Cheveldayoff details how acquisition of Eakin came together

PHILADELPHIA -Kevin Cheveldayoff had barely finished off the trade to acquire defenceman Dylan DeMelo from the Ottawa Senators when another opportunity came up.
Fast forward a couple days, and Winnipeg product Cody Eakin is now a member of the Jets.
"I didn't see this opportunity coming," said Cheveldayoff, adding that moves the Vegas Golden Knights have made in recent days may have brought "cap considerations" into play.
"It was (a trade) we adjusted to more than targeted," Cheveldayoff said. "Over the course of the last couple of days in the conversations we've had, the coaches felt, and myself, that this is a good direction for this group to go."

In exchange for Eakin, the Jets sent a conditional fourth round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft to the Vegas Golden Knights. That pick could be bumped up to a third round pick if the Jets qualify for the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs or re-sign Eakin to a new contract on, or before, July 5, 2020.
The 28-year-old was born and raised in the Manitoba capital, and has four goals and 10 points in 41 games with the Golden Knights this season.
"Cody was someone that really intrigued the coaches when I brought his name up for the first time," said Cheveldayoff. "Cody is a guy that oozes character. He's had tremendous playoff experience over the last couple of years. (He's a) tremendous character person, brings guys into the fight with how he plays and then the energy and leadership that he brings. I'm real excited to add a player like that into our room and on the ice."

Eakin hit the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career in 2018-19 and finished with 41 points that season, which was a career high.
The points are great of course, but the fact Eakin can play centre, the wing, and on the penalty kill were all part of the decision to acquire Eakin, who was originally drafted in the third round of the 2009 NHL Draft.
"Those are the things that you can't have enough of in an organization, the flexibility for coaches to be able to play him with different types of players," Cheveldayoff said. "In situations like ours where injuries have been very common-place - we'll hopefully have players coming back into our line-up soon - you need people that are flexible and can be more than just one-dimensional type of players."
One other thing stood out to Cheveldayoff over the course of the 578 games split between the Washington Capitals, Dallas Stars, and Golden Knights - Eakin's tenacity.
"There's no question that I think he adds an element that helps you get into the playoffs and is an extremely valuable thing when you are in the playoffs," Cheveldayoff said. "He brings people into the fight with how he plays. It's something that really fit from that kind of perspective."

Eakin won't be with the Jets in time to play against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday afternoon. Instead, he'll meet the team in Buffalo, where the Jets play the Sabres on Sunday at 2 pm CT.
Cheveldayoff has had a chance to chat with his newest acquisition, however.
"We talked more about the shock of being traded. It's something every player goes through. As weird as it is when you don't see your name out there, you're probably not prepared for it," Cheveldayoff said.
"For me, I'm excited about getting Cody Eakin the hockey player, regardless of where he's from. That factored in more than anything for us. The fact he's from Winnipeg is a nice maybe sideline. The fact he's the player that he is, that's the reason we got him."
Monday's trade deadline is still a couple days away. While it seems close, it doesn't really feel that way for the Jets GM.
"If there are some hockey deals out there to look at, we're certainly open to those and looking at those," said Cheveldayoff. "Some of those things might be able to happen given the flexibility with the cap that we do have. It all comes down to fit. We'll evaluate something and if something becomes interesting based on that fit, we'll explore it to the extent that we can."