Stastny trade proves Jets are Cup contenders

WINNIPEG --The Winnipeg Jets' approach has been a patient one, which has not always gone over well.
Since becoming general manager June 8, 2011, Kevin Cheveldayoff has taken a conservative approach. It's not always exciting, but it's a plan that has made the Jets a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

"I've talked about how we're going to build this organization, and I think if you went back over all the transcripts, I think the message has been pretty consistent, that we were going to draft, develop and retain," Cheveldayoff said Monday after the NHL Trade Deadline passed. "If and when we felt we had opportunities in front of us to strike at something, we would."
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Did they ever.
The Jets pulled off perhaps the most surprising move of deadline day, acquiring forward Paul Stastny in a trade with the Central Division-rival St. Louis Blues for a first-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, and forward prospect Erik Foley.
Stastny has 40 points, (12 goals, 28 assists) in 63 games this season. The 32-year-old can become an unrestricted free agent July 1 and wavied a full no-trade clause to come to Winnipeg.
The Jets (37-16-9) are two points behind the Nashville Predators for first in the division. They play at Winnipeg on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, FS-TN, NHL.TV).
The trade appeared to break the mold of Cheveldayoff being conservative.
"I think that you can label whatever people want to label," he said.

He said he didn't feel conservative when the Jets traded captain Andrew Ladd, a pending unrestricted free agent, and defenseman Jay Harrison and forward Matt Fraser to the Chicago Blackhawks for a first-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft and forward Marko Dano on Feb. 25, 2016.
Cheveldayoff said the same applied Feb. 11, 2015, when he traded forward Evander Kane, defenseman Zach Bogosian and goalie prospect Jason Kasdorf for forward prospect Brendan Lemieux, forward Joel Armia, forward Drew Stafford, defenseman Tyler Myers and a first-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft (forward Jack Roslovic).
"I think it's just about what realistic options you have in front of you," Cheveldayoff said. "Do I have to get the adrenaline rush of making a trade or reading my name? No, I don't."
Cheveldayoff decided to strike when Blues general manager Doug Armstrong texted him in the past two days to suggest some kind of trade might be possible.
Winnipeg added Stastny to an already strong forward group that includes captain Blake Wheeler, who is second in assists in the NHL with 54 (Jakub Voracek of the Philadelphia Flyers has 56), and forward Patrik Laine, who leads the NHL with 16 power-play goals.

In addition to Stastny, the Jets have eight forwards with 10 or more goals, led by Laine, who has 31. Winnipeg also improved its strength at center, with Stastny joining Mark Scheifele, Bryan Little and Adam Lowry.
"All our centremen are really good," Laine said. "Now when Stastny comes in, it looks really good. It looks like we're now really wanting to win the Stanley Cup, and now we have a really good chance to do it. That just gives us a better chance. We were happy with this team we had, but now we're even happier."
Laine was glad Cheveldayoff made it a priority to keep the Jets' chemistry intact prior to the deadline.
"I think we have a good thing going on here in the locker room," he said.
In other years, the Jets had been quiet or made minor moves around the deadline.
Last season, the only trade the Jets made was to move Stafford, a pending unrestricted free agent, to the Boston Bruins for a sixth-round pick on March 1, 2017.
In 2015, the only time the Jets qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since relocating from Atlanta prior to the 2011-12 season, Cheveldayoff added depth by trading for forwards Jiri Tlusty and Lee Stempniak in the two weeks prior to the deadline.

Cheveldayoff has said repeatedly over the years that it was important to accumulate depth and assets, and that there might come a time to use some of that to shore up his roster for a run.
"We're very close to the [NHL salary cap] right now," he said. "I don't know who in Winnipeg would have thought we would be a cap team. I think any general manager has to evaluate what's in front of them and make decisions."
He also said there comes a time to believe in what you have built.
"I go back to that conversation I had with (defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, Feb. 8, 2016) when I signed his (five-year) extension," Chevaldayoff said. "I said, 'Buff, why do you want to stay here? You can leave in six weeks or whatever.' And he said, 'I like what we have going here. We have some young players that are exciting and I want to be a part of it.'"
Above all, the fit, Cheveldayoff said, was a must.
"I wouldn't have acted if the fit wasn't right," he said. "I was fully prepared, if there was not the right fit, we would have been having this conversation about not making a move."