JETS CAN'T AFFORD TO LOSE STEADY DEFENDER TO KRAKEN
Demelo hard to replace on defence corps that's already wafer thin on the right side
We now know the Winnipeg Jets have chosen to protect promising second-year blue-liner Logan Stanley over steady veteran defenceman Dylan Demelo for Wednesday's Seattle Kraken expansion draft.
That certainly doesn't mean the Jets would be happy to see Demelo go.
Demelo, 28, is far from flashy, but he's a very dependable right-shot defenceman who gets good reviews from the analytics crowd and is employed on a team-friendly, Us$3-milliona-year contract for three more years.
He's also a player with a conscience, who speaks his mind on many important non-hockey subjects, and he's a man with a family who chose to sign a four-year contract and stay in Winnipeg.
He would play a big role with the Jets, and in the community, if he sticks around.
Of course, that's no longer in the hands of the Jets, unless general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff can make some kind of deal to get Seattle GM Ron Francis to stay away from Demelo.
That wouldn't make a lot of sense, though, because there's a good chance Seattle would prefer to take winger Mason Appleton anyway. Appleton produced 12 goals and 25 points in 56 games last year and is an attractive 25-year-old player for a Kraken team building a roster for their first season.
But losing Demelo would be more costly for the Jets, who are very thin on the right side of their blue-line. Once a major strength, when they had Dustin Byfuglien, Jacob Trouba and Tyler Myers, the Jets have only one right-shooting, Nhl-ready defenceman under contract for next season at this point, and that's Demelo.
Neal Pionk, who was protected for the expansion draft, is a restricted free agent who is expected to re-sign, and Tucker Poolman is an unrestricted free agent.
Also protected were left-shooting defencemen Josh Morrissey, and Stanley. The Jets' top defence prospects — Ville Heinola and Dylan Samberg — are also left shots, as are hangers-on Sami Niku and Nathan Beaulieu. Even veterans Derek Forbort and Jordie Benn, both unrestricted free agents who may or may not be back, are left shots.
If the Jets lose Demelo, there will be an even greater onus on Cheveldayoff to improve that right side through free agency, which opens July 28.
We've seen in the past that it's a tall order. Cheveldayoff hasn't been able to entice any top-end defencemen to Winnipeg in past forays into free agency and it won't be easy this time.
He needed to improve the defence last off-season and didn't get the job done. In the end, it was the team's weakest position, and it cost them during the season and eventually in their playoff loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
Even if Seattle doesn't take Demelo — there are a lot of good options for the expansion team on defence — Cheveldayoff is going to have to target a big, minute-eating defenceman to patrol the right side of the Jets' blue-line in free agency.
If Demelo is gone, the GM may well have to target two right-shooting defencemen in order to improve the Jets on paper.
Appleton has been a serviceable player for the Jets who has gotten better every year. He played a strong role on the Jets' checking line, alongside Adam Lowry and Andrew Copp, for most of last season, and saw time on the power play and penalty kill. He may well turn out to be a solid player for the Kraken and the Jets will miss him, but his loss will be easier to swallow than losing Demelo.
Of course, it's not inconceivable that the Jets will figure out a way to keep both players.
When the Vegas Golden Knights joined the NHL in 2018, Cheveldayoff traded the 13th overall pick in the NHL draft for the 24th overall pick in order to keep unprotected defenceman Toby Enstrom.
The Golden Knights then wasted their Winnipeg expansion draft pick on unrestricted free agent Chris Thorburn, who signed with another team.
The Jets have the 18th overall pick this year, but it would be foolish to part with it. The Jets need to start restocking a prospect pool that's been growing thinner in recent years.
It's possible the Jets could package a lower pick and a player like Niku, who has good potential and offensive upside but has been unable to earn regular playing time in Winnipeg, to get the Kraken to lay off certain players.
All that will play out Wednesday night, when Seattle picks one player each from 30 teams (Vegas is exempt) and then tries to build a roster that will rival the elite group put together by the Golden Knights' management team in 2018.
Which player they get from the Jets isn't going to make or break their future, but it certainly could put a crimp in Winnipeg's plans.
Especially if it's Demelo.
If the Jets lose Demelo, there will be an even greater onus on Cheveldayoff to improve that right side through free agency.