kupari, Morgan Barron and Dylan Samberg are eligible to become restricted free agents this summer, while Pionk, Ehlers, Alex Iafallo, Mason Appleton and Vladislav Namestnikov are among those set to become unrestricted free agents.
Ehlers, 28, may still be poised to test the free agent market this July, but that doesn’t mean the Jets are willing to move him out this season.
“There’s been a lot of speculation, I reported about this in the summer, that Nik Ehlers is likely going to explore free agency as a UFA this coming July. I don’t believe that’s changed, but at the same time, I don’t think it’s going to affect Winnipeg’s ability to add to this roster and at the same time look to trade him,” Pagnotta explained. “They’re going to consider him, for now anyway, their own ‘rental’ and go from there.”
With just over $5.55 million in current cap space, a figure that will increase as the season progresses, the Jets are in a position to add to their roster ahead of the March 7 trade deadline, and Cheveldayoff’s pursuit may not be exclusive to players on expiring deals.
The team has been linked to such players as Philadelphia’s Rasmus Ristolainen, Montreal’s Mike Matheson, Anaheim’s Brian Dumoulin and Pittsburgh’s Marcus Pettersson on the blueline, while forwards like Brock Nelson of the New York Islanders and Yanni Gourde of the Winnipeg Jets may also be on their radar.
“Winnipeg is focused on competing for a championship, not just to remain at the top of their division,” Pagnotta said. “They still have lot of saltiness for what happened in the playoffs last year. They want to get rid of that. They want to go after a Cup; they’re going add to this team and they’ll worry about their guys after the fact.”