TSN Off-Season Game Plan: Winnipeg Jets

[Brandon]

I don't see the Jets really making any big moves at all. They will roll with the same team and hope that Pavs picks up his game

[Goalie]

I'm gonna say this now, Jets will make a big move at or just before the draft... im thinking buff or kane more than likely, maybe both even get moved.

 

I don't know where and i don't know what we will get back but i think it will be more than what people are expecting.

 

No we aren't gonna trade kane for malkin or anything ridiculous like that but i could see a kane or buff to nyi trade happening, i could see a trade with philly, i could see a trade with boston even, i dont think boston would want kane though as they just got rid of their problem child in seguin.  Plus boston doesn't have really much to make that deal work.

 

You need to look at teams probably in the eastern conference with i'd suspect high first round draft picks and prospects ready to play now.

 

Kane for Neal is a waste if there ever was one. I'm not even sure Neal is that good without malkin actually.

[sweep the leg]

 

Thing is, Pens wont want Pavs if they're moving on from Fleury (I dont think anyway).  But if they sign someone like Miller, they might take Pavs who is cheaper than Fleury as a "veteran" back up, knowing as they do the benefit to having two decent goalies in the playoffs.

A cap team isn't going to want a backup goalie who's making nearly $4M/yr. A good backup option for them would be a guy like Stalock from SJ or Johnson from Boston.

[Goalie]

Nobody wants a backup goalie making almost 4 million a year, cap team or not. Reality, That 4 million dollar goalie is either your starter or he is bought out. Halak siged with NYI today, 4 years 18.5 million, aav = 4.5 million. 

 

Pav's deal is horrible.

[Goalie]

Interesting little nugget here.

 

Doesn't mean much but...

 

Jets draft pick Tucker Poolman (D man taken in the 5th rd of the 2013 draft) has been named the USA Hockey's Jr Player of the year.

 

Nice to see the Jets prospects doing well.

[Nasty Nate]

I don't see the Jets really making any big moves at all. They will roll with the same team and hope that Pavs picks up his game

The smart money is always on the Jets to remain idle/status quo.

[Goalie]

Why do people say this? what do people expect the Jets to do? a non playoff team/ sign a bunch of free agents? that's not how it works, The jets have dipped in to the free agent pool a couple times already, glass and jokinen are 2. Montoya is another. 

 

They have made trades, they traded for frolik and setogucci. It's not like they have just stood still since they got here but it seems some seem to think they should be doing more? Is that it? How do you do more though? They made offers to players, they made an offer to parise, they made an offer to mason raymond last season too. 

 

It's not like they are just sitting back and watching the leaves grow on trees. They have made moves, just cuz people refuse to accept them or expect more, doesn't mean they didn't. They haven't made any huge moves but what teams have really? name 3. and how has those moves worked out of them? 

 

LA doesn't count cuz the rumor at the time was philly wanted kane or and burmi for richards so that wasn't gonna happen. I know people want to win now but for gods sake, do some research and understand where this team was when they were brought here not even 3 full seasons ago. Look where they are now, not just the main roster but the ahl team, the prospects. They have done lots, just cuz they haven't gone out and made a huge move for some guy that people thinks will make us instantly compete doesn't mean they aren't doing anything.

 

And yeah i'm gonna go here, this team is a young team all in all, the scheifs troubas heck bogos kanes even littles and guys like that are all still pretty young, they are one of the youngest teams in the league, you remove jokinen and their average age drops significantly, with a young team comes growing pains... it is what it is. There is no magic beans out there that will instantly make you compete. What i see here is a few people wanting to mortgage the future just so we can make the playoffs one year and be swept.. I don't want that, i want a team that when they make the playoffs, they have a chance. And as much as one guy or maybe 2 or 3 at most thinks one guy can and will be the difference, he wont be. That's not how it works.

[Nasty Nate]

Why do people say this? what do people expect the Jets to do? a non playoff team/ sign a bunch of free agents? that's not how it works, The jets have dipped in to the free agent pool a couple times already, glass and jokinen are 2. Montoya is another. 

 

They have made trades, they traded for frolik and setogucci. It's not like they have just stood still since they got here but it seems some seem to think they should be doing more? Is that it? How do you do more though? They made offers to players, they made an offer to parise, they made an offer to mason raymond last season too. 

 

It's not like they are just sitting back and watching the leaves grow on trees. They have made moves, just cuz people refuse to accept them or expect more, doesn't mean they didn't. They haven't made any huge moves but what teams have really? name 3. and how has those moves worked out of them? 

 

LA doesn't count cuz the rumor at the time was philly wanted kane or and burmi for richards so that wasn't gonna happen. I know people want to win now but for gods sake, do some research and understand where this team was when they were brought here not even 3 full seasons ago. Look where they are now, not just the main roster but the ahl team, the prospects. They have done lots, just cuz they haven't gone out and made a huge move for some guy that people thinks will make us instantly compete doesn't mean they aren't doing anything.

 

And yeah i'm gonna go here, this team is a young team all in all, the scheifs troubas heck bogos kanes even littles and guys like that are all still pretty young, they are one of the youngest teams in the league, you remove jokinen and their average age drops significantly, with a young team comes growing pains... it is what it is. There is no magic beans out there that will instantly make you compete. What i see here is a few people wanting to mortgage the future just so we can make the playoffs one year and be swept.. I don't want that, i want a team that when they make the playoffs, they have a chance. And as much as one guy or maybe 2 or 3 at most thinks one guy can and will be the difference, he wont be. That's not how it works.

I agree Jokinen is our oldest guy but upon further reflection I'd prefer we keep the old man for another season. Might only score 10 to 15 goals, he'll take his share of idiotic penalties but he's steady, fairly defensive and knows the ropes. Be nice if we could rope him down to $2.5 million rather than the big money he's not really earning now! Otherwise, cut him loose and let him take his act elsewhere. 

[Goalie]

Generally I like Pavs.  I *want* him to suceed.  But you cant argue with the numbers.  He must be better.

 

Also, in NHL14, he is dreadful.  I'm on year three and Hutch is only 2 ratings points back (and Hutch is pretty awful too).  I tried to trade for Reimer but TO wouldnt take Pavs. 

LOL i traded Pav to Florida for Markstrom. LOL.. He sucked so bad in that game, traded him won my next 4 games. 

[Goalie]

 

Why do people say this? what do people expect the Jets to do? a non playoff team/ sign a bunch of free agents? that's not how it works, The jets have dipped in to the free agent pool a couple times already, glass and jokinen are 2. Montoya is another. 

 

They have made trades, they traded for frolik and setogucci. It's not like they have just stood still since they got here but it seems some seem to think they should be doing more? Is that it? How do you do more though? They made offers to players, they made an offer to parise, they made an offer to mason raymond last season too. 

 

It's not like they are just sitting back and watching the leaves grow on trees. They have made moves, just cuz people refuse to accept them or expect more, doesn't mean they didn't. They haven't made any huge moves but what teams have really? name 3. and how has those moves worked out of them? 

 

LA doesn't count cuz the rumor at the time was philly wanted kane or and burmi for richards so that wasn't gonna happen. I know people want to win now but for gods sake, do some research and understand where this team was when they were brought here not even 3 full seasons ago. Look where they are now, not just the main roster but the ahl team, the prospects. They have done lots, just cuz they haven't gone out and made a huge move for some guy that people thinks will make us instantly compete doesn't mean they aren't doing anything.

 

And yeah i'm gonna go here, this team is a young team all in all, the scheifs troubas heck bogos kanes even littles and guys like that are all still pretty young, they are one of the youngest teams in the league, you remove jokinen and their average age drops significantly, with a young team comes growing pains... it is what it is. There is no magic beans out there that will instantly make you compete. What i see here is a few people wanting to mortgage the future just so we can make the playoffs one year and be swept.. I don't want that, i want a team that when they make the playoffs, they have a chance. And as much as one guy or maybe 2 or 3 at most thinks one guy can and will be the difference, he wont be. That's not how it works.

I agree Jokinen is our oldest guy but upon further reflection I'd prefer we keep the old man for another season. Might only score 10 to 15 goals, he'll take his share of idiotic penalties but he's steady, fairly defensive and knows the ropes. Be nice if we could rope him down to $2.5 million rather than the big money he's not really earning now! Otherwise, cut him loose and let him take his act elsewhere. 

 

It depends really, i'm kind of on the fence on brining Jokinen back, i thought O'dell showed enough that he could essentially take Jokinens spot for pretty much 1/4 what you'd have to pay Olli to stay here. Does Olli make a huge difference? No but.. he isn't very good defensively, he's actually really awful at faceoffs, he's terrible in his own end. This isn't made up, stats back this stuff up. I think at this point, i'd take my chances on a guy like O'dell or another younger free agent signing or trade piece rather than give jokinen another year. I don't like Olli, i don't think his "leadership" is worth what he will want to be paid. Every team the guy has started the season with has never made the playoffs. That says something about his "leadership".

[The Unknown Poster]

Kane & Postma

for

Neal & Matta & Bennett

Never happen. Maatta is worth more than Kane by himself, never mind adding in a 40 goal scorer. Postma is a throw in.

It would take a huge offer to pry Maatta out of Pittsburgh.

Maata is not worth more than Kane. If he is then Let's trade Trouba for Crosby.

[sweep the leg]

 

 

Kane & Postma

for

Neal & Matta & Bennett

Never happen. Maatta is worth more than Kane by himself, never mind adding in a 40 goal scorer. Postma is a throw in.

It would take a huge offer to pry Maatta out of Pittsburgh.

Maata is not worth more than Kane. If he is then Let's trade Trouba for Crosby.

 

That's not much worse than the other trades you've come up with.

[Goalie]

Solid young D men are worth more than forwards generally, That's why in drafts when there are good d prospects you see a run on them instead of forward prospects, case in point was the 2012 draft there, 7 or 8 d men went in a row however, Kane probably gets you maata plus a pick. Not much else than that tho. It might get you Maata plus Bennet and a pick but... again not much more than that. 

 

I dont think the pens have any interest in moving maata anways and with toby and morrissey (sooner rather than later) and kichton even, the jets D looks ok moving forward.

 

If you trade for maata, you'd probably have to move toby for a forward then.

 

Maybe Toby gets you an eberle or a yakupov tho. Im not sure, we seem to undervalue toby a bit here but.. he's a pretty solid d man all things considered and those guys are worth more than forwards any day of the week.

[The Unknown Poster]

Delete

[The Unknown Poster]

Solid young D men are worth more than forwards generally, That's why in drafts when there are good d prospects you see a run on them instead of forward prospects, case in point was the 2012 draft there, 7 or 8 d men went in a row however, Kane probably gets you maata plus a pick. Not much else than that tho. It might get you Maata plus Bennet and a pick but... again not much more than that.

I dont think the pens have any interest in moving maata anways and with toby and morrissey (sooner rather than later) and kichton even, the jets D looks ok moving forward.

If you trade for maata, you'd probably have to move toby for a forward then.

Maybe Toby gets you an eberle or a yakupov tho. Im not sure, we seem to undervalue toby a bit here but.. he's a pretty solid d man all things considered and those guys are worth more than forwards any day of the week.

Agreed. We need depth forwards. I think Kane is under valued around here though. People don't like him and that impacts how they see him.

[iso_55]

I like Wheeler. It's really not a trade I'd make. 

[The Unknown Poster]

Read a story speculating that Florida is willing to go down 6-7 spots in the draft.  With Jets picking 9 (if I recall correctly), I wonder if we could sweeten the pot and snag first over-all.

 

Buff + 9th Pick for 1st Pick.

[mbrg]

Nobody wants a backup goalie making almost 4 million a year, cap team or not. Reality, That 4 million dollar goalie is either your starter or he is bought out. Halak siged with NYI today, 4 years 18.5 million, aav = 4.5 million. 

 

Pav's deal is horrible.

Compared directly to other goalies nothing about Pav or his deal will look favourable.

 

However when you view it within the context of the Jets' build-thru-the-draft philosophy it isn't the disaster some make it out to be.  If they are going to stick to their guns on avoiding free agents with high price tags, and it looks like they will, then consider the following points:

- When the deal was signed the Jets didn't really have any prospects at goalie.

- While Pav will never ever ever ever be an elite NHL goalie, I can see what Chevy sees in that he could become a pretty good one.  He will need better coaching to get a handle on his rebound control and he will have to apply himself in the offseason.  This may never happen, but if it does I can see him being a middle of the pack NHL goalie.

- The timeline on the development of our prospects is still long enough that the length of Pav's contract is a non-issue.  Of the three guys we have my money's on Hellebuyck as our future starter, but that doesn't mean it's happening this September.  More likely in the 2016/17 season after a season with the Icecaps and a season as backup.  Comrie seems to be less ready than Hellebuyck right now.  Hutch is still entirely unproven at the NHL level.  If he can put together a nice run in the playoffs he might make Montoya expendable, but he does not push Pav out of his job.  By the time any or all of these guys are ready to start in the NHL there will probably only be a year left on Pav's contract.  If necessary we can eat that.

- The non-goalie prospects on this team are still a year or two away from impacting the Jets' fortunes in a meaningful manner.  This team is not likely to be a playoff team this season or next.  That will piss some people off, but if it's part of the process of turning the sad-sack Thrashers into perrenial cup contenders then I can wait.  Jets 1.0 gave us 17 years of scraping into the playoffs only to flame out in the first round over and over again.  Making the playoffs this season is a short-sighted goal.

- Montaya was the 6th overall pick in 2004 (Ladd was 4th and Wheeler 5th) and the highest rated goalie prospect of that draft year.  He has been typecast as a backup at the NHL level.  While he's currently scheduled to become a free agent, IF the Jets re-sign him (Hutch's playoff performance is probably the biggest deciding factor) he potentially could take over the #1 job if Pav falters once again.  Chevy/Maurice aren't annointing Pav as an undisputed starter when they call him the man going into next year; they are trying to cut out the legs of the news hacks in wpg who want to get pageviews by crying "goaltending controversy" everytime Pav lets in a bad goal.  They have eyes.  They know who's playing well and who isn't.  They also want to be driving the bus, not letting the ginger wonder over at the Winnipeg Stunned try and make the coaching decisions.

 

None of this sounds particularly appetizing in the short term.  Pav remains the starter.  He might not get better.  The Jets will continue to finish 10th in their conference.

 

When you step back and look at the long term philosophy it is possible to say that neither Pavelec's play or his contract go against the Jets plan for building a winner, and that rolling the dice on him being the goalie of the future was never really the high-stakes gamble that it seemed like at first glance.  While it would be nice for Jets fans if Pav would play better, things are still largely going according to plan.

 

And if you really want to take a long term view, Pav's play might be helping build this franchise thru higher draft picks.

[HardCoreBlue]

 

Nobody wants a backup goalie making almost 4 million a year, cap team or not. Reality, That 4 million dollar goalie is either your starter or he is bought out. Halak siged with NYI today, 4 years 18.5 million, aav = 4.5 million. 

 

Pav's deal is horrible.

Compared directly to other goalies nothing about Pav or his deal will look favourable.

 

However when you view it within the context of the Jets' build-thru-the-draft philosophy it isn't the disaster some make it out to be.  If they are going to stick to their guns on avoiding free agents with high price tags, and it looks like they will, then consider the following points:

- When the deal was signed the Jets didn't really have any prospects at goalie.

- While Pav will never ever ever ever be an elite NHL goalie, I can see what Chevy sees in that he could become a pretty good one.  He will need better coaching to get a handle on his rebound control and he will have to apply himself in the offseason.  This may never happen, but if it does I can see him being a middle of the pack NHL goalie.

- The timeline on the development of our prospects is still long enough that the length of Pav's contract is a non-issue.  Of the three guys we have my money's on Hellebuyck as our future starter, but that doesn't mean it's happening this September.  More likely in the 2016/17 season after a season with the Icecaps and a season as backup.  Comrie seems to be less ready than Hellebuyck right now.  Hutch is still entirely unproven at the NHL level.  If he can put together a nice run in the playoffs he might make Montoya expendable, but he does not push Pav out of his job.  By the time any or all of these guys are ready to start in the NHL there will probably only be a year left on Pav's contract.  If necessary we can eat that.

- The non-goalie prospects on this team are still a year or two away from impacting the Jets' fortunes in a meaningful manner.  This team is not likely to be a playoff team this season or next.  That will piss some people off, but if it's part of the process of turning the sad-sack Thrashers into perrenial cup contenders then I can wait.  Jets 1.0 gave us 17 years of scraping into the playoffs only to flame out in the first round over and over again.  Making the playoffs this season is a short-sighted goal.

- Montaya was the 6th overall pick in 2004 (Ladd was 4th and Wheeler 5th) and the highest rated goalie prospect of that draft year.  He has been typecast as a backup at the NHL level.  While he's currently scheduled to become a free agent, IF the Jets re-sign him (Hutch's playoff performance is probably the biggest deciding factor) he potentially could take over the #1 job if Pav falters once again.  Chevy/Maurice aren't annointing Pav as an undisputed starter when they call him the man going into next year; they are trying to cut out the legs of the news hacks in wpg who want to get pageviews by crying "goaltending controversy" everytime Pav lets in a bad goal.  They have eyes.  They know who's playing well and who isn't.  They also want to be driving the bus, not letting the ginger wonder over at the Winnipeg Stunned try and make the coaching decisions.

 

None of this sounds particularly appetizing in the short term.  Pav remains the starter.  He might not get better.  The Jets will continue to finish 10th in their conference.

 

When you step back and look at the long term philosophy it is possible to say that neither Pavelec's play or his contract go against the Jets plan for building a winner, and that rolling the dice on him being the goalie of the future was never really the high-stakes gamble that it seemed like at first glance.  While it would be nice for Jets fans if Pav would play better, things are still largely going according to plan.

 

And if you really want to take a long term view, Pav's play might be helping build this franchise thru higher draft picks.

 

 

 

Nobody wants a backup goalie making almost 4 million a year, cap team or not. Reality, That 4 million dollar goalie is either your starter or he is bought out. Halak siged with NYI today, 4 years 18.5 million, aav = 4.5 million. 

 

Pav's deal is horrible.

Compared directly to other goalies nothing about Pav or his deal will look favourable.

 

However when you view it within the context of the Jets' build-thru-the-draft philosophy it isn't the disaster some make it out to be.  If they are going to stick to their guns on avoiding free agents with high price tags, and it looks like they will, then consider the following points:

- When the deal was signed the Jets didn't really have any prospects at goalie.

- While Pav will never ever ever ever be an elite NHL goalie, I can see what Chevy sees in that he could become a pretty good one.  He will need better coaching to get a handle on his rebound control and he will have to apply himself in the offseason.  This may never happen, but if it does I can see him being a middle of the pack NHL goalie.

- The timeline on the development of our prospects is still long enough that the length of Pav's contract is a non-issue.  Of the three guys we have my money's on Hellebuyck as our future starter, but that doesn't mean it's happening this September.  More likely in the 2016/17 season after a season with the Icecaps and a season as backup.  Comrie seems to be less ready than Hellebuyck right now.  Hutch is still entirely unproven at the NHL level.  If he can put together a nice run in the playoffs he might make Montoya expendable, but he does not push Pav out of his job.  By the time any or all of these guys are ready to start in the NHL there will probably only be a year left on Pav's contract.  If necessary we can eat that.

- The non-goalie prospects on this team are still a year or two away from impacting the Jets' fortunes in a meaningful manner.  This team is not likely to be a playoff team this season or next.  That will piss some people off, but if it's part of the process of turning the sad-sack Thrashers into perrenial cup contenders then I can wait.  Jets 1.0 gave us 17 years of scraping into the playoffs only to flame out in the first round over and over again.  Making the playoffs this season is a short-sighted goal.

- Montaya was the 6th overall pick in 2004 (Ladd was 4th and Wheeler 5th) and the highest rated goalie prospect of that draft year.  He has been typecast as a backup at the NHL level.  While he's currently scheduled to become a free agent, IF the Jets re-sign him (Hutch's playoff performance is probably the biggest deciding factor) he potentially could take over the #1 job if Pav falters once again.  Chevy/Maurice aren't annointing Pav as an undisputed starter when they call him the man going into next year; they are trying to cut out the legs of the news hacks in wpg who want to get pageviews by crying "goaltending controversy" everytime Pav lets in a bad goal.  They have eyes.  They know who's playing well and who isn't.  They also want to be driving the bus, not letting the ginger wonder over at the Winnipeg Stunned try and make the coaching decisions.

 

None of this sounds particularly appetizing in the short term.  Pav remains the starter.  He might not get better.  The Jets will continue to finish 10th in their conference.

 

When you step back and look at the long term philosophy it is possible to say that neither Pavelec's play or his contract go against the Jets plan for building a winner, and that rolling the dice on him being the goalie of the future was never really the high-stakes gamble that it seemed like at first glance.  While it would be nice for Jets fans if Pav would play better, things are still largely going according to plan.

 

And if you really want to take a long term view, Pav's play might be helping build this franchise thru higher draft picks.

 

Wow, nice way to package it, clever :-)

[The Unknown Poster]

Those are very good points.  I liked the Pavs deal at the time.  I still dont mind it.  its not a terrible deal.  When you consider at the time as stated, Jets had no other goaltending options and werent about to get into a bidding war for a veteran when they were re-building.  Plus, Pavs was considered a young solid prospect at the time so we were locking up a young goalie for what amounted to the extent of our perceived rebuilding phase.  Either Pavs would rise to the occasions or we'd have some prospects ready to take his place or we'd be in a position to trade or UFA sign a replacement.

 

HF Boards has a lot of people wanting to ditch Pavs and go with Hutch/Montoya.  I think thats a terrible idea.  Hutch is complicated because he requires waivers this fall so he's either here or he's not.  One could say let the back ups battle in training camp but do you not re-sign Montoya?  Because if you do, hutch is not taking the back up spot.  If you go with Hutch as the #2, and Pavs gets hurt, you're in a precarious situation.

 

I still like the idea of sending a conditional pick to TO for the rights to Reimer.  I dont know what the Leafs would want in a trade but I like Reimer and Pavs as a pair with Hutch seasoning on the Rock. 

[Nasty Nate]

The Jets would have been better being granted a new franchise and getting some favoured draft picks. The Trashers were nothing but trash and vermin, highly-paid spoiled players that only got contracts cuz Atlanta had to pay to established NHL levels to be considered members of the league. Horrible management, feeble scouting, inferior coaching, half-arsed players made this team a poison. Mark Chipman was so desperate to grab an NHL team Bettman was able to foist this horrible pack of vermin on him with virtual impunity - and Bettman got full bore on the price, too.

Wpg would have been better served with Phoenix's group of crap, at least they had goal-tending, and a semblance of coaching, scouting and management. 

Both Phoenix and Atlanta required long-term development. Phoenix might have been rehabbed in less than 4 years - the Trashers are about an 8 to 10 year turnaround and then its even dicey cuz too many things can happen in a decade.

[Goalie]

The Jets would have been better being granted a new franchise and getting some favoured draft picks. The Trashers were nothing but trash and vermin, highly-paid spoiled players that only got contracts cuz Atlanta had to pay to established NHL levels to be considered members of the league. Horrible management, feeble scouting, inferior coaching, half-arsed players made this team a poison. Mark Chipman was so desperate to grab an NHL team Bettman was able to foist this horrible pack of vermin on him with virtual impunity - and Bettman got full bore on the price, too.

Wpg would have been better served with Phoenix's group of crap, at least they had goal-tending, and a semblance of coaching, scouting and management. 

Both Phoenix and Atlanta required long-term development. Phoenix might have been rehabbed in less than 4 years - the Trashers are about an 8 to 10 year turnaround and then its even dicey cuz too many things can happen in a decade.

not so sure about that, ladd wheeler and buff werent in atlanta very long, little is pretty darn good, kane has potential regardless if people cant see it due to their dislike of him, never has had the same coach for more than a year or 2 has he? same with bogo. They are good players but for the most part are young. With young players come mistakes, it's to be expected. As much as we all praised scheif and trouba this year, they too made the same mistakes. It's all about learning, maurice under contract long term should help. This team should get better. Don't get me wrong i'd move kane and buff in a second if i got a fair offer for them, i'd want pick prospect player. Kane and pick 9 to Florida vs 1st overall, Pirri and a defensive prospect like mike mathesson is a deal i'd consider. Buff, if i'm moving him, i'm trying to get a 3rd line center and a top line winger or one of those plus a pick. To Carolina for Lindholm or Skinner and the 7th. Skinner let's say.

 

Skinner,Scheif,Wheeler. Ladd, Little,Frolik. Im taking Sam Bennet first overall then, Him and Pirri are the start of what could be a very good 3rd line.

 

Bennet First overall, can play lw or centre, at 7 id look at taking kevin fiala.

[Nasty Nate]

Sam Bennett would be a good first pick but I suspect Chevy won't be able to swing it and the Jets will settle for their 9th pick.

 

I'd love to see Kane traded for value . . . and no I don't hate Evander - I just look at his total game and see nothing but F's in most categories other than speed and grit in the neutral zone. Evander's shot is deadly inaccurate, his passing is well below average, perhaps less than most AHL first or 2nd liners, his back-checking is inconsistent (good when he goes all-out) and his discipline is really poor most of the time. He's too easily baited and his responses usually mean 2 minutes in the box. 

 

When Maurice wealthy-scratched him you just knew the gig was up! However, if they can't get anything of value for him may as well play him next couple years as the Jets won't be playoff contenders anyways.

 

Buff is probably an easier trade to consumnate - going to a market where peeps don't really care about hockey and will put up with his regular nightly package of mistakes - albeit some great offensive play mixed in. Perhaps Washington, Florida or Tampa would be better places for Big Buff. Mike Yeo in Minnesota would never tolerate some of Buff's gaffs so the chance of Buff going to his home state are minimal at best.

[The Unknown Poster]

The Jets would have been better being granted a new franchise and getting some favoured draft picks. The Trashers were nothing but trash and vermin, highly-paid spoiled players that only got contracts cuz Atlanta had to pay to established NHL levels to be considered members of the league. Horrible management, feeble scouting, inferior coaching, half-arsed players made this team a poison. Mark Chipman was so desperate to grab an NHL team Bettman was able to foist this horrible pack of vermin on him with virtual impunity - and Bettman got full bore on the price, too.

Wpg would have been better served with Phoenix's group of crap, at least they had goal-tending, and a semblance of coaching, scouting and management.

Both Phoenix and Atlanta required long-term development. Phoenix might have been rehabbed in less than 4 years - the Trashers are about an 8 to 10 year turnaround and then its even dicey cuz too many things can happen in a decade.

I'm not sure you followed this story very closely but the thrashers are far better than an expansion team likely would have been including some key marketable players. We still ended up with solid draft picks.

Also buying the team was mutually beneficial for both true north and the NHL. There is a great story out there about how the NHL tried to raise the price and Thomson used his ahem connections to enforce the agreed upon terms.

[Jacquie]

I'd hate to lose Wheeler. He was by far the Jets best player last year (Trouba was close second)

How can anyone be a "close second" to a player who was "by far the best"? Saying he was ""by far the best" indicates no one was close.