Winnipeg Jets facing key Logan Stanley decision with no extension talks underway

Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic has been publishing his NHL trade board since mid-November. In that initial edition, no Jets players were listed, which wasn’t surprising given how the team opened the season. When version 2.0 was released in mid-December, the only Jet to appear was prospect Brad Lambert, who came in at No. 30 amid reports his agent was seeking a change of scenery.

Johnston’s third update arrived in early January, and suddenly three Jets were included. Along with Lambert, UFA defenceman Luke Schenn appeared at No. 8, which wasn’t a surprise given reports he was open to a new opportunity, while defenceman Logan Stanley was slotted at No. 16. Stanley’s inclusion wasn’t unexpected, as the 6-foot-7 Ontario product is enjoying a career season in a contract year. After scoring just one goal per season over his first five years in Winnipeg, he has eight goals and seven assists through 51 games.

What stood out wasn’t Stanley’s presence on the list, but rather the price tag Johnston attached to the pending UFA. Johnston wrote:

“Stanley is in a position to cash in this summer with a contract that could be worth 25 million or more.”

Notably, no term was mentioned.

In Johnston’s fourth and fifth updates, Schenn moved up to fifth before slipping back to eighth, while Stanley dropped to 22nd and then climbed to 15th. Lambert fell to 34th in version 4.0 before being omitted entirely from the most recent list.

Last Friday, Stanley was asked about his pending UFA status and how much he’s thinking about it right now.

“You definitely think about your future and what’s going on. I think everybody would be lying if they said they didn’t think about that. There’s a lot of aspects you’re thinking about. Family, kids, everything like that. But you try to block it out, come every day and try to work your hardest. Whatever happens, happens. Trying to help this team push to get into that race to make the playoffs and that’s what I’m most focused on. The rest will take care of itself.”

While his response offered insight into the human side of the situation, it did little to provide clarity on where things stand between him and the Jets.

Which brings us to Insider Trading on TSN, where Darren Dreger provided an interesting tidbit regarding the absence of any extension discussions between the club and Stanley. After noting that Winnipeg remains focused on winning, but could pivot to a sell mode if circumstances change, Dreger pointed to Stanley as a potential trade chip.

“Then I’d look at somebody like big defenceman Logan Stanley. He’s an unrestricted free agent, end of the year. There has been no contract extension dialogue between Stanley, the Jets, and the agent involved so he could be a piece that betters their position in the draft but it’s too early.”.

Regardless of whether you believe the Jets should sign him or trade him, the one outcome they can’t afford is inaction. Allowing Stanley to walk for nothing as a free agent at season’s end would be a failure of asset management. One way or another, this situation needs to be resolved before the March 6 NHL trade deadline.