Winnipeg Jets Afternoon Links

Note: Round 1 of the NHL Draft begins at 6 PM CDT. Winnipeg has the 28th overall selection. We expect to hear from both him and GM Kevin Cheveldayoff at some point this evening. Be sure to keep it locked to illegalcurve.com for all the Jets related coverage from the Draft.

Note II: To get you ready for the rounds 2-7 of the Draft and to look back at round 1 join us tomorrow morning for two hours of hockey talk on the Illegal Curve Hockey Show starting at 9 AM CDT. We will be joined by Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press as well as whomever the Jets select in the first round.

Note III: While some fans were hoping to see Jets draft pick Dmitry Rashevsky (2021 5th) finally make his way to Winnipeg he’s gonna remain in the KHL signing with Avangard Omsk.

Jets news:

The Athletic Winnipeg: Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff talks NHL Draft, Nikolaj Ehlers, Jonathan Toews: 5 things we learned. (Paywall). Murat reacted to our conversation with the GM of Winnipeg with five points, namely: 1) Winnipeg’s analytics staff will model 2025 outcomes. 2) Lowry, Morrissey and Scheifele are all in on Toews. 3) Winnipeg’s approach to Draft. 4) Winnipeg will deal with no-trade clauses for years to come. 5) Injury updates.

The Athletic: Jets NHL Draft guide: Picks, best fits and analysis. (Paywall). He lists the selections Winnipeg has in the Draft, what he sees as the team’s needs, a view from Winnipeg (aka Murat) and names to watch.

Jets video:

TSN: Four Days ‘Till Frenzy: Jets will need a contingency plan if Ehlers leaves. The Jets will need to prioritize signing restricted free agents Gabriel Vilardi and Dylan Samberg and avoid any chances with an offer sheet. Finding a scoring winger, especially with Nikolaj Ehlers’ status uncertain, is also a main goal, but who could Winnipeg target? TSN Hockey analyst Frankie Corrado weighs in with his thoughts as we sit just four days away from Free Agent Frenzy.