The Winnipeg Jets are reuniting with Paul Stastny as the team has acquired the veteran centre in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights.
In exchange for Stastny, the Jets are sending defenceman Carl Dahlstrom and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft to Vegas.
#NHLJets have acquired forward Paul Stastny from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for defenceman Carl Dahlstrom and a conditional fourth-round draft pick in the 2022 #NHLDraft.
DETAILS https://t.co/7OdokMXg81 pic.twitter.com/h0rB0KsLWZ— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) October 9, 2020
Stastny, 34, is entering the final year of a three-year, $19.5-million contract. He signed that contract with the Golden Knights as a free agent in 2018 after walking from the Jets. Winnipeg originally acquired him from the St. Louis Blues at the trade deadline in 2017-18 and he helped the team reach the Western Conference Final that year.
The Jets originally added Stastny back in 2018 to fill a need at second-line centre and that need remains more than two years later. The Jets have had Kevin Hayes, Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler all play in that role behind Mark Scheifele but with Little unlikely to play again with a serious head injury, the Jets clearly felt a reunion with Stastny was necessary.
From a Golden Knights perspective, shedding Stastny's contract helps clear some space under a crowded salary cap. Before the trade, the Golden Knights were more than $2 million over the $81.5-million salary cap after signing Robin Lehner and Chandler Stephenson to extensions.
