Here’s the top 10 D, according to [this article](https://theathletic.com/4733901/2023/08/03/winnipeg-jets-roster-hellebuyck-scheifele/) from Murat Ates of The Athletic:
| [](/r/winnipegjets)Left D |[](/r/winnipegjets) Right D |
:–: | :–:|
|**Josh Morrisey**|**Neal Pionk**|
|**Brenden Dillon**|**Dylan DeMelo**|
|**Dylan Samberg**|**Nate Schmidt**|
|||
|**Logan Stanley**|**Kyle Capobianco**|
|**Declan Chisholm**|**Ville Heinola***|
****waivers exempt***
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If there’s one time of the year that someone might clear waivers when they might not otherwise, it’d be when everyone is finalizing their rosters. We know that Chevy is willing to let an asset go in waivers, but would prefer not to. Let’s also assume for discussion that 2 of the 7-10D is kept on as a Pressbox Popcorn Warrior. Here are the questions (answer as many as you’d like):
* who will stay and who will go?
* who *should* stay and who should go?
* what is the minimum you’d accept in a trade (**assuming the D in question is the only piece in our side of the trade**) in order to make roster spots available?
* remove your homer glasses and propose a trade involved any one of our D that would clarify the lineup in the best way possible. Explain your thought process.
by MCBbbbuddha
2 Comments
I think Dillon has to go since he’s a pending UFA. Samberg takes his spot on the second pairing.
Demelo stays cuz someone has to play with Morrissey on the 1st pairing.
One of Schmidt or Pionk should be moved to for a younger RD with team control. Jets would have to eat salary to move them cuz they both had down years again. Whoever stays is the defacto RD on the second pairing.
Stanley….. I honestly don’t think anyone wants him or he’d be gone. Him, Chisholm, and Heinola fight it out in camp for the 3rd pairing spot. Unless Heinola wins it outright he’ll get demoted to the Moose.
Capo is going to either be the 3rd pairing guy on the right side or 7th Dman depending on what moves Chevy makes.
My ideal situation would be to trade Stanley and Dillon for whatever future assets you can get for them. My reasoning is:
Stanley has requested a trade and isn’t a good enough player to bother keeping him around in this situation. It would not be worth putting other players on waivers just to keep him as 7th D this year. Best case scenario with him is he learns to use his body, becomes a physical 3rd pairing D, goes to arbitration after this year or signs his QO, and walks as a free agent as soon as he can.
Dillon is a physical, #4 Dman, whom we don’t really have anyone else similar to. Samberg has the potential to be, but is still a bit of a question mark seeing he may have a sophomore slump. However, he has one year left, and I can’t see him re-signing with us next year. Losing Dillon will make us worse this season, but should open up opportunities for the prospects and make us better in 24/25.
My ideal situation would be to run a top pairing of Morrissey-Demelo, a 2nd pairing of Samberg-Schmidt, and a heavily sheltered 3rd pairing of Chisholm/Heinola-Pionk Any injuries to our back end would probably screw over our season though.
If Heinola loses out to Chisholm, send Heinola to the AHL for a year of seasoning, and if Chisholm loses out to Heinola, send Capobianco to the AHL potentially losing him on waivers, but keep Chisholm as 7d rotating either Heinola as need be. I also wouldn’t mind taking a bit of a risk and signing Ethan Bear as he won’t be healthy until like halfway through the year, which could serve as insurance against injuries or performance at low risk.
As for potential trades:
Stanley for a 6th? Would probably be the lowest I go. I feel if we don’t trade him, we lose him on waivers, so I’d prefer anything to be honest. Or another long shot prospect like Kravtsov who may turn things around in Russia in a couple years. I have 0 expectations for this trade.
Dillon is a tough one. At the deadline, I could see a situation where he could fetch a conditional 1st. Kind of a cross between the Chairot and Copp trades. Something like a 2nd and a 6th but the 2nd turns into a 1st if they make conference finals. Before the season starts I feel if we could get one 2nd round pick or prospect equivalent I’d be happy, but also wouldn’t be surprised if other teams see our situation and only offer a 3rd at most.
I don’t know if the cap would work on the Tampa side, but seeing how bad there D depth is I would be willing to do a trade like:
Dillon (50% retained) for conditional 2025 2nd. If Dillon plays in at least 41 regular season games and 50% of playoff games, and the Lightning makes the conference finals, the 2nd turns into a top 10 protected 2026 1st round pick.