New Jersey Devils Trade Deadline Profile: Winnipeg Jets
By Nick Villano
The Winnipeg Jets are one of the best teams in the entire NHL. Could they be able to pick off a player from the New Jersey Devils to push them over the top?
Since the Winnipeg Jets went back home, leaving the Atlanta Thrashers behind, the New Jersey Devils made one trade with them. The Devils re-acquired Alexei Ponikarovsky after he signed with them after the team went to the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals.
Since then, there have been rumors, but things never seemed to work out. This season could be different, however. These two teams are literally on the opposite sides of the standings, with the Jets in first place and the Devils in last place. That means over the next couple weeks the Devils will be looking to sell off assets for future assets.
There’s one player that everyone talks about when it comes to the Jets and the Devils. Travis Zajac is a Winnipeg native, and someone who some fans say might not fit the current climate. He’s an elite penalty killer, great in the faceoff circle, and can score clutch goals from dirty areas. It sounds like a perfect fit for this Jets team.
There’s one major problem with this. The Jets have $23 million in cap space next season, but have to re-sign Kyle Connor, Patrick Laine, Jacob Trouba and Brendan Lemieux. That’s not including replacing Tyler Myers, who’s an unrestricted free agent. That money is already gone. They can’t afford to add $5.75 million for the next two seasons.
Therefore, no matter how much Zajac would be a perfect fit for this team this season, there’s no way they can make that work.
Honestly, we’re probably looking at smaller deals. There are multiple players the Jets would be interested in, and most of them would cost very little. The Devils have one of the better penalty kills in the league, despite recent results, and that’s literally the only aspect of the Jets game that needs improvement. They are in the top five in the league in goals per game and power play percentage, and eighth in goals against per game. However, their penalty kill ranks 18th.
The Devils have a few players available who could help that. Obviously, Zajac would help immensely, but we already went over that. Blake Coleman is an elite penalty killer, but there’s zero chance the Devils let go of him at the trade deadline.
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That leaves a few options. One is obviously Ben Lovejoy. He’s a very good penalty killer, but his 5v5 defense has been awful lately. Still, the Jets have the pieces to make up for that. He could be an option for a fourth-round pick if another team doesn’t offer a third.
The Jets might go after a player who’s not so obvious, and might be playing his best hockey he’s ever player in the NHL. Pavel Zacha has been on an absolute role lately, and he could provide so many things to this Jets team. He’s also a very, very good penalty killer.
Lately, he’s added another aspect to his game; scoring. He has scored three goals in six February games. It seems the Devils finally found the right positioning for Zacha, and he’s even earned some power play time.
It would be weird for the New Jersey Devils to give up a 21-year-old former first-round pick in the middle of a rebuild, but the Jets may make it worth their while.
There’s one prospect that the Jets are probably asking their own questions about, but the Devils may be willing to take a chance on with a little extra incentive. Kristian Vesalainen started this season in the Winnipeg Jets system, but left midseason to play in the KHL. Yes, this might give some Devils fans serious worries, but there was a method to his madness, and he’ll likely return next season.
That won’t be enough to get Zacha from the Devils. There needs to be more to get someone this young, with this much talent who’s been an NHL regular for three years.
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Look for the Devils to call for the Jets to add defenseman prospect Logan Stanley. He’s a 6’7 behemoth. His size is insane, and tall is something you can’t teach. It gives the Binghamton Devils that defensive presence they’ve been missing all season, and he could protect MacKenzie Blackwood while he’s there.
Devils fans may think getting two top prospects for Zacha is impossible, but with the Jets in the position they are, they can get a player that takes them over the top and he’s their property for a long time. They’d probably get even more.
Here’s what the trade might look like: the Jets get Pavel Zacha and a 2019 fourth-round pick, the Devils get Kristian Vesalainen, Logan Stanley, and a 2019 second-round pick that turns into a first if the Jets win the Stanley Cup.
This looks like a haul for Zacha, but there are question marks surrounding Vesalainen, Stanley is still raw and the draft pick is going to be towards the end of the round. The Devils may not be looking to unload Zacha, but the Jets may look to do everything it can to improve this team.