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Happy belated Canada Day! The first three of NHL free agency is officially in the books. In comparison to previous years, the Winnipeg Jets were surprisingly active this year. Let’s take a look at their signings:
Mario Ferraro
The Jets signed defenceman Ferraro to a 3-year, $12 million contract ($4 million cap hit). Ferraro is a 27-year-old left shot defenceman who had spent his entire 7-year NHL career with the San Jose Sharks. In his contract year, he put up a career high 23 points in 82 games (7g, 16a).
Ferraro is a solid addition to the Jets bottom defence pair. He will be an upgrade over Haydn Fleury, who will now sit in the press box, where he should be, when everyone is healthy.
Noah Gregor
The Jets signed Gregor to a one-year, $850,000 contract. Gregor is a 27-year-old journeymen centre who most recently played for the Florida Panthers.
He will provide the Jets with depth down the middle. Barring injuries, Gregor should be limited to a fourth line or 13th forward role.
Stuart Skinner
The Jets inked the 27-year-old goaltender to a two-year, $7.5 million contract ($3.75 million cap hit). Many will assume that this signing all but confirms that Connor Hellebuyck’s days with the Jets are numbered. While that may be the case, at bare minimum, Skinner provides an upgrade at the backup goaltender position over Eric Comrie. He’s iffy as a starter, but can play in a tandem.
Comrie signed a two- year pact with the Sharks. In his 5-year NHL career, Stuart has produced very pedestrian statistics. Neither his 2.77 goals against average nor his 0.902 save percentage jump off any stat sheet. However, he has been to two Stanley Cup Finals with the Edmonton Oilers.
If Hellebuyck is indeed traded, Skinner may be the outright starter in the Jets crease. If the Jets acquire another goaltender in any trade package for Hellebuyck, we may see a platoon situation.
Minor trade: Winnipeg acquires St. Ivany
Prior to the start of free agency, the Jets traded longtime prospect centreman David Gustafson to the Pittsburgh Penguins for defenceman Jack St. Ivany.
The puck-moving St. Ivany is a 26-year old right defenceman. He recorded seven assists through 20 games with Penguins last year. He should serve as an added depth defenceman on the right side of the Jets blueline.
Departures
In addition to Comrie, other players to leave the Jets organization and sign with other teams in free agency included Ville Heinola (Golden Knights), Colin Miller (Switzerland) and Jacob Bryson (Red Wings). None of these players will noticeably missed in the Jets lineup.
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