#JNAirMail: Trade Deadline Fallout Edition

In this week’s AirMail, we ponder why the Jets can’t be a little more forthcoming when it comes to injuries suffered, we debate the pros and cons of some of the Jets more fringe defensemen who will need to make room once Morrissey and Byfuglien come back, and we really wonder if Mark Stone is worth all that money.

JetsNation AirMail is where we ask for your questions, you either @ them to us on Twitter, send them to us on Facebook or even old school electronic mail them to us and then we answer them here!

Sean S: I think a lot of variables go into injuries. Byfuglien, for example, probably was nearing a return so he came on the road trip but his latest injury took an unexpected course. So I can understand why teams, not just the Jets, are deliberately vague when it comes to injury lengths.

Kyle: It’s been frustrating for sure. In the past, the team has been fairly accurate but it seems that this season they have been way off. Whether that’s intentional or not, it would be nice to get some actual information regarding injuries across the entire league.

Josh: I honestly think with Buff this year they haven’t been sure exactly what the injuries have been, considering the multiple setbacks he has faced with both injuries this year. There are also natural setbacks that can happen which can prolong an injury, i don’t think they are purposely misleading  the length of injuries.

Art: The injury cloak and dagger thing has been a staple of NHL injury reports for decades now and until the league forces teams to be more forthcoming with their reports, it’s going to stay that way and the Jets won’t do anything more than needed in that regard. To your point though, it is a bit frustrating that we get at least vague timelines as we did for Nik Ehlers and Dustin Byfuglien and both have had delays. The team hasn’t called them “setbacks” but if we had to guess, they’re setbacks.

Kyle: It’s tough to know exactly what Roslovic would bring back in a deal. If anything, it made more sense to trade him at the deadline to acquire someone to help for a playoff run. I’m not sure what the value would be if we tried to trade him during the off-season because the Jets don’t really want picks or prospects in return. I think Roslovic stays on the team at least for another year.

Sean S: From Columbus? Probably nothing if worth. I don’t really like the idea of trading Rosie to begin with though.

Josh: The only trade I would make with CBJ including Rosie would be him and Trouba for Werenski. That being said, I don’t think he is going anywhere, not any time soon anyways.

Art: I don’t feel like Columbus would pay any extra than a regular NHL club would for Roslovic simply because he’s the hometown boy, and truth be told I don’t know if there is anything the Jackets have and would be willing to part with to convince the Jets to give him up. But the “local kid playing for his hometown team” is always a good story and even more so when it’s from a non-traditional market.

Kyle: Niku pros: skates incredibly well and is showing signs of promise more and more.

Niku cons: inexperienced, sometimes gets caught watching the play

Beaulieu pros: Simple game, brings physicality

Beaulieu cons: Doesn’t do anything exceptionally well

Kiselevich pros: BOGDAN!

Kiselevich cons: No idea

 

Sean S: Niku: I think he could benefit from another year on the Moose to iron out his game. He has moments of brilliance but overall looks very lost on the ice right now.

Beaulieu: He’s doing great at bailing out Trouba bone head plays. He’s not overly noticeable otherwise. But I like his play so far.

Kiselevich: Well he got the flu immediately sooo… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

Josh: Niku has undeniable offensive skill, but is still very raw defensively and as a smaller player he needs to learn how to handle the size of NHLers physically, a-la Enstrom.

Beaulieu has been solid, and hasn’t made any glaring mistakes, and as Sean said he has bailed out Trouba  couple of times.

Unfortunate that Kiselevich got sick as soon as he got here, i can’t see him getting into the line-up unless things get really bad injury wise

Kyle: I think people still don’t know how to value defense in the NHL, especially among forwards. Does Stone’s defensive game make him a top 10 forward in the league? Potentially yes, but it’s still a large price to pay that I don’t think Winnipeg wanted to take on. The Jets would have needed to get rid of a few players to make it work and that’s a tough situation to be in.

Sean S: it seems like an overpayment now, but 3 or 4 years down the road it’s going to be a steal of a contract in my opinion. The extension is right on the dot of what he’s worth.

Josh: I think i’m in the minority when i say I think Vegas overpaid Stone. I realize he’s a top-5 defensive forward in the league, but do you really pay just under 10 million dollars for defence and 65 points a year? Hope he proves me wrong, i am a huge fan of Stone.

Art: I’ll admit I’ve gone from questioning if the Jets even need him, to thinking he would be a nice rental, to feeling like trading a high end player like Kyle Connor wouldn’t be so bad for him… But that was before he was handed a six year deal with a 9.5 million AVV. Look, Stone is a fantastic player and will be for a few years yet, but anything over 8.5 or 9 million per year and I think you need to be a franchise player – a player that you build your team around – and I don’t see Stone as that. To me he’s a slightly upgraded Nicklas Backstrom. A great player for sure and tremendous overall skills, but he’s not a true offensive threat and he’s not a complete shutdown defensive forward.