Report: Jets to make panic move

This is not what they had planned for…

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HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
Report: Jets to make panic move
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The Winnipeg Jets know there will be many roster turnovers this offseason, especially with pending RFAs Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor, but one of them appears to have taken place and we don’t know what to make of it. 

According to Hockey blog Dans les Coulisses in Montreal, the Jets have reportedly decided to change their minds about defenseman Nathan Beaulieu, keeping in on board for next season. 


On Tuesday, the Jets opted against tendering a qualifying offer to  the 26-year-old defenseman, meaning he’ll be an unrestricted free agent come July 1.

However, DLC reveals that a source close to Beaulieu’s agent believes the blue liner will return to Winnipeg for 2019-20. 

The Jets could be making a panic move seeing that they traded Jacob Trouba to the New York Rangers earlier this month. On top of that, Tyler Myers is a UFA for the first time in his career and has already met with other teams, including the Vancouver Canucks. Myers is said to be seeking up to $8 million per season, the Jets will not pay that amount to retain his services. 

That’s the other thing: the Jets are cap-strapped and this could explain why they finally decided to keep Beaulieu in their plans. 

The fact that the Jets have decline to tender him a qualifying offer does not mean Beaulieu won’t return. The Jets have decided against guaranteeing Beaulieu’s salary — $2.4 million for next season. Re-signing Beaulieu to a team-friendly one or two-year deal, for a price point of $1.5 million per season or less could make sense. 

However, we all know how much Beaulieu has struggled on the ice since coming into the NHL. He is known for making mistakes and costly turnovers and it seems too soon to tell if he is a fit in Winnipeg. In 18 games with the Jets after he was traded from the Buffalo Sabres, he collected just five assists and did not play during the playoff stretch. 

Panic move or cost-effective decision? I guess we will find out more in the coming days…