Yikes, this is just a bad lateral move in the Ehlers to get Necas deals.

Feel like the Canes may have more interest in Ehlers himself especially considering the news about Guentzel, but that’s not a bad package at all

No chance Winnipeg trades Ehlers for picks alone.

Barlow isn't available. Let someone else pay Necas 7 or 7.5 over 7 or 8 years. I wouldn't want the jets doing that.

The Jets aren't giving any RHD away for nothing.

Montour isn't signing in Winnipeg.

Don't think a rental of Ehlers gets 11th overall. If Buffalo knew he would resign they likely do it but not just for a year

I'd be more than comfortable giving away Pionk for nothing.

And replace him with what? Replacing him with a worse player is no way to improve.

Trade or sign someone better with the cap space. Alternatively, They could run either Salomonsson or Heinola as their 2RD to start the season, see if they work. If it doesn't, trade for a 2RD around Thanksgiving. If it does work, trade for a rental at the deadline, with all the cap space accrued.

This way we try something that is unlikely to work rather than something that almost certainly won't work.

That's the thing, lots of fans want to get rid of him, but none have a plan I how to replace him with something better.

The Jets need a to 4 RHD to push Pionk down to the bottom pair. Just replacing him with a worse player won't have the positive results you're looking for.

They could trade for or sign:
Andersson (Very Optimistic)
Pulock
Hronek
Pesce
Larsson

Winnipeg cannot make this mistake for a 4th year. Pionk is finished here. If they don't trade for a replacement I'm pretty sure Samberg or Heinola would be better options as 2RD, even on their offside, until the TDL.

Right. None of those are realistic options, outside of an Ehlers trade and even then that's probably only for Hronek, who is better offensively than Pionk, but about the same defensively.

I'd also like to believe Pulock could happen for Ehlers, but there's likely no chance he waives.

The rest are just pie in the sky that aren't happening. Which is exactly what I mean. Lots of fans want to get rid of him, but have no realistic plan for how the Jets replace him with someone who is even equal to him, let alone better.

The Jets can't just dump Pionk and hope and dream something better just falls in their laps. It just doesn't happen.

Those aren't unrealistic. They have good trade assets (Lucius, Barlow, MTL 2nd) and desparately need a 2RD. It's Chevy's job to find the trade fit, He will need to dump Pionk and get a better player if we want to make it past even the first round, let alone win the cup.

Well, if we can get one of those defenseman you listed (or any other top 4 RHD), then I agree, the Jets can move on from Pionk or move him down. But until then, I don't think the Jets can move him.

It also can't be blamed on Chevy fur but finding a read, if there's not a trade there, then it isn't there. He can't make NTC's or NMC's disappear or make players want to come and play in Winnipeg.

His options are far more limited than many other GM's.

Consider this... the dude lost his best friend to a freak on ice tragedy mid season. That would be incredibly tough for anyone to deal with. He will have now had an off-season to actually grieve. It will be a contract year for him coming up and I am certain he is fully aware of the discourse regarding his play. He is an uber competitive person and will surely come to camp motivated to prove everyone wrong. I understand the Jets still need to bolster the right side of the blue line but I am willing to bet he pleasantly surprises!

The Jets issues that are keeping them from winning the cup are WAY MORE then just their 2nd pair RHD.



I'm probably as critical of Chevy as anyone else is but I always have to remind myself that Chipman really seems like a meddling idiot so how much free rein Chevy has who really knows.

That could very well be true as well. There definitely seems to be enough blame to go around.

Which problem do they have that is bigger than 2RHD?

He was bad for 2 years before the tragedy. This team is in its cup window now, there is no time to wait for things that might not happen in a position as important as 2RHD.

-DeMelo is not a top pair RHD on a contender, sorry he's just not
-Their best players aren't on the level of elites like McDavid, Makar, Crosby, etc, usually cup winners have at least one of those types
-The Jets special teams are terrible especially their PKers
-Overall they're mostly slow, the Avs exposed how slow this group really is, need some faster skaters
-Their depth rarely produces when its needed, they're mostly empty calorie point getters
-This group still has pretty long stretches where it dissappears with no show efforts, the culture might be better but there still might be some issues
-Morrissey is great but he's not a good PP QB which hinders the effectiveness of the PP
-Hellebuyck doesn't steal games, for this group to win as presently built it would need a goalie who can steal them some games which Helle can't do, he can provide good enough goaltending to win but he's not a game stealer, he's not close to a Bobrovsky.


So are those all bigger issues then their #2 RHD, maybe not but most of them are, this lineup needs a much bigger overhaul then just an upgrade on Pionk to be an actual cup contender.

Simply put if the Jets could put the exact same lineup on the ice with just an upgrade on Pionk could they win a cup? Not a ****ing chance imo.

-DeMelo would be perfectly fine as a top pair RHD if they get another RHD to make the second pair usable in offensive situations. Ideally someone of DeMelo's quality or better.
-Neither was Vegas's
-Special teams coaching is revamped this season
-New players like Lambert or Chibrikov can help with general team speed
-Adam Lowry + the depth could advantage from an improved defense
-You have to hope this isn't the case bcoz they're doomed if it is. However, Scheif consistently performs in the playoffs and KC looked good. Playoff performances are flukey and can swa anytime unless a player has an extra extended bad stretch to know they can't do it. (Marner, James Harden)
- Morrissey is perfectly capable, the power play was very poorly schemed (no movement)
-??? 2021 vs Edmonton, every regular season. You're not seriously saying that Connor Hellebuyck can't lead a team to victory.

vs Colorado, their biggest problem was moving the puck too slow in their own zone. The avs fast forecheck forced giveaways and could set up well defensively once the Jets made it to the middle. Pionk was the worst culprit, with terrible breakout passes and consistent turnovers. The Jets held up much better when Morrissey and DeMelo was on the ice but every time they left they were getting nuked. Improving their defense will help with all the problems you mentioned, but it will need a huge player to fix it enough.

-Even two DeMelo's at RHD would be amongst the worst #1 and #2 RHD in the league and Morrissey isn't a solid enough #1 to make up for that.
-Vegas has way better depth and a solid defense then the Jets have though, I'd put Eichel at closer to elite then Scheifele too
-So what happened to the PK? Cause it looked the same to me but it dropped in where it finished compared to the year prior, to me the forward PKers are just way too slow and aren't shot blockers, don't think a new coach will make much difference with these guys if its the same personell next season which it likely will be for the most part.
-They will if they make the team or are given a chance, history says we shouldn't hold our breath expecting either one to be on the 24-25 Jets opening lineup, also if Ehlers is traded well there's one fast guy gone.
-Lowry is part of the empty calorie point getting bottom six I'm talking about but yeah some better dmen would help with that but that's my point, just one dman upgrade isn't gonna be enough of a difference, need two at least imo and even then unless they're coming with better hands for Lowry, Appleton and Iafallo I'm not sure they'll make that much difference for depth scoring.. lol 😆
-Idk, not much fire in this group and some questionable body language from some that makes me wonder if they've completely exorcised their demons.
-Maybe that lack of movement was cause Morrissey isn't very good at QBing the powerplay... 🤷‍♂️
-I'm not saying he can't lead a team to victory, I'm saying this team as presently built needs a goalie that can steal games, Hellebuyck doesn't steal games and no, he hasn't stolen the regular season for them either.

I agree that the Jets main weakness is their defense which the Avs exposed, think it goes beyond just Pionk. Will say though that I think they really missed Dillon when he got hurt and going with that Stanley/Samberg pairing was probably a mistake, would've liked to have seen Miller play more, he was probably the best option for that 3rd pair RHD spot.

Lowry is the antithesis of empty calorie points. He finished top 7 in the Selke trophy voting.

Morrissey cannot mind control Scheif and Connor to move around a little more, that power play could use a tactical reset and it'll be great again.

I also really think they should resign Dillon, especially if he's willing to sign for 2 years. Miller and Schmidt should've been the 2 and 3 RHD after game 3. Bowness really took a **** on the line charts after game 3.

Disagree very much, Lowry is the dictionary definition of empty calorie point getter, Appleton too. Too long of stretches with little to no points from that line, too bad they waste Nino with those two stonehands. That's one of Bones worse decisions, never breaking up that line and keeping Nino there when he'd be more useful elsewhere, was ridiculous how much time Iafallo got in the top six while Nino was stapled to the stonehands bros.

Great again, it hasn't been great since Laine was on it, think it needs more then just a tactical reset but we'll see, suppose it can't get any worse so there's that at least.. lol

I like Dillon and think he's important but he's also 33 going on 34 so might be best to just move on, I don't think you'd like what I'd do with the Jets defense but here goes.. 🤣

Let Dillon and DeMelo walk, give Salomonsson a start in the AHL and see how he develops, if he's ready then call him up, if not give him the whole season with the Moose, maybe some games up late in the season. Put Pionk on the top pair with JoMo, yes I know Pionk has struggled at times but try to pump up his numbers and trade him for an asset. Make Samberg/Schmidt the 2nd pair, its sink or swim for Samberg so let's see what he can do in a top 4 role and they've been a good 3rd pair so let's see what they can do as a 2nd pair. Retain on Schmidt and trade him at the TDL if there's any interest. Sign Stanley to a cheap extension, sign Miller to a two year deal and let Heinola and Stanley split time with Miller on the 3rd pair, whoever plays better would play more. Get Lundmark and Bauer up for some games at the end of the season
Draft the best dman available with the Habs 2nd, preferably a RHD if possible.

Basically collect some assets and get younger, I just don't think this team is at all close to being an actual contender.

That clearly isn't happening with the Scheif and Hellebuyck contracts, they're here to win now.

Why not keep DeMelo? he's gonna be good for another 3-4 years, lines up with Scheif and Hellebuyck. The Jets need to convince their players they're trying to compete and this doesn't do it, players will not sign or resign here if they're not contending for the cup.

Hellebuyck and Scheifele are here to get paid, their agents sniffed around and found out the only one willing to give them what they wanted was Chipman.

I personally just don't see a top pair dman in DeMelo and since he's already a slow, sluggish skater and 31, don't think he'll live up to his next contract. You might get your wish, heard today that DeMelo was tabled an offer so maybe we'll hear an extension announcement soon.

I think they need to get younger, sounds like they're doubling down on getting older though.. 🙄

Both of those deals are good value, especially Hellebuyck. I’d trust that Chevy would be smart with his money.