Former Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler is set to part ways with his team this summer, and on TSN’s Insider Trading program Pierre LeBrun put that quite succinctly, stating Wheeler “will not be playing for the Jets next season.” But where the two-time All-Star will end up playing next season remains a mystery, as is what exact method will be used to finalize his exit from the Jets. LeBrun reports that Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and Wheeler’s representation are working collaboratively to find a solution for Wheeler, and potential outcomes include not only a trade or a traditional buyout, but also a combination of both wherein Wheeler is traded to another club and then bought out by his new team.
The Jets have gone down that route with players in the past, such as in 2018 when they sent Joel Armia and draft picks to the Montreal Canadiens so Montreal would buy out the contract of netminder Steve Mason. A Wheeler buyout would cost a team $2.75MM against the cap for the next two seasons, and with the buyout deadline looming next Friday the Jets will need to either come to terms on a Wheeler trade with another club or figure out whether they or another club will be on the hook for Wheeler’s buyout.
Some other notes from across the NHL:
- It has long been expected that Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal’s pending unrestricted free agency was more of a formality than anything else, and that the 34-year-old center would end up re-signing with the franchise he’s been with since the 2012 offseason. But according to TSN’s Darren Dreger on Insider Trading, that may no longer be the case. Dreger reports that Staal’s camp “has supplied” the Hurricanes “with a number of options” on a new deal but that their negotiations are “at an impasse,” and that owner Tom Dundon will need “to move from his position” in order to re-sign his captain. Dreger adds that if that doesn’t happen, we “absolutely could see” Staal “as a free agent on July 1st.” That would be a decently shocking outcome for Staal and the Hurricanes, though it now seems like a once-remote possibility Hurricanes fans may need to begin preparing for.
- A player that is looking like he’ll hit the free agent market at the start of the new league year is Toronto Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting. TSN’s Chris Johnston reported on Insider Trading that while Bunting “would love to remain” in Toronto there “have been no substantive negotiations” on a contract extension. Johnston adds that Bunting is “likely headed to the marketplace” where he could receive contract offers that exceed what the Maple Leafs are in a position to offer. Bunting, who will turn 28 in September, scored 23 goals and 49 points last season and established himself as a legitimate NHL scoring option in his time with Toronto.
- While the Vancouver Canucks made the decision not to pay Oliver Ekman-Larsson to play for them moving forward, it seems other teams on the open market will be more than happy to add the 902-game veteran to their lineup. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports on Insider Trading that Ekman-Larsson’s next contract “could be one year or as many as four years” in term, and won’t come at a bargain-bin rate simply because Ekman-Larsson is already owed money from Vancouver. Dreger adds that Ekman-Larsson would like to sign with a contending team, and he could be eyeing a trip to the free agent market similar to Ryan Suter’s in 2021, when Suter landed a four-year $3.65MM AAV deal from the Dallas Stars.
I’ve really only been paying close attention to hockey again for about the last three years, and I just can’t make sense of much of what Vancouver does. Is there some intelligent underlying structure that I’m missing or does it really just not make sense?
Vancouver is the Colorado Rockies of hockey. You never want to be the Colorado Rockies.
New Jersey is the Colorado Rockies of hockey
A place where no one wants to play.
Kinda like winterpeg
Aquilini is a stupid, meddling owner.
I think a good fit for Bunting is Siberia
I honestly thought that after this past season that all three Staals would retire together.
They will. They’re just Staaling.
Well done.
Go ahead and pay OEL anything at or near 3mil. Heck have a bidding war.
He’s so so bad. Canucks got better when he got hurt. Like a lot better.
Send Bunting to Boston, they seem to love violent dummies that can score.
Whatever team exercises sketchy judgement to sign Bunting will almost be guaranteed to be shorthanded an extra 25+ times. The stripes may even try and jam him with 5 and a game for a self-inflicted high stick to his own mug.
Carolina owner has no loyalty to players. He is like Foley in vegas winning is most important thing. I respect their honesty . They run teams like a other businesses in corporate america.
I agree it seems the Hurricanes have a rather special way to treat their players. But I don’t think a Vegas comparison is fair. Vegas seems to go for ‘best talent available’ while the Hurricanes are just very reluctant to pay market value (or above) to any player.
I get that Staal is a fan/locker room favorite/second coach, etc.
But the reality is he’s a 35-year old forward that hasn’t hit the 40 pt mark since 2017-18.
Buyout Wheeler? That makes no sense. The guy is not yet washed up, his contract just has one more year to toll, and it’s not as if Winnipeg’s going to contend this year. If the Jets are bound and determined to be rid of him, and Wheeler’s bound and determined to be gone, deal him with 50% salary retention — SOMEone will want him at $4 MM, especially if it only costs them a mid-round pick. Try one of those teams with (a) lots of cap space, (b) a need to get to the floor, and (c) a basket of picks.