Winnipeg Jets: Mid-Summer Edition – Arctic Ice Hockey

I had been hoping that Kevin Cheveldayoff would give me a reason to write another article on Arctic Ice Hockey, but not much has been happening with the Winnipeg Jets as the calendar prepares to flip to the month of August.

Chevy did check one item off of his summer checklist by agreeing with late 2nd round draft pick Simon Lundmark on a new one year contract (two-way $775k deal). The 23 yr old Swede has been very consistent in his three seasons wearing a Manitoba Moose jersey, providing the team with solid play in his own end while contributing offensively once every 4 games on average. His lack of point production in the AHL will probably hinder Lundmark’s chances of becoming a top 4 National Hockey League defenseman in the future, but if he continues along the path of fellow right hand defenseman Dylan DeMelo it is not out of the realm of possibility (the veteran’s AHL point production was only slightly higher than Simon’s). I (and others) have made the comparison about their style of play being very similar, although there are things Lundmark still needs to improve on to make the leap to a 3rd pairing NHLer. The 2019 draft pick has the build (6’2″ 201 lbs) to play a much more physical game and that should likely be a key focus for him this season. While the exact composition of the Manitoba Moose remains to be seen, I could easily see Lundmark playing on the top pairing until rookie Elias Salomonsson shows he is ready for those key minutes.

Now that Chevy came to an agreement with Kurt Overhardt on Lundmark’s contract, he will turn his focus to another agent. There will certainly be many conversations with Cameron Stewart, as he looks to lock up Winnipeg’s sole remaining RFA, Cole Perfetti. The 22 yr old was a bit polarizing for fans last season, with some of them questioning the 10th overall draft pick’s potential ceiling and others feeling he was treated unfairly by the coaching staff. Overall, his point production in 2023-24 was only slightly below his rookie season’s pace (48.24 to 43.89 pts over a full 82 season), but he was far from the only player to face a bit of a hiccup in their sophomore campaign. A recent example includes the 2nd overall selection of the 2021 Entry Draft (Seattle’s Matthew Beniers), who went from an impressive 57 pts in 80 games to 37 pts in 77 matches.

The young Canadian forward had an up and down season in 2023-24, no doubt. In the first two months of the year, Perfetti was never held…