Team: 2021-22 Winnipeg Jets

Initial Creation Date: Apr. 10, 2021

Published: Apr. 12, 2021

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

This is the final part of the "Laine Over Matthews" series. The previous parts can be seen here:

2016 Draft: https://www.capfriendly.com/mock-draft/165354
Toronto 2020-21: https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/2325330
Toronto 2021-22: https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/2325468
Winnipeg 2020-21: https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/2325656

Let me preface this by saying that i do understand that this is very unrealistic. This was just a what-if scenario that i didn't expect people to take this seriously.

This is how i would conduct the 2021 offseason for the Winnipeg Jets if Matthews was taken #2.

Move 1: Let Brossoit and Poolman walk
Brossoit is an okay player, but not exactly great. Nor is Poolman. They could likely get better in free agency.

Move 2: Re-sign Neal Pionk to 4 years/3.5M per year
Neal has looked great ever since coming to WPG from the Rangers. Positive +/-, good amount of point scoring, all of that. I wanted to keep him in town a good bit.

Move 3: Sign Jordan Martinook to 4 years/3.5M per year
While this signing does come at the expense of "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA MISTA SVECHNIKOV", it's a deal that needed to be made. Marty can work on the bottom 6 behind AM and Scheifle. Also, he could be some veteran mentorship for his younger linemates, Appleton and Harkins.

Move 4: Sign Jaden Schwartz to 4 years/6.5M per year
We let Perreault walk, since it'd be safe to assume he'd want a lot long term (if Chel has taught me anything, older players want a lot of money long term). Signing someone a few years younger in Schwartz would help with that. Team gets younger, less money spent.

Move 5: Sign Philipp Grubauer to 4 years/3.5M per year
We needed a backup since Brossoit walked. Grubauer seemed to be the best choice, since i didn't want to splurge on anyone like Reimer, Andersen or Raanta.

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