Buckle up, it’s the Summer of Chevy. There will be no more popular or busy man than Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff over the next month, as the Winnipeg becomes the center of the hockey universe this offseason. One could make the argument the Jets will help dictate the tenor and pace of this offseason as Cheveldayoff attempts to remake his club.
That’s because the Jets have the top goaltender and centers available. Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Blake Wheeler are all prominently featured on Daily Faceoff’s latest Trade Targets board.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility that all four players will be leaving Winnipeg this summer.
We’re still waiting for all of the personnel pieces to fall in place – with head coaching vacancies remaining in New York, Calgary, Columbus and Anaheim, as well as potential openings in Ottawa and Toronto – and the Sens’ ownership is still locked in a bidding war. It’s possible those hirings, with added viewpoint and opinion, could shake free other potential roster decisions – along with Brad Treliving and Kyle Dubas landing new jobs.
This trade period might be even more active for a number of reasons, including a weak free agent class and the fact teams may be infused with a substantial salary cap increase for the first time since the pandemic took hold in 2020.
In March, we correctly projected 42 of the Top 50 players traded prior to the Trade Deadline. The offseason is just getting churning, but here are 25 names in play on the Trade Targets board, which always seeks to blend a player’s prominence with his likelihood of a trade:
Trade Targets
1. Erik Karlsson
- Right Defense, San Jose Sharks
- Age: 32
- Stats: 82 GP, 25 G, 76 A, 101 Pts
- Contract: 4 more seasons, $11.5 million AAV
Scoop: Only once in NHL history has a reigning Norris Trophy winner been traded in the same summer he’s taken home the award for top defenseman: Doug Harvey (1961) going from Montreal to New York. That goes to show you how rare of a transaction this might be. It’s also incredibly complicated. Karlsson put together one of the best offensive seasons of any defenseman ever, yet his contract makes him difficult to move. Sharks GM Mike Grier acknowledged at locker cleanout day he’s ready to listen again on a Karlsson deal. He’ll have to adjust his asking price and be willing to retain salary. If one is to materialize, this trade always felt like an offseason deal. It may also be now or never, because Karlsson’s value to the Sharks is never going to be higher than it is at this exact moment in time, as the first 100-point defenseman since Brian Leetch in 1991-92.