It’s often difficult to add quality centres to your team in-season, but within two days a couple of them were traded to contenders well ahead of the 2024 NHL trade deadline.
After the league’s top team, the Vancouver Canucks, acquired Elias Lindholm from Calgary Wednesday night, the Winnipeg Jets — third in the NHL by points percentage — stepped up to bring in Sean Monahan from the Montreal Canadiens. A little more than one month away from the trade deadline, it’s the Canadian teams doing all the work.
It was believed that Lindholm was a target of Winnipeg’s before the Flames were able to squeeze Andrei Kuzmenko, a first-round pick, conditional fourth and two prospects out of Vancouver for the pending UFA pivot, so it didn’t take them long to attack the market in another way.
Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff sent his 2024 first-round pick and a conditional 2027 third-rounder to Montreal in exchange for Monahan, who has been healthy (49 games) and productive (13 goals, 35 points) after a couple seasons in which he was neither of those things. A pending UFA at the end of the season, Monahan’s $1.985 million cap hit will entirely move to Winnipeg since there was no salary retained by Montreal.
The Monahan pick up solidifies Winnipeg’s centre position, where he’ll join 1C Mark Scheifele, Adam Lowry as 3C and Vlad Nemestnikov at 4C.
And, if the Jets wanted to get more work done ahead of March 8, they still have $3.278 million in projected deadline day space, per Cap Friendly.
As much as this is exciting for the Jets and their fans as they make a motion to go all-in ahead of a playoff run, this deal should be equally as promising for the Canadiens and their fans. They effectively got two first-round picks out of Monahan: Just 18 months after Montreal was given a 2025 first-round pick by Calgary just to take the centre and his expensive and expiring contract, GM Kent Hughes got another by sending him to Manitoba.
A tidy bit of business, as they say.
While this is clearly an attempted “win now” move by the Jets, Montreal is further building out its base of picks to go along with an already-strong group of prospects. It’s a move a rebuilding team makes, but should also give Hughes flexibility in what happens next. Rather than slow play it, could he use these assets in future deals that help accelerate their competitive window?
With Lindholm and Monahan off the board, the best available centre left remaining for trade could be Anaheim’s Adam Henrique, or possibly Philadelphia’s Scott Laughton, who only recently has surfaced in rumours. But the market is still taking shape, with the March 8 deadline creeping near.
For more on what the Jets and Canadiens are getting out of this trade, we turn to our scout Jason Bukala…
SCOUT’S ANALYSIS
The addition of Monahan to the fold provides Winnipeg with more depth in the middle of the ice, secondary scoring, and most importantly a player who identifies as a faceoff specialist.
Here are some statistical observations of Monahan’s contribution in Montreal this season:
• Averaged 18:27 of ice time (13:45 even strength, 3:30 PP, 1:10 PK)
• Produced 13 goals and 22 assists — six goals and 10 assists of which came on the power play
• Credited with 11 hits and 24 blocked shots
• Won 55 per cent of his faceoffs
Monahan isn’t a burner in open ice and he isn’t a dynamic transition threat offensively. He’s most dangerous from the hash marks down in the offensive zone. Monahan has fantastic puck touch and a quick catch and release. He’s always leaned shooter more than distributor.
Defensively, Monahan doesn’t cut corners or cheat his responsibilities. The Jets’ coaching staff are getting a player who they can trust in all defensive scenarios.
It’s not the most exciting statistic, but winning faceoffs is crucial to team success. Starting with the puck, in all three zones, sets the tone for a shift. Fans of the game rarely notice when a team wins, or loses, a draw, except when the puck ends up in either their net or the opponent’s net off set plays.
Here’s a look at the top faceoff percentages (minimum 100 draws) the Jets had on their roster before adding Monahan:
Adam Lowry: 50 %
Mark Schiefele: 49.35%
Vlad Namestnikov: 37.23%
Dominic Toninato: 47.71 %
Cole Perfetti: 36.08%
Acquisition cost/conclusion
• The Jets paid what seems to be the going rate this trade deadline season. First-round picks clearly have to be included to push deals to the finish line. The Jets’ first-round pick should land somewhere between 26-32 in June.
• It should be recognized that Winnipeg already owned Montreal’s 2024 second-round pick, which should end up being inside the top 40, so even after moving their first they still have a relatively early swing at a future prospect with that draft slot. Here’s a look at Winnipeg’s draft board after the trade:
• Winnipeg is still dealing from a position of strength with their draft capital
• The Jets still have more than $3 million in deadline day cap space to work with
• The fact Winnipeg didn’t have to part with one of their top prospects in this trade is a huge win for the franchise.
• Expect the Jets’ special teams to improve with the arrival of Monahan. He’s a proven power play contributor who plays a big role on the penalty kill. Winnipeg currently ranks 24th on the power play (15.7 per cent) and 25th on the penalty kill (77.4 per cent).
The Winnipeg Jets have a tight-knit group. Adding a player, or players, at the trade deadline can disrupt the dressing room if teams aren’t careful. Monahan is a fantastic teammate, though, and a great fit for the Jets.
Winnipeg is a contending team this season and they improved their depth with the acquisition of Monahan. They are better today than they were yesterday and that’s what it’s all about.
