Quote:
Originally Posted by JHikka
Most Winnipeg defense contracts are up this summer (Trouba, Myers, Beaulieu, Chiarot, Kiselevich, Morrow). Byfuglien is on 7.6M until 20/21, Morrissey and Kulikov are up next year. Either signing defensemen or getting younger prospects into the lineup is going to determine whether or not the team can compete in future years.
Laine and Connor are RFA this summer. Hayes and Tanev UFA.....oh, and Wheeler's salary bumps up from 5.6M this year to 8.25M next year.
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Trouba is as good as gone I think. Chevy could use him as an own rental for next year, but it is extremely unlikely he will sign long term...wants to go to the USA. My guess is they trade him for a blue chip prospect and pick(s) or maybe a top-4 d-man with a year or 2 remaining on a current deal with a pick/prospect to make up the difference as Trouba is a top-pairing d-man.
How things develop over the off-season with Trouba will probably determine what happens with the defencemen. Myers may or may not be signed. I don't think he is a 2nd pairing d-man unless he has a great partner...not to great in his own zone. I think he only deserves around $3.5, maybe $ million AAV on a 3-year contract, but I suspect some team out there will offer 5 years at $5 million AAV.
Kiselevich was a rental who was never put in the lineup for reasons only known to Maurice.
Morrow is no more then a #7 or #8 d-man as far as I'm concerned so I hope he is not back.
Chariot and Beaulieu may be back. Chariot played on the second pair with Buff and he was OK and showed some improvement over the season. He is really only a #6 d-man though given his talent. I think a short term contract would be appropriate - 2 years at $2-2.5 AAV. He might end up receiving more though. Same thing for Beaulieu.
I'm looking forward to seeing Niku as a full-time player next year. Good skater and good passer who I see as a top-4 d-man soon. He has to work on his d-zone play which is why we didn't see him in the lineup much down the final stretch of the season. I guess Maurice likes inferior players who have no offensive upside and might be marginally better defensively in Chariot. Hopefully this is rectified for next year.
The other d-man I'm really excited about is Dylan Samberg who has played in NCAA the past few years. Commentators and scouts alike rave about his passing and defensive abilities...great gap control..calm and efficient with the puck. They seem convinced he will be a top-4 d-man in the NHL very soon. I hope he is playing with the Moose next year and if he is as good as I am hearing, it's likely he will be on the jets in 2020-21.
I doubt hayes is back. For some games Maurice decided it would be great if he only played 10 -12 minutes
Why would he want to come back and put up with such poor allocation of icetime? He will probably receive somewhere in the neighbourhood of $6.5 million AAV. Hard to fit into the budget. Tanev might be back, but I think he is a little over-rated for what he is likely to receive. Something around $2 - $2.5 million AAV would be reasonable. Another team might offer $3 million with 3 or more years. 50/50 that he returns.
It's possible Laine might be bridged. $6-6.5 million would be my guess. Or he signs a long term deal either similar to Matthews (5 years but at an AAV of $8 - $8.5 million) or 8 years around a similar AAV.
I think Connor signs for approx. $6.5 - $7 million AAV long term.
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