Now that an agreement has been reached by the Winnipeg Jets with Jonathan Toews on a one-year deal, what could be next on Kevin Cheveldayoff’s to-do list?
Under normal circumstances, Cheveldayoff would be en route to the host city of the NHL entry draft to huddle up with his management inner circle and the organization’s pro and amateur scouting staffs.
But with the decentralized format in play for the 2025 event, which begins with Round 1 Friday at 6 p.m. central time at LA Live’s Peacock Theatre, all meetings with draft picks will be done virtually.
So that gives Cheveldayoff and company at least an extra 10-12 hours of non-commuting time to potentially have a last-minute conversation or two with Nikolaj Ehlers and/or his agent Andre Rufener ahead of the beginning of unrestricted free agency next Tuesday.
And if the situation with Ehlers were to remain status quo, there would be extra time to work the phones and gauge the level of interest in the Jets’ 28th overall pick Friday night in an attempt to bolster Winnipeg’s present roster with a player that falls into the category of “difficult to play against.”
I’m pretty sure Cheveldayoff and the Jets are rarely, if ever, influenced by the actions of the other current Cup contenders, but the last four teams to win it all have placed very little stock recently in the long-term development of first-round draft picks.
Counting Friday night, Florida and Tampa Bay will have each had one first-round pick in total over the last five drafts.
The Vegas Golden Knights have traded away six of the seven players they’ve selected in the first round since joining the NHL in 2017.
The Colorado Avalanche have one first-round pick playing in their organization since taking Cale Makar fourth overall in 2017.
As Tampa Bay GM Julien Brisebois said at the trading deadline this past spring, “I’d rather have a lineup full of good players than a bank of a ton of draft picks.”
Only Cheveldayoff knows if that’s a rationale the Jets might consider adopting for their immediate future.
