Bargain-hunting Jets seek depth during whirlwind deadline day By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 7:00 PM CST Monday, Feb. 25, 2019 Last Modified: 7:58 PM CST Monday, Feb. 25, 2019 Updates

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This article was published 24/02/2019 (2132 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One needs no introduction to local fans. The others, well, that’s a different story.

Depth became the name of the game Monday as the Winnipeg Jets loaded up for what they hope will be a lengthy playoff run this spring.

After landing a big target in centre Kevin Hayes by mid-morning, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff went bargain-hunting. The end result was obtaining veteran centre Matt Hendricks, winger Par Lindholm, defenceman Nathan Beaulieu, defenceman Bogden Kiselevich and centre Alex Broadhurst all prior to the 2 p.m. deadline.

The day’s deals

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• Brendan Lemieux (F)

• First-round draft pick

• Fourth-round draft pick*

NYR

• Kevin Hayes (F)

• Seventh-round draft pick (2020)

MIN

• Matt Hendricks (F)

• Sixth-round draft pick

BUF

• Nathan Beaulieu (D)

• Seventh-round draft pick (2021)

FLA

• Bogdan Kiselevich (D)

• Nic Petan (F)

TOR

• Par Lindholm (F)

• Future considerations

CBJ

•Alex Broadhurst (D)

*Conditional (2022)

• Brendan Lemieux (F)

• First-round draft pick

• Fourth-round draft pick*

• Seventh-round draft pick (2020)

MIN

NYR

• Kevin Hayes (F)

• Matt Hendricks (F)

• Sixth-round draft pick

• Seventh-round draft pick (2021)

BUF

FLA

• Nathan Beaulieu (D)

• Bogdan Kiselevich (D)

• Nic Petan (F)

• Future considerations

CBJ

TOR

• Par Lindholm (F)

•Alex Broadhurst (D)

*Conditional (2022)

None of them is a game-breaker. And, to be honest, the less they are pressed into duty, the better. They are simply insurance for the main pieces on the roster should anything go wrong of the injury bug hit.

Josh Morrissey’s immediate status is very much in question after he was knocked out of Sunday’s game in Arizona courtesy of a third-period hit by Vinnie Hinostroza. With the team travelling back from the desert Monday, no immediate prognosis was available. Cheveldayoff would only say he won’t play Tuesday night against Minnesota at Bell MTS Place, and further medical evaluation is ongoing.

That meant the Jets, already without Dustin Byfuglien and Joe Morrow due to injury, went out and added a pair of defenders who both are left shots, like Morrissey.

"I felt it was appropriate that we need to add the pieces to have the depth moving forward here. You can never have enough D when it comes to the attrition rate as you hope you go deeper," said Cheveldayoff.

Beaulieu, 26, cost them a sixth-round pick to Buffalo in 2019, while Kiselevich, 29, was obtained from the Florida Panthers for a seventh-round pick in 2021. He’s a player the Jets had previously attempted to sign when he came over to North America last year after nearly a decade in the KHL.

Hendricks, 37, was acquired from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a seventh-round pick in 2020. The Minnesota native played last season in Winnipeg, then signed a free agent deal with his hometown club over the summer. He’s seen limited action due to being a healthy scratch along with injuries.

"Matt’s a real professional, someone that provides a lot of leadership in our room. When I sat down with guys like Blake (Wheeler) and Mark (Scheifele) and even with Paul (Maurice), we talked about the different things with respect to our room," said Cheveldayoff.

"We’re the youngest team, or at least we were going into the deadline today, in the NHL. If you want to be the ultimate champion, it’s a long grind. And you have to be prepared for it. And you need people that are going to help you prepare for that. And Hendy’s a real pro that competes, prepares and is ready to play every night."

Hendricks told the Free Press recently that his one season in Winnipeg, complete with a run to the Western Conference final, was one of the biggest highlights of his career.

"One thing that you just can’t underestimate is a person’s value within the room and what he brings to those things. Some of our younger players that were around our team last year benefitted immensely with the experience that they got with Matt. Some of our veteran players benefitted immensely from it. So as an organization, we’re excited to have him back. It’s something that we’ve talked about for a little while, if there was an opportunity," said Cheveldayoff.

The Jets also sent press box regular Nic Petan to Toronto in exchange for Lindholm, a centre/left-winger who has been a regular on the Maple Leafs’ fourth line this year. Lindholm, 27, is in his first pro season in North America after playing in his native Sweden for most of the past decade, and Cheveldayoff said he’s another player the team had previously scouted and looked into signing.

As for Petan, Cheveldayoff said he had promised the 23-year-old he’d try and find him a fresh start. The second-round pick from 2013 had been a healthy scratch for 25 straight games and counting with the Jets.

“Nic was a great player in our organization, a highly touted player that we drafted. (He) wasn’t getting the opportunity here and I made some commitments to him and his representatives that I would try to find something that would give him the opportunity to get a new start in an organization as long as it was mutually beneficial," said Cheveldayoff.

“He’s a classy pro. He’s worked real hard through some very, very difficult circumstances and came to the rink each and every day and, regardless of whether he was in the lineup or not, he was a real pro so I wish him all the best.”

Finally, Broadhurst was essentially a minor-league transaction. The 25-year-old left-shooting centre has spent the entire season playing with the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. The Jets got him from the parent Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for future considerations. However, he will remain with the Monsters unless his services are needed by the Jets.

In addition, the Jets sent forward Mason Appleton and defenceman Tucker Poolman down to the Moose on Monday, thanks to the additional bodies now in the organization. Appleton has three goals and seven assists in 36 games with Winnipeg this season, while Poolman has yet to see action with the big club this season but is having a strong year with the Moose after coming back from a concussion that cost him nearly seven weeks of action.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg

Mike McIntyre
Sports columnist

Mike McIntyre grew up wanting to be a professional wrestler. But when that dream fizzled, he put all his brawn into becoming a professional writer.

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