Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include Winnipeg’s attractiveness to potential free agents, the Quinn Hughes situation in Vancouver following comments from management, and much more. If your question doesn’t appear here, we’ll have one more mailbag next weekend so watch for it there.
Cla23: With the recent signings by the Jets of Alex Iafallo and Neal Pionk and long-term contracts to their star players, will this year FA‘s think hmmm, maybe Winnipeg has something I don’t know about or will it always be a hard no?
If the extensions to Connor Hellebuyck and Mark Scheifele didn’t materially improve Winnipeg’s perception among free agents, I’m not sure new deals for Iafallo and Pionk (or Vladislav Namestnikov who also re-signed somewhat recently) will move the needle all that much. When a player is an unrestricted free agent with plenty of suitors, they’re generally not going to go to a small-market team with a fairly high tax rate unless there’s a specific opportunity they’re pursuing. That’s not a shot at Winnipeg but rather a reality that some smaller-market teams face. Especially this year with a big jump in the cap putting more money in the market than usual.
But one of those specific opportunities I just mentioned is winning. If the Jets have a long and successful playoff run, that will go a long way toward bolstering their standing among free agents. Lots of players want to win and if there’s an opportunity with a legitimate contender, it will be a more coveted spot even in a smaller market. That’s what’s going to materially improve their standing as a free agent destination.
One thing that these extensions should do is give GM Kevin Cheveldayoff more confidence when it comes to acquiring rental players they want to re-sign. While they haven’t kept them all over the years, it hasn’t exactly been a mass exodus of talent either. While players could be reticent about the market when they’re acquired, enough of them decide to stay which should make Cheveldayoff feel more optimistic about the prospect of keeping them around should the opportunity present itself to acquire someone on an expiring or short-term contract.
frozenaquatic: Of the lottery teams trending up, who has laid the groundwork for future success? Calgary has Wolf, but relying too much on a keeper isn’t a recipe for success (Coronato looks great though), and are in reality a trending-down older team that happens to have a…
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