Hockey insiders are praising Kevin Cheveldayoff
Photo credit: Sports Press
The Winnipeg Jets off-season has caused lots of fan discontent the past few days.
The Winnipeg Jets accounted for just $5.65 million of that total, signing goaltenders Eric Comrie, Kaapo Kahkonen, and re-signing defenceman Colin Miller.
Many Jets enthusiast seem to be frustrated at the Winnipeg Jets general manager for his low-key approach to free agency so far. The off-season has seen the Jets missing out on key UFA signings in addition to underwhelming trade activity. But is there a reason for all this?
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Sources are saying that the Jets off season has actually been pretty successful thus far. Many fans can get distracted by the high volume of flashy acquisitions around the league, but remaining quiet has historically proven to a wise strategy.
The theme of the day from NHL General Managers seemed to be handing out long-term, medium-to-high average annual value (AAV) contracts and banking on the Salary Cap rising over that time. Winnipeg is not a go-to destination for NHL free agents, and with the amount of money that was being thrown around, the Jets did the right thing by not overpaying for aging veterans.
By doing so, GM Kevin Cheveldayoff dodged bad deals to unpredictable aging UFA's and can now concentrate on finding value with their current remaining players.
Furthermore, the Jets are loaded with talented prospects within their farm system. With open gaps in their roster, there is a prime opportunity to have those holes filled with home grown prospects. Sources are prasing Cheveldayoff's low-key approach to the off season so far.
The Jets going with younger and cheaper options is far from a bad plan of action. If they had offered up long-term money, then a handful of these prospects wouldn't have a chance to compete for a spot for another couple of seasons. This gives them the flexibility to be a younger, faster, cheaper team all while keeping their main core pieces in place.
| POLL | ||
3 JUILLET | 224 ANSWERS Hockey insiders are praising Kevin Cheveldayoff Is the Winnipeg Jets quiet strategy working? | ||
| Yes | 105 | 46.9 % |
| No | 119 | 53.1 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
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