Random Thoughts On The Winnipeg Jets: July 19

July 19, 2021 by
Mitch Kasprick is the “Motown Curmudgeon” aka “Motown Mitch”

Odds and Ends, Thoughts and Questions, from this past week in hockey –

Just so there’s no confusion when I’m spewing my bias, I am a fan of the Winnipeg Jets, Arizona Coyotes, Manitoba Moose, Winnipeg Ice, and all Team Canada Hockey teams.

I am NOT a fan of Gary Bettman or as I call him, Count Chocula.  I am a big believer in the 7Ps. You’ve been warned. 

1. Jets:  The Winnipeg Jets have released their protected list for the Seattle Kraken expansion draft on Wednesday night.  Discuss amongst yourselves. 

Forwards:

  • Blake Wheeler
  • Mark Scheifele
  • Kyle Connor
  • Nikolaj Ehlers
  • Pierre-Luc Dubois
  • Andrew Copp
  • Adam Lowry

Defencemen:

  • Josh Morrissey
  • Neal Pionk
  • Logan Stanley

Goalie:

  • Connor Hellebuyck

POLL QUESTION:

WHO WILL THE SEATTLE KRAKEN SELECT FROM THE WINNIPEG JETS?

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2. Jets:  Until Seattle actually drafts on Wednesday we will not know who we will lose and what type of side deal (if any) was in place, so why are people freaking out?    

Poll Question:  Should or did Kevin Cheveldayoff cut a deal with Seattle GM Ron Francis so the Jets don’t lose a player off their roster in the expansion draft? 

In the 2017 Vegas expansion draft the Jets and Vegas cut a deal where the Golden Knights would select Chris Thorburn’s expiring contract.  In the deal they flip-flopped 1st rounders with Winnipeg acquiring the 24th pick (from Vegas, from Columbus) in the 2017 NHL Draft in exchange for the 13th pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, and the Jets third-round selection in 2019. 

FYI:  If the Jets don’t cut this deal with Vegas they might have taken Nick Suzuki instead of trading down and getting Kristian Vesalainen.  It’s too early to call this deal but the early returns certainly favour Suzuki. 

Will Chevy or should Chevy cut a deal with Seattle GM Ron Francis so the Jets don't lose a player in the expansion draft?

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3. Jets:  After looking at the other protection lists I’m betting that Seattle selects Mason Appleton from the Jets.     

4. NHL:  FYI – Offer Sheet (AAV) Compensation:

  • $1,395,053 or below: None
  • Over $1,395,053 to $2,113,716: 3rd round pick
  • Over $2,113,716 to $4,227,437: 2nd round pick
  • Over $4,227,437 to $6,341,152: 1st, 3rd round picks
  • Over $6,341,152 to $8,454,871: 1st, 2nd, 3rd round picks
  • Over $8,454,871 to $10,568,589: (2) 1st, 2nd, 3rd round picks
  • Over $10,568,589: (4) 1st round picks

5. Jets:  Gary Suter was bought out by the Minnesota Wild and if I’m Chevy I’m all over him.  At 36-years-old he still has lots of hockey left in him.  He is a much better option than Derek Forbort or Tucker Poolman in my opinion.  It has been reported that he doesn’t want to play in Canada but maybe the Minnesota Mafia on the Jets roster can convince him.     

6. NHL:  Reports are that pending UFA Phillip Danault is looking for north of 5 mil a year for six years.  Any GM that gives Phillip Danault $5,000,000 for six years should be INSTANTLY fired.  Now in saying that most GMs would have to run a deal like that somewhere up the food chain and the person approving that deal should be fired too and if that somebody is the owner he shouldn’t be involved in hockey decisions. 

7. Jets:  Jets fans obsessing about losing a player in the expansion draft is like watching a bad reality show.  We’re not losing KC or Scheif or Nik or PLD or Helle so relax for crying out loud.  Take a deep breath.

8. Jets:  I was wondering about this at the time.  

9. NHL:  In case you were wondering.  This is what the Seattle Kraken’s minimum requirements are for Wednesday night’s expansion draft.

  • The Kraken must select at least 20 players under contract for next season.
  • The contracts for these 20 players must be at least $48,900,000.

10. Jets:  Although I like Dylan DeMelo, Mason Appleton, and Logan Stanley I lived through losing Anders Hedberg, and Ulf Nilsson, then Rich Preston, Terry Ruskowsi, Paul MacKinnon, Kent Nilsson etc, and then a whole NHL team moving to Phoenix  so I’m not going to lose ONE MOMENT of sleep losing one of these guys to Seattle

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11. Jets:  I hope the Winnipeg Jets don’t turn good prospects like Ville Heinola, Dylan Samberg, or David Gustafsson into diminishing assets like they did with Sami Niku and Jack Roslovic.  Prospect currency is valuable so you need to make decisions on them while they still have value.  Chevy has waited to long with Sami Niku and he sold low with Jack Roslovic.  Based on Paul Maurice’s season ending presser it looks like there is no way Ville Heinola, Logan Stanley, or Dylan Samberg will all be in the NHL together any time soon.  I hope we don’t end up giving one or two of them away for squat. 

12. NHL:  Key dates.  Times a MB time.

  • July 17:  NHL teams must submit expansion lists to NHL by 4 pm. 
  • July 17:  Trade freeze begins at 2 PM.
  • July 18:  NHL will deliver expansion lists by 9 am, likely made public around that time.
  • July 18:  Seattle can begin “interviewing” impending UFA/RFA’s from teams at this time.
  • July 21:  Seattle must submit it draft selections to the NHL by 9 am.
  • July 21:  2021 NHL Expansion Draft at 7 pm. 
  • July 22:  Trade freeze is lifted at noon.
  • July 23:  Round 1 of the 2021 NHL Draft at 7 pm. 
  • July 24:  Rounds 2-7 of the 2021 NHL Draft at 10 pm.
  • July 27:  Qualifying offers due to restricted free agents.
  • July 28:  Free agency opens at 11 am.

13. Jets:  Are Paul Maurice’s or Kevin Cheveldayoff’s jobs in jeopardy?

After the first round sweep of Edmonton it looked like Pomo and Chevy were safe.

After being swept in the second by Montreal, Pomo and Chevy are back under the microscope. 

Now Chevy and Pomo are both under scrutiny for the Seattle expansion protection list. 

After being swept in the second round by Montreal should heads roll?

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14. NHL:  Ex Winnipeg Jets star, Patrik Laine was at it again in a Finnish newspaper last week >>> HERE.

I love Patrik but it looks like he has failed to grasp the concept that when he blabs to the Finnish media it actually finds it way back here in North America.  He was blaming Torts for his poor season but maybe he should look in the mirror and stop blaming everybody else for his play.  He had a run-in with one of his junior coaches, he complained about his usage in Winnipeg and kind of threw a fine hockey player like Bryan Little under the bus, he had an incident with assistant coach Brad Larsen (now the head coach) on the bench last season, and finally had his say about John Tortorella in a Finnish newspaper last week.  I’m still a huge fan of Patrik Laine but I think it is time for him to SHUT HIS MOUTH and GROW UP.  

15. Jets:  Listening to outsiders that talk about the Winnipeg Jets just shows me how little they watch us play.  The takes on our roster are hilarious.  They overrate some of our players while underrating others even more than we do.  One fairly well know outsider that I would consider an “A list” mainstream media member actually said Kyle Conner was a defensively responsible winger.  I’ll just leave it at that.

In memory of my friend Darryl Manchulenko.

If you have any questions, please give me a shout. You can use the comment section or use the #ASKWHTPOD hashtag on Twitter.

If you like our new format, let us know in the comment section or hit me on Twitter at WpgSportsTalk or WpgHockTalk

If you are interested in writing for Winnipeg Sports Talk or if you know somebody interested, please contact us at:

[email protected]

We are looking for writers to cover the Winnipeg Jets, Manitoba Moose, The Winnipeg ICE, Manitoba Bisons, Winnipeg AAA, MJHL, MMJHL, KIJHL, and Winnipeg High School or any sports team in town.

If you have any thoughts on any of these comments or questions, please let me know. We would love to hear your opinions.

Thanks, Mitch

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Random Thoughts On The Winnipeg Jets: Jan. 4

January 4, 2021 by

Mitch Kasprick is the “Motown Curmudgeon” aka “Motown Mitch”

Odds and Ends, Thoughts and Questions, from this past week in hockey –

Just so there’s no confusion when I’m spewing my bias, I am a fan of the Winnipeg Jets, Arizona Coyotes, Manitoba Moose, Winnipeg Ice, and all Team Canada Hockey teams.

I am NOT a fan of Gary Bettman or as I call him, Count Chocula.  I am a big believer in the 7Ps. You’ve been warned.

Happy New Year 

1. NHL:  As of today all 31 teams will have officially opened training camp and it looks like there will really be NHL hockey starting on Jan. 13.  There will be no pre-season games and a short season of 56 games with the intent of getting the 2021-22 season back on track in its regular timeline.   

2. NHL:  The NHL and the provinces came to an agreement to let the Canadian-based teams play in their home rinks this season and now that the Covid-19 vaccine rollout has started I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some fans in Canadian rinks before the end of the season.  This hasn’t been discussed, this is just me speculating.

 3. Jets:  The three Winnipeg Jets prospects playing at the U20 WHC have looked pretty good in my opinion.  Ville Heinola is very poised and efficient at this level, and Cole Perfetti looks like he could be a second-line center in a couple of years.  Perfetti looks like he will be a good playmaker with a pass-first mentality.  Henri Nikkanen, the big left-winger has shown off his skating ability.  He was a projected first-rounder but injuries saw his stock plummet all the way down to the fourth round.  The prevailing opinion after the draft was the Winnipeg Jets got away with highway robbery getting him in the fourth round.  Time will tell.

4. Jets:  I think under-sized Ville Heinola has a very good chance to be a regular in the Winnipeg Jets lineup this season.  I love everything about his game but his size concerns me.  I think he needs a partner with some size to compliment his game much like the pairing of Dustin Byfuglien and Toby Enstrom.   

5. Jets:  Jack Roslovic has officially asked to be traded.  Roslovic thinks he is a top 6 forward there is nothing wrong with that, as long as he and his agent understand that Chevy won’t trade him unless he gets top 6 value in return and I would be shocked if that happened  

6. Jets:  I don’t why I continually set myself up for disappointment but I get sucked in every single time.  I’m talking about Chevy’s presser last week where he announced he will have a couple of players invited to training camp on PTOs.  I was hoping for a couple of local boys like Travis Hamonic and/or Madison Bowey might be on Chevy’s radar but when the training camp roster came out on Friday there was no such luck.  Two-time Stanley Cup winner Trevor Lewis was the most notable invite but the 33-year-old ex-LA King will be hard-pressed to make this team.   

7. NHL:  The rules for NHL rosters for the 2021 season are the same except for the addition of the taxi squad.  The NHL rosters will stay at a maximum of 23 players with all the normal implications of the salary cap.  One new thing will be each team is to have a taxi squad with a minimum of 4 players and a maximum of 6 players, that must include one goalie.  The taxi squad will be with the NHL team, practice with the NHL, and travel with the NHL team but they are not counted against the roster of the NHL team.

8. NHL:  The Dec. 24 and 27 deadlines for NHL players to opt-out of the upcoming season due to Covid concerns has come and gone with no opt-outs from any of last year’s players.

9. Jets:  For this season the number of games for an Entry Level Contract to be activated is now seven (pro-rated) instead of the usual ten games.  If a player plays in a seventh game his contract officially kicks in.  

Will Cole Perfetti play more than 6 games.

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10. Jets:  Many hockey people thought Jack Roslovic was drafted way too early and that he was not a first-rounder and maybe not even a second-rounder.  In fairness, it is always hard to evaluate the third player on a stacked line.  When Jacko was on the USNDT he was on a line with Auston Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk and they put up monster numbers but he was always considered the third-wheel.  This isn’t the first or the last time this will happen with super-lines.    

11. Jets:  Winnipeg Jets prospect Ville Heinola was named Finland’s “Player of the Game” in their quarter-final win over Sweden.  Heinola even drew comparisons to Jets legend Lars-Erik Sjoberg from Craig Button, which is pretty high praise. 

12. NHL:  Key dates.

  • Jan. 13 – Season opener
  • Feb. 1 – Teams may start requesting players waive their NMC for the expansion draft
  • Feb. 11 – Deadline to sign Group II RFAs (usually December 1)
  • Mar. 12 – Players on one-year deals can sign extensions (usually Jan. 1)
  • Apr. 12 – Trade Deadline
  • May 8 – End of the regular season
  • May 11 – Playoffs begin
  • July 15 – The latest the Stanley Cup can be awarded
  • July 17 – Expansion draft protection lists tentatively due
  • July 21 – Expansion draft
  • July 23-24 – 2021 NHL Entry Draft
  • July 28 – Free agency opens

13. NHL:  Put this in the better late than never file but finally, finally, finally the NHL has come to their senses and modified the offside rule.  Rule 83.1 now reads that a player’s skate will no longer have to be in contact with the ice (blue-line) in order to be onside as long as his skate has yet to break the “plane” prior to the puck crossing the leading edge of the blue-line.  He is now deemed to be onside as long as he is straddling the blueline.  This should greatly cut down the amount of offside coaches challenge.

14. Jets:  If Trevor Lewis manages to get a contract with the Jets I hope some of his championship experience and work ethic rubs off on this team.  Most fans don’t realize it but the Winnipeg Jets are one of the younger teams in the NHL.  

15. Pet Peeve:  During the Sweden/Finland quarter-final on Saturday, Swedish forward Elmer Soderblom (6′ 8″) scored a beauty between the legs goal on the powerplay and during the post-game wrap-up one of the TSN analysts (not sure which one) said Soderblom showed nice hands for a big man.  Every time I hear something like this I bristle, big men can’t have soft hands?  Have you ever seen Mario or Buff or Beliveau play hockey?  Size isn’t an indicator of skill or lack of skill.   

16. Jets:  Schedule

In memory of my friend Darryl Manchulenko.

If you have any questions, please give me a shout. You can use the comment section or use the #ASKWHTPOD hashtag on Twitter.

If you like our new format, let us know in the comment section or hit me on Twitter at WpgSportsTalk or WpgHockTalk

If you are interested in writing for Winnipeg Sports Talk or if you know somebody interested, please contact us at:

[email protected]

We are looking for writers to cover the Winnipeg Jets, Manitoba Moose, The Winnipeg ICE, Manitoba Bisons, Winnipeg AAA, MJHL, MMJHL, KIJHL, and Winnipeg High School or any sports team in town.

If you have any thoughts on any of these comments or questions, please let me know. We would love to hear your opinions.

Thanks, Mitch

 

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Random Thoughts On The Winnipeg Jets: May 28

May 28, 2018 by

Odds and Ends on the Winnipeg Jets and the NHL –

Some random facts and a few thoughts about the Winnipeg Jets, the Manitoba Moose, and the National Hockey League.   [Read more…]

Filed Under: Featured, Random Thoughts Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Random Thoughts On The Winnipeg Jets: May 14

May 14, 2018 by

Odds and Ends on the Winnipeg Jets and the NHL –

Some random facts and a few thoughts about the Winnipeg Jets, the Manitoba Moose, and the National Hockey League.   [Read more…]

Filed Under: Featured, Random Thoughts Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Random Thoughts On The Winnipeg Jets: Apr. 30

April 30, 2018 by

Odds and Ends on the Winnipeg Jets and the NHL –

Some random facts and a few thoughts about the Winnipeg Jets, the Manitoba Moose, and the National Hockey League.   [Read more…]

Filed Under: Featured, Random Thoughts Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

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