Next, let’s tackle what happens if Byfuglien retires but Winnipeg can sign Connor and Laine? It would take a Vezina season from Connor Hellebuyck, a Morrissey-esque season from Pionk, a Trouba-esque season from Poolman and one heck of a resurgence from Little. Could this version find a way to squeak out enough wins to get across the playoff line? In a word, no. This is as bad as it gets.įor context, Winnipeg’s projected 83 points would have ranked the Jets approximately 21st in the NHL last season. And yet, due to Winnipeg’s incredible forward depth, these Jets aren’t even bad enough to get great odds at a top pick in the 2020 Draft. This is not even close to a playoff team. Doomsday scenario 1: The worst of worst cases Let’s start with the worst it could get: Laine signs a contract with SC Bern, Connor signs an offer sheet and Byfuglien retires. to see if he could build a doomsday season preview for this version of the Jets? Recall that his original Jets preview featured all of Byfuglien, Laine and Connor and projected Winnipeg to be a playoff bubble team. To get a sense of just how terrifying, I reached out to resident chart whiz Dom Luszczyszyn - author of the NHL-wide season previews. That’s just an editorial opinion of course. The fourth line is a throwback to the era before Winnipeg’s superlative forward depth - it’s more full of role players than the overpowered likes of Perreault and Roslovic.Īnd of course, the defence is terrifying. Mathieu Perreault returns to a top-six forward role with Bryan Little and Jack Roslovic, while Andrew Copp, Adam Lowry and a promoted Mason Appleton are made to take on the tough assignments. In this scenario, Nik Ehlers gets promoted to the top line where he had success with twin towers Wheeler and Mark Scheifele. The following 22-man roster has a cap hit of $60.4 million: If Byfuglien retires - and if Winnipeg opens the season without Laine and Connor - the Jets would just squeak over the $60.2 million salary cap floor. There wouldn’t be any “cap recapture” cost. If Byfuglien does retire, his $7.6-million cap hit this season and next would simply be wiped clean from the books. If the NHL accepted Winnipeg’s petition not to have Byfuglien’s cap hit count while he made his decision, the Jets would come out ahead in terms of cap space - there’s no way Anthony Bitetto, as one example of a replacement, would cost nearly the same as Byfuglien’s $7.6-million cap hit.ģ. The suspension would be more about paperwork than discipline, of course - the goal would be to create a more ideal medium-term solution than “active, non-roster” status. According to TSN’s Frank Seravalli, Winnipeg could suspend Byfuglien and apply to the NHL for his cap hit not to apply while he was away from the team. It would buy a little bit of time for Byfuglien to come to his decision but would be less and less ideal as time went by.Ģ. In Byfuglien’s case, this would only be a short term solution - Byfuglien’s cap hit plus the cap hit of whichever defenceman took his spot would eat up some of Winnipeg’s available cap space each day. He has every right to take the time necessary to make a decision this foundational to find peace in his life. As such, there are ways to weaponize even worst-case scenarios.įinally, my position on Byfuglien’s personal leave is simply that I wish him and his family all of the best. All three of Byfuglien, Laine and Connor carry - or are projected to carry - large cap hits.The moment Blake Wheeler finds Laine for his first one-timer goal of the season, you can bet the three of them will hug in the offensive zone to celebrate it whether Byfuglien is there or not. Laine and Connor are still high-end scorers. Byfuglien could return to the Jets in a heartbeat.It is not an assertion that the sky is falling. This article is 100 percent about the worst-case scenarios in Winnipeg this season.Mark your calendars!īefore we continue, I want to make a few points abundantly clear. This is tragic approaching comedic approaching “I can’t believe this is happening” approaching. Laine’s words to Iltalehti may not have been as unreasonable as first reported but they continue to draw all kinds of ire. To make matters worse, Byfuglien’s pondering takes place with Laine and Connor on the sidelines due to ongoing contract negotiations. If Byfuglien retires, the impact will be massive. Winnipeg’s blue line has already suffered a big loss. Still, Byfuglien is an even better player than Jacob Trouba is and, by most metrics, Trouba is a top-pairing defenceman. There are strong analytical cases to be made in that regard. Argue that the losses of Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot can be absorbed by Niku, Neal Pionk and Tucker Poolman all you like.
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