Team: 2018-19 Winnipeg Jets

Initial Creation Date: Jun. 5, 2018

Published: Jun. 5, 2018

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Buff's value will never be higher then after the playoff run/season he had. EDM is dying for a top pairing RHD who can quarterback the PP. Every trade scenario I've seen (and admittedly done) involved Myers but what about Buff? He's a Chiarelli type guy, has experience, a cup, and has played lights out. He's miles and away better than Myers and has 3 years of term left.
Puljujarvi's value has never been lower and he needs a change of scenery it would seem before he ends up as the next Yakapov. Where else to flourish then where a bunch of other young finnish stars reside? The 1st at 10 OA is used to select a RHD who can hopefully be ready in 2-3 years time to step in. Jets do have options with Samberg and Green potentially coming up in the system but need another high end RHD prospect.
Third line is young, but with the right shletering and their skill set could be very dangerous against weaker opponents especially when other teams have to match the Ehlers-Tavares-Laine line followed up by Connor-Scheif-Wheeler.

The d-core admittedly looks thin, but Poolman and Niku showed very well last year when given a shot and if Vegas has proven anything this year it's that sometimes players need to be given a shot. Not to mention the ridiculous talent up front will likely be able to drive play well.

Future forecast:
Wheeler, Connor, Puljujarvi, and Laine all need raises next year. Puljujarvi won't be expensive and likely gets a bridge due to his lack luster start to his career. Connor falls around 5.5M-6M on term, and Laine is going to get anywhere from 8.5-10 depending on when he signs (before the year likely lower especially if playing with Tavares all year).
Wheeler is the enigma. He'll be 34 at the end of the contract and likely can't be re-signed unless he takes a discount but that will be the cost of doing business as WPG is deep at the wing and can sustain his loss especially with Tavares-Scheif down the middle for the next 7 years. That said, there's 6.5M in cap space (currently reserved for bonuses), 5.5M coming off the books from Myers, 500K coming off from Stuarts buy out, and likely another 2-5M CAP increase in general totaling anywhere from 14.5-18.5M available next year for raises. That makes a Laine, Conno, and Wheeler extensions possible by moving Perrault whos a luxury on the 4th line at this point, or Kulikov off the 3rd pairing, while keeping the top 9 intact.

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