On Saturday afternoon, the Winnipeg jets announced they made a trade with the Nashville Predators to acquire forward Nino Neiderreiter.
In return for Neiderreiter, Winnipeg agreed to send Nashville their 2024 second-round pick.
Neiderreiter, 30, is in the first year of a two-year contract with a $4 million AAV. With a history of preferring term over rental, Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff found just that in Neiderreiter at a very reasonable cost.
A reliable middle-6 forward, Neiderreiter should provide much-needed secondary scoring for a Jets team struggling to find consistency lately. With the news earlier this week that rookie Cole Perfetti would miss at least eight weeks, the newly acquired Neiderreiter should get an immediate chance to step into one of the Jet’s top-2 lines right off the start with Winnipeg.
Often having trouble attracting free agents during the summer signing period. Adding Niederreiter with an extra year remaining on his contract without trading away any prospects or players on their current NHL roster allows the Jets to seek cost-effective salaries with terms or players willing to sign extensions ahead of the NHL trade deadline next week.
In 56 games in 2022/23 with the Nashville Predators, Niederreiter, a former fifth overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders, has 28 points (18 goals and ten assists).
Winnipeg is in second place in the NHL Western Conference Central Division at the time of the trade. Winnipeg has 71 points, one behind division-leading Dallas Stars, with 72 points. With the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche making a push behind Winnipeg of late, expect Cheveldayoff to continue searching for help before the March 3 #NHLTradeDeadline. Falling out of the playoffs isn’t an option for the Jets.
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