Looking ahead to training camp

Is it October yet?

Now that most teams around the NHL are throttling down slightly to off-season mode after the flurry of activity that is the NHL draft, free agency and development camp, it’s time to take stock of the Winnipeg Jets and peer into the crystal ball to project what things might look like once training camp arrives.

To be clear, there are still pressing matters for Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, primarily as it pertains to the three restricted free agents that elected to file for salary arbitration last week: defenceman Dylan Samberg and forwards Gabe Vilardi and Morgan Barron.

As Cheveldayoff mentioned at the Jonathan Toews press conference last week, those moves were expected and fall more into the procedural category rather than any cause for concern.

All three players remain a priority for the Jets and there’s been nothing to suggest the negotiations are anything but amicable to this point.

One of the big questions folks are asking right now is what are the Jets going to do with all of the money they’ve got left over?

Well, the bulk of the remaining US$18 million and change of cap space that’s left over — according to PuckPedia — is likely to be gobbled up by new contracts for Samberg, Vilardi and Barron.

There’s plenty of time left in the off-season and one phone call could change things. But if you’re waiting for a big blockbuster trade, don’t hold your breath.

Most of the puzzle pieces that Jets head coach Scott Arniel will have at his disposal have already arrived.

“It is important to be ready to pivot for anything. There’s lots of teams with cap space out there this year. There’s lots of teams that are looking to add,” said Cheveldayoff. “It’s an interesting time in the game. Knowing what the cap supposedly is supposed to be for the next two years, that’s something that we’ve never known before, so we’re all trying to feel our way to understand what that means moving forward.”

As Cheveldayoff hinted recently, there could still be some changes coming to a crowded blue line that already has eight players on one-way deals without Samberg, plus Elias Salomonsson knocking at the door and former Brandon Wheat Kings blue-liner Kale Clague ready to jump into the Kyle Capobianco role (playing a top-pairing offensive role in the minors or pushing for time on the NHL roster) after signing as a free agent.

“I guess we’ll see how things play out. No real proclamations here yet,” said Cheveldayoff. “But obviously nine is not a number that you can live with during the regular season.”

Could that mean the Jets are looking at trading Ville Heinola?

Absolutely, especially when you consider he needs to appear in 27 NHL games this season to avoid becoming a Group 6 unrestricted free agent.

It’s hard to envision a scenario where that’s going to be the case with the Jets, barring an injury or two.

With Haydn Fleury signing a two-year extension prior to July 1, Heinola would have to leapfrog him and Logan Stanley to force his way into consistent playing time.

Up front, Nikolaj Ehlers, Mason Appleton and Brandon Tanev all moved on in free agency and Rasmus Kupari signed to play in Switzerland (though the Jets retained his rights). They were replaced by the collection of Toews, Gustav Nyquist, Tanner Pearson and Cole Koepke.

“We’ve talked about free agency. Sometimes it’s tough for us in this market,” said Arniel. “Last year, we really looked at our depth and a lot of it was on our back-end. And that became important right out of training camp with our defence. This year it kind of flipped the other way, we went heavy with our forwards. There’s a lot of similarities to these guys. There is size and speed, heavy character, physicality, physical kinds of guys. That is kind of where we were looking with that group coming in.”

How the pieces fit will be interesting to monitor, but for those worried about the speed that was lost, Cheveldayoff spoke openly about forward prospect Brad Lambert and his push for a roster spot.

“Hopefully a guy like Brad Lambert can give us that opportunity to use his speed,” said Cheveldayoff. “For us, skating is paramount, but it’s also (about) playing fast. That’s what a coach tries to do within their systems. It’s not necessarily about the individual speed of a player, it’s how the player plays that a team plays fast.”

There’s no doubt that replacing a dynamic and explosive player like Ehlers isn’t an easy task and will end up being a collective effort.

Replacing that production will need to come from incremental growth from a number of players on the roster (like Cole Perfetti and Barron), coupled with a bounceback campaign from Nyquist and potential double-digit production from the likes of Pearson and Koepke.

The Jets figure to be strong down the middle, especially so after captain Adam Lowry returns from off-season hip surgery (most likely in November).

Until that time, Mark Scheifele, Toews, Vladislav Namestnikov, Barron and David Gustafsson are likely to handle the responsibilities.

Extensions for Lowry and top-line winger Kyle Connor (who had a career-high 97 points last season) are another top priority for Cheveldayoff and will be something to keep an eye on during the coming months.

Along with Lambert, there are some other intriguing prospects that could turn heads in training camp (Brayden Yager, Nikita Chibrikov and Parker Ford), but will either be heading back to junior (Kevin He and Kieron Walton) or require some seasoning with the Manitoba Moose (Colby Barlow and Jacob Julien).

There are no concerns between the pipes, where reigning Hart Trophy winner and three-time Vezina winner Connor Hellebuyck is set for his 11th NHL season.

Eric Comrie is returning as the backup and could push for somewhere in the neighbourhood of 22 to 24 starts after making 20 last season.

Winnipegger Isaac Poulter joined the organization to provide some additional experienced depth in the crease to go along with prospects Thomas Milic and Dom DiVincentiis.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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