How The Jets Can Replace Nikolaj Ehlers If He Leaves

The Winnipeg Jets are in a pretty enviable position heading into this summer. They are coming off a Presidents’ Trophy and have 16 players signed for next season with nearly $26.5MM in available cap space (as per PuckPedia). Sure, they fell short of expectations in the playoffs, but overall, they are in good shape. That second-round playoff loss to the Dallas Stars isn’t the only somber moment the Jets could go through during the offseason, though, as forward Nikolaj Ehlers is set to hit unrestricted free agency. The Jets could afford to keep Ehlers in the fold and appear interested in doing so, but negotiations have been quiet, and the signs point to him leaving. If he does, Winnipeg will have to figure out a way to replace his production.

Replacing Ehlers’ contributions with one player will be nearly impossible for the Jets, as they aren’t likely to land a Mitch Marner-type player in free agency and will be very hard-pressed to find a comparable on the trade market. Ehlers’ speed and puck skills are tricky to replicate, particularly his contributions to Winnipeg’s transition game. Ehlers’ defensive play isn’t anything to write home about, but on offence, he is the complete package, possessing a heavy shot, excellent passing, and he can play with almost anyone. Outside of his poor defensive play, the big knock is that he can’t stay healthy, and that will undoubtedly be a concern for teams that are lining up to sign him this summer.

There is little doubt that the Jets will look far and wide to replace Ehlers and will likely look both internally and externally to try and navigate the loss. Internally, they could look to a Cole Perfetti, Nikita Chibrikov, and Brad Lambert as candidates who could step into more elevated roles in the Jets lineup. However, they would be hard-pressed to replace Ehlers’ numbers, and it would put a lot of pressure on some young players if they were tasked with replacing Ehlers’ production. Relying on young players to replace Ehlers is a risk, and it’s one that Winnipeg might want to avoid as they head into the summer.

If the Jets did want to swing for the fences and try to acquire one player to replace Ehlers, they could look to Buffalo and forward JJ Peterka. The 23-year-old is an RFA and should land a big contract this summer. The Jets probably couldn’t offer-sheet him, given that they traded away their second-round pick next year to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Luke Schenn trade, and Peterka…