Winnipeg Jets trade deadline primer: Everything you need to know for Friday
Kevin Cheveldayoff has been an aggressive buyer every single time the Winnipeg Jets have had a realistic shot at a deep playoff run. That's not going to change now that Winnipeg has the NHL's best record and over $12 million in cap space to start deadline day.
Cheveldayoff and his management team, pro scouts, and staff are gathered at the team hotel in Philadelphia where they will remain until the 3 p.m. Eastern deadline passes. Their 43-16-4 Jets are Stanley Cup contenders but could use help at second line centre and on defence. They've shown interest in centres Brock Nelson and Scott Laughton up front and I suspect they're in on Rasmus Ristolainen and Mario Ferraro to help their blue line. They have already made a minor league trade, acquiring Winnipeg-born goaltender Chris Driedger from Florida for Kaapo Kahkonen.
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It's been a seller's market thus far. Whereas the Jets acquired Sean Monahan for a first-round pick last season, the Islanders got a first-round pick, a conditional third-round pick, and a top prospect in Calum Ritchie for Nelson late Thursday. The Flyers have asked for a first-round pick for Laughton and one imagines they can get at least that much for Ristolainen, too.
This makes Winnipeg's task trickier than it's been in other contending years. Cheveldayoff acquired Paul Stastny in 2018, Kevin Hayes and Nathan Beaulieu in 2019, Nino Niederreiter and Vladislav Namestnikov in 2023, and all of Sean Monahan, Tyler Toffoli, and Colin Miller last season. The Jets fell short on Nelson, likely because they couldn't offer a prospect of Ritchie's quality, and may face high prices for lesser players as they're forced to pivot.
Will the Jets find a way to acquire one of the other centres on the market? Did their conversations with Lou Lamoriello kickstart other trade opportunities with the Islanders? And how will they shore up their defence corps?
Here is all our coverage from the past few weeks and everything you need to know for Winnipeg's trade deadline.
• NHL trade deadline: Friday, March 7 at 3 p.m. ET
• The Athletic has live coverage of the 2025 NHL trade deadline
• Latest trade board from Chris Johnston
• Instant analysis of every trade deadline deal
• Trade grades from every deal completed on deadline day
• 🎧 The Athletic Hockey Show: Who are the top teams to watch on NHL trade deadline day?
• Why Kevin Cheveldayoff needs to buy at the deadline
• What I'm hearing about the Jets ahead of the trade deadline: Joel Armia and other depth options
• Jets trade targets: 6 under-the-radar players they could add at the deadline
• Who says no? Jets subscriber trade proposals dissected by NHL sources
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• O'Reilly? Nelson? Or should the Jets go shopping for chemistry at the deadline?
• Winnipeg's best case for trading Nikolaj Ehlers — and the best case to keep him
• Ranking the Jets' top 10 trade assets: Which ones could be in play?
• Jets trade targets: 10 new options emerge as the deadline nears
• Jets trade targets: Which defencemen could cement Stanley Cup contender status?
• Jets trade targets: Which top forwards would be that elusive perfect fit?
• Jets' trade deadline plans, interest in Jonathan Toews: 5 takeaways from GM Kevin Cheveldayoff
• Brock Nelson? MacKenzie Weegar? What would a 'perfect' Jets trade deadline look like?
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