Jets focused on playoff push, not deals ahead of Trade Deadline, GM says

The Winnipeg Jets are focused on trying to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs and have not yet decided if they will be buyers or sellers before the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline on March 21, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said.

Winnipeg (27-23-10), which is four points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference, has three games remaining prior to the deadline: at home against the Golden Knights on Tuesday and the Boston Bruins on Friday, and at the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.
As a result, decisions need to be made soon on several players, including forwards Paul Stastny and Andrew Copp, who can become unrestricted free agents, and forward Pierre-Luc Dubois, who can become a restricted free agent July 13.
"We have some players that are potential unrestricted free agents," Cheveldayoff said. "There's always that question, I guess, but we're a team here right now that's battling for our lives and you're taking it with a game-by-game approach."
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Signings in the week ahead are unlikely, Cheveldayoff said.
"I've talked to all the respective agents, and right now we're focusing on trying to get above the playoff line," he said. "Not really looking at anything other than that at the moment."
Along with the deadline, Cheveldayoff discussed coach Dave Lowry and the Jets' recent performance in an interview with NHL.com.
Will the Jets be a buyer or a seller and how difficult is that choice in your position?
"Obviously it's a time here leading up to the deadline where things start to get more defined with more conversations. Anytime there's a deadline it leads to more discussions, so certainly you're having those discussions with other general managers with a range of topics. From the buyers' or sellers' perspective, we're a team that's pretty much capped out right now. We're just trying to manage our injuries so from that standpoint, if I ever did get into the buying side of it, it would have to be money out to get money in, which everyone talks about. You hear all these catch phrases now because they're real. You've got 16 or 17 teams in [Long Term Injury] and when you're an LTI team, you have to manage your [NHL salary] cap differently. Space doesn't accrue every day. It's all based on face value. The mixing and matching becomes a little more like gymnastics."
It's been fairly quiet in terms of transactions in recent days and you already mentioned accruing cap space, so do you think teams trying to accrue as much as possible is a factor right now?
"Yes. Every team's situation is going to be different. There is no doubt that as deadline day approaches, your maximum accrual of cap space for teams that are not in LTI is at deadline day. So that might be the determining factor for some teams as far as what they're able to do or not do. I remember at deadlines past there were situations where you'd say, 'I'll do this deal but I can't do it until deadline day.' Plus you have to remember that the rosters expand on deadline day too, where you're not bound to the 23-man roster. That's why you do see the action, so to speak, on deadline day."
What's the state of the market in your view, and what kinds of conversations are you having?
"A lot of times the conversations do revolve around cap space. Some teams are into looking for rentals. Some teams value trying to get guys with term. Every situation is different and that's, generally, why you're having those conversations, to find out what they're appetite is or what the temperature is of the other team."
After a strong start (9-3-3), what insights have you gained about the Jets' inability to put together a sustained winning streak?
"We've had lots of internal discussions about that. Look at this past week, for example. We played Tampa Bay (7-4 win March 8) and they play a certain style, then went to New Jersey (won 2-1 Thursday), and they play a certain style, then went to the Island (lost 5-2 to the New York Islanders on Friday), and they play a certain style. Then went on to St. Louis, which is a very heavy team and grinds you and is different again from what we've been seeing (4-3 overtime win Sunday). I think you have to find a way to be successful playing your game against those different styles. You have to find ways to be successful and we just haven't gotten that level of consistency to be able to get on that kind of a roll and get that kind of confidence."
How has Dave Lowry performed since becoming coach Dec. 17?
"Anytime anyone comes in midstream, certainly from an assistant coach being elevated and having the interim tag, there are certain challenges in there. The coaches have worked extremely hard at trying to get that level of consistency. They're doing everything they can to move that forward."