Winnipeg Jets General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff is clearly having a great week.
It began with selecting Saginaw Center Cole Perfetti with the 10th overall pick in the NHL entry draft on Tuesday night. Observers believe Perfetti will emerge as one of the best players of the 2020 draft class.
It continued with the signing of pending UFA defenceman Dylan DeMelo to a four-year contract for $12 million. That will very likely reunite DeMelo with Josh Morrissey on the team’s No. 1 defence pairing.
And speaking of reunions, Cheveldayoff completed a trade ahead of the start of Free Agency to bring back Paul Stastny, who was such a big part of the Jets 2018 playoff run.
Stastny comes back to Winnipeg in exchange for defenceman Carl Dahlstrom and a conditional fourth-round draft pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. The condition is that Stastny plays in a minimum five games during the 2020-21 season. This protects the Jets from losing the pick if, because of the pandemic, there is no season.
The Golden Knights needed to shed Stastny’s US$6.5 million salary to position themselves for taking a serious run at Alex Pietrangelo, when the St. Louis captain hit the open market at 11 a.m. CT this morning.
“When I heard the Jets were a possibility, it got us excited a little bit,” Stastny told 680 CJOB.
“There was always something special about Winnipeg for myself and my family. It’s always been a good fit, so I’m excited to be back.”
Stastny was first acquired by Winnipeg from St. Louis at the trade deadline of the 2017-18 season and went on to score four goals and total 13 points in 19 games.
He would follow that up with six goals and 9 assists for 15 points in 17 playoff games, playing primarily on a line with Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers.
The Jets are probably counting on the chemistry that was so evident during that playoff run to be re-ignited when the puck eventually drops for the 2020-21 season.
“That was a couple of years ago — those guys have gotten better… it’s not up to me. It’s up to the coaches,” said Stastny.
“You just hope whoever you’re playing with, you have good chemistry. There’s a lot of good, smart players on that team.
“As a centreman, that’s what excites me the most — being able to play with top-notch players like that.”