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From a longer article in The Athletic (Murat Ates), emphasis added:
Will the Jets make a trade?
Winnipeg’s 10-4-1 record is the key stat here, implying that the Jets can win even without Ehlers in the lineup. But now Winnipeg knows he’s out long-term, and the team has lost Appleton and Morgan Barron to injuries, so the Jets’ challenge has grown.
The obvious answer appears to be to trade one of Winnipeg’s many defensemen for help up front. Prospect Ville Heinola has been called up after catching fire again in Manitoba but has yet to play, suggesting Winnipeg sees itself as deep on defense even with Logan Stanley injured and Dylan DeMelo battling a new, minor upper-body injury.
My guess is that Winnipeg takes a wait-and-see approach to the situation. The Jets’ record is terrific and most of it has been earned without Ehlers on board. Thus, the incentive for Cheveldayoff to trade a veteran defenseman away from a potentially playoff-bound team may be low. Maybe that changes if the forwards falter and the defense gets healthy but Cheveldayoff made it all the way through his offseason without clearing his logjam of defensemen, and that was before the Jets roared out to their 10-4-1 start. – Ates