It’s been an interesting season for the Winnipeg Jets, as they are one point back of the 2^nd wildcard spot in the Western Conference, with two games in hand on the Arizona Coyotes, who currently hold the position. Without Dustin Byfuglien, the Jets are 29-24-5 on the season so far, and 4-5-1 in their last 10. Last deadline day, GM Kevin Cheveldayoff made the most trades out of every GM in the league and will surely be busy during this one.

The Jets will most likely be buyers at the deadline, as they need some help defensively. The Byfuglien saga certainly hurt their defensive group, but the team also traded Jacob Trouba to the New York Rangers last offseason for Neal Pionk and a 1^st round pick. We could see the Jets going for term rather than rental players at the deadline, and those options on the blueline could include Minnesota’s Jonas Brodin and Matt Dumba, New Jersey’s Damon Severson and P.K. Subban, or Montreal’s Jeff Petry.

At 25 and 26 years old respectively, Matt Dumba and Jonas Brodin both have positive career AB scores as a defenseman with 5 years of data for Dumba and 7 for Brodin. Brodin has a slightly higher score at +0.25 compared to Dumba’s +0.20. Brodin has a much better +/- number of +13 than Dumba, who is currently -7 for the Wild this season despite each playing in 56 games. Both defensemen give the puck away more than they’ve taken it away this season with Dumba’s ratio being 28:18, and Brodin’s being 15:10. Impressively, Brodin has only taken 1 more penalty than he has drawn with a ratio of 8:7 despite playing 21+ minutes per game. Dumba is equally as impressive, with a ratio of 14:10. Dumba is also playing 3 minutes more per game than his previous career average of 19:51 minutes per night. Both defensemen would be great additions to teams, and the Wild have every right to demand a high price for their top assets.

P.K. Subban was expected to be the quarterback of the Devils powerplay and continue to produce high offensive numbers. He has failed to do so with 13 points in 55 games with the Devils this season. Subban has a -1.5 career AB score but has the worst giveaway/takeaway ratio on the team with a 54:16 ratio. He has among the worst penalty taken/drawn ratio on the Devils with a 22:8 ratio. He is also -15, which is also among the worst on the Devils. Damon Severson is the youngest of the group of available Devils defensemen at 25-years of age. Interestingly enough, he has by far the worst career AB score of the group with a -5.87 score over a 4-year period, never registering a positive season in that span. He is coming off a career-low -8.39 individual score as well. Severson has a decent penalty drawn to taken ratio at 12:6, but the second-worst giveaway/takeaway ratio on the team with a 44:27 ratio. Like Subban, Severson is also -15.

At 32-years of age, Jeff Petry has an abysmal -4.72 AB score over a 9-year sample size. He has never registered a positive individual AB season in his career. Petry’s penalty taken/drawn ratio is his only solid stat category with a 9:11. He has the worst giveaway/takeaway ratio on the Canadiens with a 72:24 ratio. He also has the worst +/- on the Canadiens with a -15.

In order to get these defensemen, the Jets could end up moving forwards Mathieu Perreault and Jack Roslovic, or even Dustin Byfuglien himself. Byfuglien has a -3.97 career AB score over a 12 year period and has only registered one positive season in those 12 years. Perhaps the Jets are actually better without him, as they appear to be making a playoff push despite him not being in the lineup. Mathieu Perreault is currently injured but has a positive career AB score at +1.41 over a 10-year span. His penalty taken/drawn ratio is a solid 5:7 as well as his giveaway/takeaway ratio of 11:17. Despite this, he has the worst +/- on the Jets right now at -9. At 32-years of age, Perreault makes $4.125 million and has a year left of term on his contract at the conclusion of this season. Jack Roslovic is Winnipeg’s best asset to offer, and we would suggest not moving him unless they absolutely have too. Roslovic has an impressive +3.06 career AB score over a two-year span, and a solid penalty taken/drawn ratio of 4:7. His giveaway/takeaway ratio isn’t as great at 35:20, but he is a +3, which is among the better +/- numbers on the Jets as of now. He is 25-years of age and is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season. Winnipeg is surely a team to watch over the next several weeks, and we look forward to seeing what GM Kevin Cheveldayoff decides to do at the February 24^th trade deadline. More to come.