We’re a month removed from the 2023 NHL Entry Draft in Nashville and nearly a month removed from free agency. The Winnipeg Jets have had their highs and lows when it comes to moving talent and bringing in other talent. From trading Pierre-Luc Dubois to settling with two restricted free agents in arbitration cases, let’s take a look at the Winnipeg Jets’ offseason in July.
Winnipeg Jets 2023 Prospect Development Camp
The Winnipeg Jets held their yearly prospect development camp at the start of July, and it brought some major excitement to future Jets players Colby Barlow and Rutger McGroarty. Both Barlow and McGroarty provided some fun for this camp, interacting as much as possible with fans and showing there’s hope for the future in Winnipeg.
Related: Top-10 Winnipeg Jets Prospects
Thomas Milic, drafted in the fifth round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft was also a star in net during the camp and followed the lead of Barlow and McGroarty.
Related: Meet the Newest Winnipeg Jets
Jets fans went home from this camp happy as many of the prospects were highly interactive. This also goes without saying, Kevin Cheveldayoff has done some tidy work when it comes to the prospect pool that the Winnipeg Jets have assembled.
Free Agency – Brossoit Comes Home
Nothing beats chanting “You’re a backup” to the goaltender that knocks you out of the first round in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Well, as Laurent Brossoit said, it’s water under the bridge. Though, Brossoit was integral to the Vegas Golden Knights winning the 2023 Stanley Cup Championship.
Related: Laurent Brossoit Stats
Kevin Cheveldayoff wasn’t too busy on the opening day of free agency, although Twitter decided to break which had many insiders go slightly crazy. Though, the app worked enough and news was able to be broken, even when the app wouldn’t cooperate.
Cheveldayoff would sign Collin Delia, re-sign Vladislav Namestnikov, and Dylan Samberg, trade Leon Gawanke to San Jose and then buy out Blake Wheeler before he sat quietly. However, Cheveldayoff has certainly made tidy work throughout the entire offseason, especially with cap limitations and players potentially leaving when they become unrestricted free agents.
Down To The Wire – What’s Up With Scheifele & Hellebuyck
While it is certainly speculation up until this point, the Winnipeg Jets need to know what they’re doing with longtime center Mark Scheifele and franchise goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. Hellebucyk went from starting the offseason with the “I’m running out of time to win a Stanley Cup” narrative.
Related: Connor Hellebuyck Stats
Hellebucyk (or his agent) have not publicly said that the Winnipeg Jets aren’t out of consideration for the remainder of Hellebuyck’s career. However, Hellebucyk wants a reported $9.5 million average annual value on his next contract, purely speculation, but that ask might have to come down if he wants to be traded.
Scheifele, well, I don’t know where to start on this one. Scheifele has been really quiet, and his camp has been even quieter. There is the possibility that Kevin Cheveldayoff keeps his cards to himself and moves Scheifele when it is the best possible return, or he is kept as an internal rental.
Related: Mark Scheifele Stats
This leads to starting the season on fire and the risk of losing talent for nothing has never scared Kevin Cheveldayoff, take a look at the offseason where he lost his entire defence core. It will be an interesting August as the Jets shift gears toward training camp. For now, the offseason is still in effect and there could be more up Kevin Cheveldayoff’s sleeves.
