A look at the Winnipeg Jets unrestricted free agents ahead of NHL Free Agency

NHL free agency opens officially at 11 AM CT on Monday, July 1st.  And the following players will go from being Winnipeg Jets to unrestricted free agents including:

Forwards:

Brandon Tanev
Par Lindholm

Defencemen:

Tyler Myers
Ben Chiarot
Joe Morrow
Nathan Beaulieu
Bogdan Kislevich

Breakdown:

Brandon Tanev – after putting up 14 goals and 15 assists for the Jets last season the feisty undrafted forward from Toronto is expected to command a nice little salary increase from the $1,150,000 he earned last season in Winnipeg.  Of course he had the benefit of playing with two solid linemates in Andrew Copp and Adam Lowry and as local NHL correspondent Scott Billeck pointed out this sure didn’t hurt.  Evolving Wild (which contract projection spreadsheet I used throughout and was a great resource) has projected his next contract to be a four-year term with a projected cap hit of $2,740,805.00 per year.

Par Lindholm – was acquired in a trade with the Leafs which saw the Jets send Nic Petan the other way.  The undrafted Swedish forward had played 61 games with Toronto before the trade but only got into four games with Winnipeg.  With bonuses he made $1,775,000 last season but his cap hit was $925,000.  Folks at Evolving Wild project a three-year term with a projected cap hit of $1,523,439.00.

Ben Chiarot – A 2009 4th round pick of the Thrashers, he is one of the few players remaining in the organization (along with Bryan Little and Peter Stoykewych) who was drafted by Atlanta.  This past season was the most productive one of the left shot defenceman’s NHL career as he hit career highs in games played (78), goals (5), assists (15) and points (20).  The 28 year old had a cap hit of $1,400,000 in 2018-19.  Evolving Wild has projected his next contract term at three years with a projected cap hit of $2,766,359.00.

Tyler Myers – The 29 year old defeneman has been in Winnipeg for four and a half years following his acquisition as part of the Kane/Bogosian trade back on February 11, 2015.  While it is believed that Myers would like to stay in Winnipeg there have been reports that he could garner a seven-year deal in excess of 50 million.  Way, way too rich for Winnipeg considering his role on this team.  Evolving Wild has his projected term at seven years and a projected cap hit of $6,055,556.00.

Joe Morrow – Last season he was an RFA that wasn’t qualified by the Jets and it was deja-vu once again as he again is set to become a free agent on Monday.  Last year the Jets signed him two days after not qualifying him but that hasn’t occurred this year.  He played 41 games for Winnipeg in 2018-19 adding one goal and six assists.  His cap hit last season was $1,000,000.00 and Evolving Wild has his projected term at another one year term with a slight increase in cap hit to $1,085,622.00.

Nathan Beaulieu – He was acquired at the trade deadline in a deal with the Sabres which cost the Jets their 6th round pick at the Draft last weekend in Vancouver.  Beaulieu had fallen out of favour with the Sabres but due to the injury to Josh Morrissey the left shot D man had a good opportunity in Winnipeg playing alongside Jacob Trouba.  He played 18 game with the Jets adding five assists during that time.  His cap hit was $2,400,000 last season and the Jets declined to qualify him so he is a UFA tomorrow.  Evolving Wild has his projected term at three seasons with a projected cap hit of $2,857,445.00.

Bogdan Kislevich – Came over at the trade deadline from Florida after playing 32 games with the Panthers for a Jets 2021 7th round pick.  The defenceman was unable to crack the Jets lineup and reports have him returning to Russia next season to play in the KHL. Kislevich had a cap hit of $925,000 last season.

In addition to the Jets players who will become UFAs on Monday the Moose too have a number of guys who will become free agents including:

Forwards:

Nicolas Kerdiles
Alex Broadhurst
Marko Dano

Defencemen:

Cameron Schilling
Jimmy Oligny

Goalie:

Ken Appleby

Assessment:

Nicolas Kerdiles – was acquired from the Ducks one year ago today for Chase De Leo, and is likely done playing hockey after his season was ended less than a month into the 2018-19 campaign due to injuries.

Alex Broadhurst – was acquired at the trade deadline from Columbus but he never left Cleveland where he was playing for the Monsters.

Marko Dano – was a serviceable player for the Moose.  The former 1st round pick of Columbus was acquired as part of the Andrew Ladd trade back in 2015-16. He played 82 games for the Jets over three seasons as well as 57 games for the Moose. This year included his acquisition by the Colorado Avalanche on a waiver claim before he was claimed back by the Jets to play out the 2018-19 season in the AHL.

Cameron Schilling – I am a bit surprised that he hasn’t been signed by the organization to provide some depth.  He is a steady AHL defenceman who has provided good veteran leadership to a relatively young D core in Manitoba.  As well after last playing in the NHL with the Capitals back in 2014-15 he finally got the call to go back up four years later as the Jets had a need and he ended up playing in four games with Winnipeg.  He was a player Jets head coach Paul Maurice referenced when talking about their blueline depth.

Jimmy Oligny – was acquired this season in a trade between the Jets and Golden Knights which saw the Wolves initially get “future considerations” which ultimately turned out to be forward Tye McGinn who had 89 NHL games under his belt but had only managed two goals in 26 games with Manitoba.  Oligny was a solid member of the Moose blueline but will qualify as a veteran this year.

Ken Appleby – He played three games with the New Jersey Devils in 2017-18 but last season had to be a frustrating one for the fourth year pro as he just couldn’t seem to gain any traction with the Moose and spent quite a bit of time in the ECHL with their affiliate in Jacksonville.

Be sure to check out Evolving Wild aka Josh and Luke Younggren as they are an excellent resource when it comes to contract projections.