WINNIPEG — This reunion is a welcome one, even if Paul Stastny didn’t have a true say in the matter.
And while there is always a possibility that the sequel isn’t as good as the original, the addition of Stastny by the Winnipeg Jets could also end up working out even better the second time around.
On the opening day of free agency, the Jets made a splash in the trade market, acquiring the veteran centre from the Vegas Golden Knights for defenceman Carl Dahlstrom and a fourth-round pick in 2022.
Stastny originally joined the Jets at the 2018 trade deadline and was a key cog as the team reached the Western Conference Final that year.
This time around, he didn’t have to waive his no-trade clause for the move to happen, not that it would have been a concern.
“They’ve been, I don’t know, not as crazy as they were a couple of years ago,” Stastny said during a conference call with reporters on Friday afternoon, when asked what the 24 hours leading up to the trade were like. “Now, my wife and I always expect something. We were ready for anything and then we kind of heard rumblings, so we figured something would happen. We were hoping that maybe if we did go somewhere, it would be back to the Jets and it came to fruition, those rumours. We’re excited.”
Given the Golden Knights tight cap situation and interest in making a run at coveted free agent defenceman Alex Pietrangelo, some folks were hopeful the Jets might be able to get a draft pick or prospect back in return.
But the Jets’ need at second-line centre ultimately won out over trying to play hardball.
Stastny is two years older than he was when he left the organization as a free agent to sign a three-year pact worth $19.5 million with the Golden Knights. Where some see risk, Stastny sees an opportunity for continued growth while playing in a system he’s familiar with and with several individuals he connected with during his stay.
“I feel like I’m a better player now than I was 10 years ago,” said Stastny, noting he’s made necessary changes on and off the ice, including his training regimen and diet. “That’s also because the game has changed and it’s made me change as a player. I can adapt to a lot of different things. I’ve evolved as a person, not just as a player. I feel comfortable. Age is only a number and when your body feels good, your mind feels good. That’s the most important thing.”
Clearly, Stastny isn’t worried about the race against Father Time. He also quickly dismissed a suggestion that as a player going into the final year of his contract, he would be coming in with additional motivation or something to prove.
“Yeah, but I’m always motivated within myself, right? Sometimes there are different underlying factors I look at. But I keep that to myself, different things that motivate me,” he said. “I’m always trying to get better, always trying to find something to fuel the fire. That’s always there, and the love for the game is always there. So for me it’s just about getting better every day. And when you’re around different guys and with different teams and playing against other guys, you find different factors that help you become a better player.”
He’s also not stewing over being cut loose by the Golden Knights with a year left on his contract after choosing Vegas over Winnipeg in the summer of 2018.
“No, I think when you get older you realize it’s just a business,” said Stastny, who will turn 35 on Dec. 27. “Sometimes we’re just pieces or pawns on a chessboard. It is what it is, you can’t get too emotional wherever you are because you never know what’s going to happen. It’s nice having my dad (Peter) around because he went through this. For me, the first go around when I was in Colorado and then moved, that was a big culture shock for me. Ever since after that I’ve never been comfortable anywhere for that purpose.
“I don’t like guys because they have an eight year deal. They have one good year and think they’re going to be there forever. I’ve seen how fast things change, whether it’s with coaching or management or ownership. Sometimes it’s not as easy to move certain pieces, something other teams want you more, sometimes in situations like this it’s maybe a combination of both. I think what 2020 brought on us and the salary cap staying flat, it’s kind of a flux a little bit. That’s just life in itself, you’ve always got to expect the unexpected and when stuff like this happens, you’ve always got to be ready to move on for the next challenge ahead.”
As for where he might slot in, Stastny made it clear he had no intention of doing any public lobbying but would be happy to reunite with Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers.
“That would be fun. I enjoyed playing with those guys a lot,” said Stastny. “For me, both guys want the puck, both guys can score, they’re very dynamic offensively and suit my game. Get the puck to those guys as quick as I can, find and create some room for those guys. If it is, I’m excited. If not, there’s a bunch of good forwards there, different combinations that will work out just fine as well.”
Stastny didn’t seem the least bit concerned about Laine’s name showing up on trade bait boards recently. And while Stastny’s primary responsibility is to be a deft distributor of the puck, he’s also comfortable serving as a mentor — given what he’s already gone through during a career that has spanned 14 seasons (and counting).
“There’s always going to be trade rumors. Seeing guys go through that, you always try to help them,” said Stastny. “With things going on right now, he’s got one year left on his deal and with a flat cap, there are always teams interested so there’s always going to be rumours around. Talking to different guys that have been part of the business, you’d be surprised at how many guys’ names are kind of thrown around within management, whether some get out in public and some don’t. It just means everyone is interested. So in one sense, you take that as a feather in the cap. Because he’s a unique player and a very special individual. Sometimes you watch highlights and you see it, but I think when you play with him or you’re around him all the time, you really see how good he is and how good he can be.
“He’s already taken his game to another level. That’s why he’s such a special player, because he wants to be the best and he wants to be out there all the time. He does have a quiet personality, when you interview him or see him 1-on-1, but inside of him the passion and the drive for the game is always there.”
After shoring up the centre position, Cheveldayoff opted to bring back a pair of defencemen in Nathan Beaulieu and Luca Sbisa.
Beaulieu got a two-year deal for a modest raise of $1.25 million per season, while Sbisa got a one-year pact worth $800,000 to join Dylan DeMelo (four years, $3 million AAV) as blue-liners that will be back in the fold.
“This is an investment in me as a player and a person, and I feel like I can set a good example for the young guys,” said Beaulieu. “You’ve got to remember, this team is still — there’s some older guys — but it’s still full of youth and that’s why I was so excited to be a part of it. It’s going to be a dangerous hockey club, we’ve got a lot to prove and, obviously, there’s sour in our mouth about what happened in the playoffs. We’re a motivated young team that’s ready to win.”
No, the Jets didn’t make a splashy addition on the back end to go with the addition of Stastny.
That could say more about how the Jets feel about the readiness of top prospects Dylan Samberg and Ville Heinola to step into the lineup — despite a combined eight NHL games of experience between them (all by Heinola at the start of last season).
Before the day was complete, the Jets inked right-winger Mason Appleton to a two-year deal that carries an AAV of $900,000.
The sixth round pick (168th overall) of the Jets in the 2015 draft has eight goals and 18 points in 82 NHL games over two NHL seasons.
There was another piece of news on Friday, when Cheveldayoff confirmed what had been suspected for several months — that longtime centre Bryan Little won’t be coming back to play this season after suffering a head injury last November.
That’s a blow for the Jets both on and off the ice.
Little has been an important contributor on the ice dating back to being the 12th overall pick by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2006. The 32-year old has been the conscience of the team, always willing to share an honest opinion during good times and bad.
“After consulting with all the doctors and getting all the information and taking the time to digest everything, it’s recommended by the doctor that Bryan Little does not play this coming season. What that means to the future, that will be addressed at the appropriate times. That’s essentially where things are at with Bryan,” said Cheveldayoff. “Certainly we wanted to be extremely respectful on how all this was handled and give him as much opportunity to seek opinions and doctors and tests. We wanted to be obviously ultra-cautious with him with a head injury of that magnitude and obviously that it’s taking this long, you owe that to him.
“He’s a special person and has been part of our family, came over from Atlanta, really planted roots here in Winnipeg when it came time to re-sign and just loves the city and loves being part of this organization. It’s emotional. When you have conversations like we had with him the other day discussing this, you feel for him because he wants to play. He wants to play badly. But he has to make sure he puts his family and his health ahead of everything and we fully support him 100 per cent.”
With 20 players signed and just over $1.55 million in cap space available to sign the five remaining restricted free agents (forwards Jack Roslovic, Jansen Harkins and CJ Suess and defencemen Sami Niku and Nelson Nogier), some additional moves could be on the horizon.
Once Little is eventually placed on long-term injured reserve, it would open up nearly $5.3 million in cap space for the Jets.
The door remains open for others to walk in, but for the time being the Jets are banking on internal growth, improved health and the graduation of a prospect or two to be enough to help the defence corps.
This isn’t a flashy approach, but after using up much of the available cap space on bringing back Stastny, it’s a road Cheveldayoff is comfortable going down.
He’ll readjust that plan if necessary.
“We’re going to continue to look and see if there are options to improve or upgrade our defence. There’s lots of conversations out there that we’re in to see if that’s a possibility,” said Cheveldayoff. “From a free agency standpoint, it’s interesting to see how things may or may not unfold. The bigger players that are out there from a money perspective, some years they are done and off the table in a matter of minutes and some years it takes a matter of days. But it is a unique situation for all the different teams to be in right now. I’m not sure if other managers are experiencing it that way as well, but for us there’s a finite amount of money that’s left in the cap.”
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