In this edition of the Winnipeg Jets News & Rumors, we look at why the Jets acquired Dylan Coghlan and what he brings to the team, a pair of two-year extensions with David Gustafsson and Logan Stanley, and to cap things off, the latest rumors around Nikolaj Ehlers.
Jets Acquire Coghlan From Hurricanes
You can never have enough defensive depth in your organization, and the Jets are looking to have as many players as they can in the mix. With the signings of Colin Miller and Haydn Fleury, an extension for Stanley, which we will get to, and now trading for Coghlan, the Jets have four legitimate options in the NHL outside of their projected starting six. On top of that, they have defensive prospects like Elias Salomonsson, who could look to challenge for a spot, though they would likely need time in the American Hockey League (AHL) first.
The hope is that Ville Heinola will make his breakthrough this year and become a full-time NHL player, but with so many players competing for bottom-pair minutes, some of them will need AHL time.
That brings us to what Coghlan brings to the lineup. Despite only playing in 18 NHL games over the past two seasons with the Hurricanes, he has a great mentality, accepted the role of being the number seven/eight defenseman, and would be spending time in the AHL. He is a fine option in the NHL and would certainly fit in on the third pair as a right-handed player. Despite being 6-foot-2, Coghlan moves very well and is more of a mobile, offensive option, which the Jets needed more of from their defensive group. His biggest assets are his transitional passes and his shot. He has a great shot from the point and could be a power play option on the second unit if need be.
Related: Jets 2024 Free Agency Class: Who’s Re-Signed, Who’s Gone, and Who’s Left
Depth is always nice, but Coghlan could be more than that with the right fit. He had flashes of great play in Carolina, and even though he is 26 years old and doesn’t have much development left, he has been on the verge of a big breakthrough year for some time now.
Jets Sign Gustafsson & Stanley to Two-Year Deals
Around the same time, the team announced the Coghlan trade and re-signed Gustafsson and Stanley, both restricted free agents (RFA).
Gustafsson signed a two-year deal worth $835,000, bringing him to being a 26-year-old RFA. After spending close to half of each of the last two seasons as the team’s fourth-line center, the hope is that Gustafsson can take a bit of a step forward this upcoming season. He isn’t someone the Jets expect to produce much, but with only 14 points in 113 NHL games, they want a bit more out of him than that. His biggest asset is his two-way play, which is fine for a fourth-line center, but his defensive play isn’t a strong enough asset to outweigh his near-total lack of point-scoring.
As for Stanley, his contract was two years at $1.25 million, which was higher than anticipated as he has struggled to be an NHL regular in his four years with the big club. Injuries prevented some of his chances, but he hasn’t played an AHL game in over four years and has only played over 37 games once. He has the size that teams want, standing at 6-foot-7, but he isn’t a strong enough skater and isn’t a stand-out player defensively or offensively.
These two are expected to play at the bottom of the lineup or be the odd man out on most nights, but having them as options certainly doesn’t hurt.
Hurricanes Pushing Hard for Ehlers?
According to Stefen Rosner, the Hurricanes want to acquire Ehlers from the Jets. This deal was speculated because the Jets have a similar player who is also looking for a change of scenery.
Backing up to Ehlers from the Jets side, there haven’t been many updates on his current status. The last update was from Kevin Cheveldayoff, stating that Ehlers is an important part of the team as of now and will help the team win in 2024-25. That is the goal for the Jets right now, but moving past that, having Ehlers walk to unrestricted free agency for nothing would be a tough situation for the club. Ehlers isn’t interested in signing an extension at this point, and with his deployment being well below what he expects, that makes sense. Ehlers didn’t see top-line minutes or top power play opportunities for most of the season. This has been an ongoing issue with Ehlers and the Jets.
One easy suggestion would be a trade package surrounding Martin Necas; with Necas in a similar situation with the same issues in the Hurricanes’ organization, it doesn’t make much sense for the Jets to try and bring in a player looking for bigger opportunities. Where that conversation gets interesting is the reported request from Necas to play at center. The Jets are currently running with Mark Scheifele, Vladislav Namestnikov, and Adam Lowry as their top three centers. That needs a substantial upgrade.
This isn’t the place for mock trades, but with these reports coming out, be sure to track the Winnipeg Jets page and subscribe to the Substack for all of the latest content.
