Note: After Monday night madness saw the Jets sign Paul Stastny and trade for Brenden Dillon on Tuesday it was supposed to be about media availabilities with the two Jets players. You can watch the full versions with Stastny here and Dillon here.
Note II: However for a second straight night the Jets were making waves. First they traded for Nate Schmidt with the Canucks. Then they followed that with the news they had signed Eric Comrie to a one-year deal. You can watch Schmidt’s first media availability here.
Note III: Which brings us to today. Free Agent Frenzy is finally here as today (at 11 AM CT) is the day that a bunch of players become available and GMs go crazy signing them to contracts that usually don’t end up working out very well. We will have a total focus on it with a view towards what, if anything, the Jets do although after the last few days that isn’t expected to be much. You may as well still keep it locked to this site and stay tuned for tonight’s special edition of the Illegal Curve Hockey Show which will also be the final one of the season before we go on hiatus. You can watch here.
Jets news:
Winnipeg Sun: Jets newcomer Schmidt clears air on no-trade clause, vows bounceback after tough year in Vancouver. If you needed an energy boost then the media availability with Schmidt was the place to be. It was clear he had either heard or read the reports and began today’s chat by clearing the air.
Sportsnet: Cheveldayoff makes statement to Jets core with win-now deals. For those who complain that the Jets GM is often on the sidelines looking on while other teams are making plays he definitely put on his helmet and got into the action the last few days with an eye towards solidifying his weakest position.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
Winnipeg Sun: Cheveldayoff has delivered on defensive improvement for Jets with acquisitions of Dillon and Schmidt. Fans and media alike were saying that the Jets had no choice but to address their defence and that’s just what’s happened over the past two days.
Winnipeg Sun: ‘Winnipeg ticks all the boxes:’ Newly acquired D-man Dillon believes he’ll find a good home with Jets. Seemed pretty clear that the big defender is ready to bring his A game to Winnipeg.
Winnipeg Sun: Jets’ veteran Stastny saw Winnipeg as best fit for hockey and for his family. That comment from the presser sure seemed to resonate with folks. Also interesting to find out after his media availability that Stastny is a player, kinda a coach and partly a GM.
Winnipeg Free Press: Chevy pulls off major moves adding Dillon and Schmidt. (Paywall). How many people expected the Jets GM to pull off back to back nights like we just saw?
Winnipeg Free Press: Easy decision for Stastny. (Paywall). He had plenty of insightful comments during his close to 20 minutes on the mic yesterday afternoon.
Winnipeg Free Press: Dillion is willin. (Paywall). Where there’s a will there’s a way and it’s clear that the Jets second newest Dman is going to be looking at this as an opportunity.
The Athletic Winnipeg: Jets offseason depth chart 4.0: Nate Schmidt and Brenden Dillon are in, so who’s out on the defence? (Paywall). Murat walks you through the lineup conundrum for the Jets this upcoming season.
Global News: Jets add character, and a character, in defenceman Brenden Dillon. Between his third person references and his playing beer league hockey when he found out he’d been traded it was a solid first impression.
CBC: Jets centre Paul Stastny has high hopes for season after signing 1-year deal. Didn’t hurt that he convinced his former Vegas teammates about the positives of playing in Winnipeg.
Global News: Hextall on Hockey: Jets need to make a free agency deal. The Jets decided they’d cause a frenzy in the two days prior to free agency beginning.
The Hockey News: The Real Winners of the NHL Draft? Belarus. One of the players mentioned was Jets third round selection defenceman Dmitri Kuzmin.
Jets video:
Sportsnet: Every Kyle Connor goal from the Winnipeg Jets 2020-21 season. Number 81 scored 26 times in the abbreviated 2020-21 season and they are all compiled here for you to enjoy.
