Jets lose more than they gain as free agency begins
Day 1 of the NHL free agency period has come and gone, and the Winnipeg Jets may be the biggest losers of the day.
The Jets made some decent signings on Day 1, but lost more than they gained. With glaring holes down the middle and on the back-end, Kevin Cheveldayoff still has his work cut out for him the rest of the offseason.
Day 1 Signings – (G) Kaapo Kahkonen, (D) Colin Miller, (G) Eric Comrie… again.
Eric Comrie - Two Years x $825,000 (AAV)
The 28-year-old will be making his fourth stop in Winnipeg in 2024 (if we include the waiver wire madness from 2019-2021) and the former World Junior champion will most likely spend time in both the NHL and AHL next season.
Comrie has spent the past two years with the Buffalo Sabres posting a 2-7-0 record with a 3.69 goals-against average and a .874 save percentage in 10 games, before being replaced by youngster Devon Levi.
Comrie spent the rest of the season dealing with injuries and playing a few games with Rochester in the AHL, where he posted a .934 save percentage.
Comrie was originally selected by Winnipeg in the second round (59th overall) in the 2013 NHL Draft. Comrie is also the franchise leader in games played (203), wins (86), and saves (5,683) with Winnipeg's American Hockey League affiliate, the Manitoba Moose.
He has a 24-26-2 record with a 3.38 GAA and .893 save percentage in 57 NHL games with Winnipeg, Detroit, New Jersey, and Buffalo.
Overall, this isn't a bad signing, Comrie is a serviceable NHL backup, but he will be battling for a spot with the next guy on this list.
Kaapo Kahkonen - One Year x $1,000,000 (AAV)
Kahkonen was the biggest splash of Day 1 for the Jets… yes, you read that right.
The 27-year-old netminder played 37 games this season split between the New Jersey Devils and San Jose Sharks. He posted a 7-24-3 record with a shutout, a 3.64 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage.
These numbers may look bad, but Kahkonen is a good NHL goalie. Once looked upon as the future of goaltending in Minnesota, the goalie from Helsinki put up decent numbers on a historically bad Sharks team this season. When he was shipped to the Devils at the trade deadline, he had a great six-game stint in front of a better d-corps, posting a .923 save percentage and 2.51 goals against average.
The fourth-round pick in the 2014 draft has played 139 career NHL games for New Jersey, San Jose, and the Wild and has a 49-67-15 record, a 3.33 GAA, a .899 save percentage with four shutouts.
He will likely serve as the full-time backup behind Connor Hellebuyck next season after Laurent Brossoits departure, unless Comrie steals his spot.
Colin Miller - Two Years x $1,500,000 (AAV)
The Jets extended Colin Miller later into the day on July 1. After being dealt to the Jets at this year's trade deadline, Miller only played six games with Winnipeg, one of them coming in the postseason finale.
The 31-year-old split the 2023-24 regular season between the Jets and the Devils, scoring four goals and nine points in 46 games while averaging 15:42 of ice time per night.
The Jets acquired the 6’1″ right-handed defender ahead of the 2024 trade deadline in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Miller is a solid third-pairing NHL d-man and helps add depth to a weak right side. Best case scenario for the Jets is Miller being their sixth/seventh d-man next year, but on a thin blue line with limited options left they may need to rely on Miller a little more than the Jets would hope.
Day One Losses – (F) Sean Monahan, (F) Tyler Toffoli, (D) Brendan Dillon, (G) Laurent Brossoit
Sean Monahan - Five Years x $5,500,000 (AAV) Columbus Blue Jackets
Perhaps the biggest heartbreaker of the day for Jets fans was Sean Monahan heading to Columbus to reunite with his buddy Johnny Gaudreau.
While the Jets may have been the biggest loser of Day 1, Sean Monahan was one of the many winners inking a $27.5 million deal. Three years ago, his career looked like it may be over after the Calgary Flames dumped him off along with a first round pick to Montreal for future considerations.
While in Montreal, Monahan revived his career and was shipped to the Jets before the 2024 trade deadline, this time for a first rounder. In Winnipeg Monahan went on an absolute tear where he had 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists) in 34 regular season games.
Despite a disappointing playoff performance, there is no doubt that the loss of “Mony” stings. It leaves a huge hole at centre for a team that was once so strong down the middle. As of now, the Jets projected “2 C” is Vladislav Namestnikov - who by no means is a bad player, but he is a player that should not be centering a contending team's second line.
Tyler Toffoli - Four Years x $6,000,000 (AAV) San Jose Sharks
There was no doubt Toffoli wasn't going to re-sign in Winnipeg, but it was a shock when it was revealed he would be going to San Jose, a team in the midst of a heavy rebuild.
Toffoli was a pure rental for the Jets, only costing them a second and third round draft pick at the 2024 trade deadline. He had seven goals and four assists in 18 regular-season games for Winnipeg and added two goals in five playoff contests.
The 32-year-old, coming off of back-to-back 30 goal campaigns, was an under the radar free agent with big names like Jake Guentzel and Steven Stamkos without a contract going into July 1.
Toffoli's departure doesn't hurt quite as much as Monahan, but it still is a big name to lose.
Brendan Dillon - Three Years x $4,000,000 (AAV) New Jersey Devils
One of many big signings for the New Jersey Devils on Monday, Brendan Dillon joins a Devils team expected to do big things after a underwhelming season in 2023-24.
The signing came as a little bit of a shock in Winnipeg, as Dillon expressed his want to stay with the Jets in his year-end exit meeting. When news broke that Dillon would hit the open market it was a huge blow for the Jets back-end.
Through his three years with the Jets, Dillon put up solid numbers as a defensive defenseman having three 20+ point years on the Jets' second pair. Dillon proved to be the prototypical big defensive defenseman with the Jets playing big minutes both 5v5 and on the penalty kill.
There is no doubt this is yet another big loss for the Jets' roster, and with most of the big-name D-men off the market his loss doesn't seem as salvageable as it was 24 hours ago.
Laurent Brossoit - Two Years x $3,300,000 (AAV) Chicago Blackhawks
Laurent Brossoit finished his second stint in Manitoba's capital strong, backing up Vezina winner Connor Hellebuyck. Brossoit posted a .927 save percentage and an even 2.00 goals against average in 23 games this season and was just 2 starts shy from sharing the William .M Jennings Trophy honours with Hellebuyck.
Brossoit's departure was not a surprise as he was vocal about wanting to play more games. The 31-year-old has never eclipsed the 30-game mark in his career while having only played 20 or more games in three of his 10 NHL seasons.
When he has been in the net, Brossoit has thrived. He has a career .911 save percentage and 2.63 goals against average in just 141 games - Pretty good numbers for a career backup.
With a bigger workload coming on a much weaker Chicago team, one will have to see how he handles the 1A/1B split with Petr Mrazek.
Missed opportunities – Jacob Chychrun, Brett Pesce, Shayne Gostisbehere, Chris Tanev, Sean Walker, Brady Skjei (sort of)
Jacob Chychrun - Traded to Washington
We all know Winnipeg isn’t a popular free agent destination, so when a D-man of Jacob Chychrun’s caliber was available via trade it looked like Winnipeg could jump on it.
Chychrun was shipped to Washington for what seems like pennies. Going back to Ottawa… a third-round pick and veteran defenseman Nick Jensen. For an asking price that was once two first round draft picks, this seems to be a steal of a deal for a Capitals team that has been loading up this offseason.
To be fair, Chychrun does have a 10-team no trade clause, which Winnipeg may be on, but this is a huge missed opportunity for the Jets as Chychrun would have stepped into the lineup as the second-best blueliner.
Brett Pesce - 6 Years x $5,500,000 (AAV) New Jersey Devils
Sean Walker - 5 Years x $3,600,000 (AAV) Carolina Hurricanes
Shayne Gostisbehere - 3 Years x $3,200,000 (AAV) Carolina Hurricanes
All the biggest misses for Winnipeg on Day 1 were not signing top-caliber blueliners. With $8,661,309 left in cap space, the Jets could have improved their back end by signing not only one, but two of these high value D-men.
Brett Pesce and Sean Walker have to be some of the biggest misses of the day by Cheveldeyoff. Both signed team-friendly deals with their respective clubs and would automatically inject consistent and solid defense into a thin Winnipeg blueline.
As for Gostisbehere, he wasn't a “must have.” He provides a lot more offense than defence, which would still be a nice addition and help take off some of the offensive burden put on Josh Morrissey.
Brady Skjei - 7 Years x $7,000,000 (AAV) Nashville Predators
Chris Tanev - 6 Years x $4,500,000 (AAV) Toronto Maple Leafs
Two other big-name defenders the Jets missed out on were Skjei and Tanev. It is a different case for Tanev, as Toronto traded a third-round pick for Tanev’s signing rights and locked him up before he could hit the open market.
Tanev is a defenceman every team needs. One of the premier defensive defensemen in the entire NHL, he puts his body on the line to win his team games. Playing through grieving injuries come playoff time, he's shown dedication and the will to win, something the Jets need on their blueline.
As for Skjei, the Jets may have made the right decision by holding off on giving him $49 million over seven years. He is a great defenseman on both sides of the puck and will help a now loaded Predators team turn into contenders in the Western Conference. But at 30 years old, that kind of term is what would have scared some teams off.
There aren't many blueliners left on the open market that will help improve the Jets' D-corps, so it seems the Jets are going to need to upgrade the back end via trade or youthful promotion. Winnipeg has some young guns knocking on the door such as Ville Heinola and Elias Salomonsson, but relying too heavily on these young players may hurt the Jets more than it will help.
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