2020 RFA Spotlight: The Other Guys

This is the final post in our 2020 RFA Spotlight series where we have taken a look at all of the pending RFA’s in Winnipeg. Our focus so far has been on the four NHL players: Roslovic, Appleton, Harkins, and Niku.

This last post will cover the rest of the RFA’s and ponder their future with the organization.

There are three more players that are pending RFA’s this off-season. The first one to look at is Michael Spacek.

Another member of the sensational 2015 draft is Spacek. The fourth-round pick has spent three full seasons in the AHL  putting up just over half a point per game. These numbers haven’t quite been enough to earn him a spot with the Jets as he’s still awaiting his first taste of the NHL.

The recent news surrounding Spacek is that he’s signed a one year deal with Tappara Tampere in Finland. Jets fans might recognize the name of Tappara because it was Laine’s clube back in 2015-16, the year before getting drafted.

Spacek has reportedly played well in the preseason and has recently seen top-line action as Liiga is getting ready to start their season.

With Spacek in Finland for the next year, it seems less and less likely that we will see him in a Jets uniform down the road. There is still a chance that he makes his way back to North America, but the Jets might be content to let him go instead of trying to sign him to a minor league deal.

It was an exciting year for CJ Suess who suited up for the first NHL game of his career. The game was against San Jose on November 1 and he logged just over six minutes of ice-time. After the one game, he was sent back to the Moose where he had a moderately successful season. Scoring 14 goals and 13 assists in 57 games put him fourth on the team in points.

In terms of his future, it remains to be seen if he can make it back to the NHL. Considering he’s already 26 years old, he can’t be considered a prospect anymore as he’s likely reached his ceiling. It’s possible that the fifth round pick from 2014 still has time to make the NHL, but it might not be with Winnipeg.

It’s clear that the organization has a number of players ahead of Suess as Suess was one of only three players who participated in training camp but didn’t make the trip to Edmonton to play in the bubble last month.

Suess is arbitration-eligible, although that won’t really matter because there isn’t any sort of track record to sign Suess to an NHL contract. The most likely situation is that Winnipeg signs him to a one year deal to play for the Moose and then Suess can test the free-agency waters next summer to see if anyone is willing to give him a shot in the NHL.

Rounding out the list of RFA’s is Nelson Nogier. The 2014, 4th round pick has played a total of 11 NHL games in his career but didn’t suit up for the Jets at all in the last year. During his first year of pro hockey with the Moose, the Jets were absolutely decimated with injuries which allowed Nogier to suit up for ten games back in 2016-17.

Just for the memory, here are the six defensemen that played on March 21, 2017, as the Jets beat the Flyers.

Morrissey – Byfuglien

Stuart – Melchiori

Strait – Nogier

Oof. That’s quite the bottom pairings for the Jets. The sheer number of injuries allowed Nogier to play a handful of games and get some valuable experience. Unfortunately, it didn’t translate into future success as he suited up for only one game in 2018-19 and none in 2019-20.

It seems that Nogier isn’t likely to make the jump to the NHL based on his career thus far. He’s only 24 years old and still has time to reach his full potential, but there’s a good chance he spends the majority of his time in Winnipeg playing for Moose.

There’s even some speculation that he could take a leadership role next season as the Moose’s previous captain retired.

Nogier is also eligible for arbitration, but like Suess, it wouldn’t help him by going that route. Nogier is the most likely player to sign a multi-year deal, especially if he wants to keep playing for the Moose and become one of the team leaders down the road.

Although these three players are unlikely to make an impact with the Jets next season, they are still valuable pieces in the organization. The Moose can always use more depth and you never know what might happen during the season for the Jets. We’ve seen plenty of injuries strike in the past and a few unlikely players make an appearance.