Post by Winnipeg Jets on Sept 4, 2024 13:41:04 GMT -6
The Winnipeg Jets have had an offseason to remember.
What seems like ages ago was the dismal way in which the Jets limped to the end of the 2023-24 regular season. New GM Thomas Gidlow did what he could coming in late in the season, jettisoning anything of value and gathering assets for a later day.
That day seemed to come quicker than most people anticipated.
The Entry Draft saw Winnipeg make an astounding 23 draft selections. The highlights were three NHL first-round picks in Yegor Surin, Matvei Gridin, and Ben Danford. They also selected four NHL second-rounders in Jess Pulkkinen, Jack Berglund, Harrison Brunicke, and Nathan Villeneuve. That adds to an already stacked prospect cupboard led by Conor Geekie, Rutger McGroarty, Marco Kasper, Zach Bolduc, Niklas Kokko, and Nikita Chibrikov.
Since the Draft, Winnipeg has continued to overhaul and stockpile. The new acquisitions are numerous, including actual useful players (something the Jets aren't used to) in Matt Duchene, Mikael Granlund, Mattias Ekholm, Sean Walker, Trevor van Riemsdyk, and Juuse Saros.
They also landed young star defenseman Quinn Hughes. And that was before free agency. Gidlow went out and nabbed the prize of the 2024 UFA class in Dougie Hamilton, and also snagged Charlie Coyle and Thomas Greiss.
All of a sudden, Winnipeg looks like an actual hockey team. There's only one small problem - it's left them about $3.3 million over the cap as of this article's posting.
Things have greatly quieted down in the weeks since, but with pre-season on the horizon, Gidlow will have to make a move or two still in order to bring this club under the cap. It remains to be seen if the Jets will transform into a cap-ceiling team just one offseason removed from a 27th overall finish in the PFHL.
But one thing is certain - it's going to be memorable.
What seems like ages ago was the dismal way in which the Jets limped to the end of the 2023-24 regular season. New GM Thomas Gidlow did what he could coming in late in the season, jettisoning anything of value and gathering assets for a later day.
That day seemed to come quicker than most people anticipated.
The Entry Draft saw Winnipeg make an astounding 23 draft selections. The highlights were three NHL first-round picks in Yegor Surin, Matvei Gridin, and Ben Danford. They also selected four NHL second-rounders in Jess Pulkkinen, Jack Berglund, Harrison Brunicke, and Nathan Villeneuve. That adds to an already stacked prospect cupboard led by Conor Geekie, Rutger McGroarty, Marco Kasper, Zach Bolduc, Niklas Kokko, and Nikita Chibrikov.
Since the Draft, Winnipeg has continued to overhaul and stockpile. The new acquisitions are numerous, including actual useful players (something the Jets aren't used to) in Matt Duchene, Mikael Granlund, Mattias Ekholm, Sean Walker, Trevor van Riemsdyk, and Juuse Saros.
They also landed young star defenseman Quinn Hughes. And that was before free agency. Gidlow went out and nabbed the prize of the 2024 UFA class in Dougie Hamilton, and also snagged Charlie Coyle and Thomas Greiss.
All of a sudden, Winnipeg looks like an actual hockey team. There's only one small problem - it's left them about $3.3 million over the cap as of this article's posting.
Things have greatly quieted down in the weeks since, but with pre-season on the horizon, Gidlow will have to make a move or two still in order to bring this club under the cap. It remains to be seen if the Jets will transform into a cap-ceiling team just one offseason removed from a 27th overall finish in the PFHL.
But one thing is certain - it's going to be memorable.
