The Winnipeg Jets are under pressure. Their Vezina-winning goaltender wants out, and he’s had enough of waiting for a trade to materialize, so he went public with the trade request. That won’t make things easier for the Jets, far from it. They won’t be trading from a position of strength, and parting with Hellebuyck could force them to either rebuild or retool. It could cause some of their top players to want out.
Take Mark Scheifele, for instance. The 33-year-old right-shot center is 33 now and must be getting eager to win. At his age, you could expect him to be declining, but in the last four seasons, he’s been on an upward trend. In 2022-23, he had 68 points. The following year, he had 72; then he went up to 87 points, and last season he reached a career high with 103 points. That’s not a guy who’s started to decline. In fact, his last two seasons were the two best campaigns of his career.
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Should the Jets decide to hit the reset button, there’s no doubt that the Montreal Canadiens would have plenty of futures to dangle in front of Kevin Cheveldayoff, but would it make sense for the Habs? It’s no secret that Montreal needs another top-six center, and Scheifele certainly fits that bill. Furthermore, he’s under contract for a very reasonable $8.5 million AAV, which wouldn’t unsettle the Habs’ salary structure and wouldn’t create friction. Not that bringing in a big earner would definitely create friction, but a reasonable contract eliminates any potential risk, no matter how small.
In a vacuum, Scheifele would be a great target for the Habs, but then there’s the small matter of the fact that he was the player who obliterated Jake Evans with a high elbow in the 2021 playoffs, sending him down to the ice unconscious. That made for very uncomfortable viewing for fans, and it could have had disastrous results for Evans’ career. Ever since then, Scheifele has been booed copiously in Montreal, understandably. Only five players remain on the Habs from those playoffs: Evans himself, Nick Suzuki, Josh Anderson, Phillip Danault and Cole Caufield. Would they be ok with acquiring Scheifele? Kent Hughes would certainly need to have that conversation with the players.
Furthermore, Hughes has said repeatedly that he won’t sign or acquire players who would prevent his young players from progressing. If the Canadiens are as high as they seem to be on Michael Hage, would it make sense to acquire a 33-year-old pivot who’s still under contract for five years? Initially, it wouldn’t be a bad thing; Hage would likely need some time to adapt to the NHL, and it’s doubtful that he will come in and be the Canadiens’ second center right away. That’s a huge step. For the first two seasons, having Scheifele would make sense, but after that? If Hage is ready to take the next step, does Scheifele accept being overtaken in the lineup? Will he react like Mike Matheson did when he was pushed down the depth chart? That’s another question Hughes needs to ponder. Would he be a good teammate if it came to that, or would that create trouble in the room? For the Canadiens, culture matters as much as talent; they would have to check whether he ticks that box.
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Right now, Scheifele has a full no-move clause, which wouldn’t matter if he were to ask out of course, although that could mean he, too, would put the Jets in a precarious position by trying to pick where he’s going. From the 2027-28 season, however, he has only a modified no-trade clause, which requires him to provide a list of 10 teams he could be traded to. That’s a much bigger list than what we’ve seen players on a full no-movement clause give their team so far.
At this stage, it is all speculation, and it hinges on the Jets deciding to go ahead with a rebuild, which is far from certain. Winnipeg being the market that it is, it’s far from a given that ownership would embrace a rebuild. The Jets don’t always play in front of a packed building anymore; can they afford to bite the bullet and be bad for a while? That’s far from a given.
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