Keeping Stastny on board won’t be simple for Jets
‘Every door is open’ for veteran centre who will be a free agent soon, writes Ken Wiebe.
The emotion of seeing another NHL season come to a crashing halt and falling short of the ultimate goal was fresh, yet Paul Stastny found a way to exhibit the calm that has been prevalent since his arrival.
The veteran centre had spent nearly seven minutes discussing how close the Winnipeg Jets had come to reaching the Stanley Cup final, only to fall three wins short as they were eliminated in five games by the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday.
As has become customary, the answers were thoughtful.
Stastny is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. He made it clear he had no regrets about waiving his no-trade clause to come to Winnipeg from St. Louis in what was clearly the most impactful deadline deal made this season.
“Every door is open,” said Stastny, who had four goals and 13 points in 19 games with the Jets after the trade and added six goals and 15 points in 17 playoff tilts. “I never look that far down the road, because in the past I’ve done that. You think something is going to happen. It doesn’t. There is always a possibility. I have no regrets. Probably the best decision I ever made was this one. It made the game that much more fun again.”
Stastny, 32, also has a firm grasp of the situation at hand, knowing full well Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff and assistant GM Larry Simmons have a lengthy list of contracts that require attention.
With that in mind, would Stastny consider signing with the Jets prior to testing the open market?
“We all know there are a lot of players who need to be signed here. There’s not just one person,” said Stastny. “When you have success like this, a lot of guys need to get rewarded. And you’ve got to take care of those young guys first. Those guys really earned it. We’ll talk with (Cheveldayoff ) down the road.”
The list of those players looking for new deals includes goalie Connor Hellebuyck, defencemen Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey and forward Adam Lowry.
Stastny ended up being a perfect fit with the Jets, a prototypical low-maintenance player who made big contributions on and off the ice.
The slick centre clicked immediately with Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers and if Stastny chooses to stick around, the prospect of playing on a unit with those skilled wingers will certainly play a pivotal role.
And for Stastny to remain, he would be reinforcing his belief the Jets can be a Stanley Cup contender next season, since he just reached the conference final for the second time in his 12-year career.
“When you play against (Stastny), you know he’s a really good player and a tough guy to play against,” Jets captain Blake Wheeler said during the playoffs. “But when you’re around him every day in practice, coaching him in a game, you really appreciate how great of a player he is, how smart he is, the little things he does that maybe go unnoticed if you just see him one night out of a lot of games.
“So I know for a fact that everyone that’s been around him has been blown away by how he is in the room, what type of person he is and, on top of that, he’s a great player for us.”
The biggest issue for Stastny is that the Jets won’t be able to offer the longer-term security that other teams can, and he would be taking an obvious risk in taking a shorter-term deal; for the sake of argument, a one- or two-year contract worth US$5 million per season.
He would also be banking on himself, figuring that a full season alongside Laine and Ehlers could lead to a 70-plus point campaign, which would help his bargaining position the next time he becomes a free agent.
Generally speaking, it’s not the type of thing that happens. Players often prefer to maximize their dollars and term, which is completely understandable.
Stastny was a target of the Jets the last time he was an unrestricted free agent, but he ended up signing with his hometown team, the St. Louis Blues, on a four-year deal worth $28 million.
There is no doubt signing Stastny is going to be a challenge that require sacrifices being made on both sides.
Having said that, there’s interest on both sides, so expect all avenues to be explored before either party steps away from the negotiating table or closes the door on a potential return.