The 2025 NHL trade deadline is rapidly approaching, as it’s now just 2 days away from the Friday 2 pm CT deadline. Last night in New York, the Jets fell 3-2 to the Islanders, marking their 3rd straight game without a win. The 11 game win streak prior to this disappointing stretch still keeps the Jets 1st overall in the NHL standings, but several teams, including the Dallas Stars, are starting to catch up. Fans got some relief last night knowing that the powerplay is back to good form, as the Jets went 2/3 on the powerplay with goals from Josh Morrissey and Nikolaj Ehlers.

The Jets will have a rematch against the Flyers tomorrow, the team they just lost to 2-1 in a shootout on Saturday. Friday night, the Jets will take on the New Jersey Devils, just 4 hours after the NHL trade deadline hits. There’s some questions about how the Jets have played in the last 3 games, but right now the focus is on what to expect in terms of moves prior to Friday’s 2 pm CT deadline.

Some teams have already stood out as buyers, some teams have become sellers, and other teams, like the Jets, are sort of mysterious as to what their approach might be before and on deadline day. What are the Jets needs? Who could be on the move? Who are some potential targets? There’s so many questions to answer between now and Friday afternoon, but for now we can only speculate and predict what might happen.

To figure out the approach the Jets will take this trade season, you have to look at their record and the current construction of their roster. While last summer’s free agency left fans wondering if the moves they made were enough, the team has shown to be clearly well constructed and sit 1st in the league with 88 points. Does that mean it’s time to go “all-in” for the 2024-25 season? The Jets biggest needs right now are a top 6 centre and a top 6 / depth defenceman. If the Jets want to go “all-in”, it will require them to acquire both of these before Friday afternoon. Another approach that management might take is the more “cautious” approach, acquiring both of these positions, but with players less on the trade radar, players that may be seen more as “depth” pieces for a playoff run.

Looking at players that have been rumoured to be of interest for the Jets, there are a few names that are higher up on the “trade bait” list as of this week. The biggest name is New York Islanders centre Brock Nelson, who after the game last night against the Jets had a rather emotional interview post game in front of the Islanders crowd in what could have been his final game for them at home. Nelson is a 33 year old 6’4 centre on the final year of his current 6 year, 36 million dollar deal. The asking price is going to be quite high for Nelson, a player who has scored 30+ goals the last 3 seasons and is on pace for 30 goals again this season. That being said, if Kevin Cheveldayoff is looking for a big move on Friday, Nelson could be the Jets primary target.

When it comes to depth defencemen, insiders have said that the Jets have explored acquiring one, but haven’t been specific with the players they might have in mind. A few of the players on the Jets radar are Jamie Oleksiak, Mario Ferraro and Rasmus Ristolainen. Compared to a potential Nelson deal, this trade would be more of a “hockey trade”, where rather than moving picks and prospects, the Jets would make a fairly straight forward swap that could help their blue line immediately.

Looking at what the Jets have available to offer teams for these potential moves, there’s a few ways the Jets could approach making a deal. The Jets own their 1st round pick in 2025,2026 and 2027, giving them flexibility to move one of them to acquire an impactful player. A lesser possible option is that the Jets could use their own expiring contracts as trade pieces, players such as Alex Iafallo, Neal Pionk and Nikolaj Ehlers. Of course, these players are important parts of the Jets roster now, so any deal involving these players would signify the Jets really going all in to try to improve their roster further.

Last but not least, there’s been a few “under-the-radar” players that the Jets (and other teams) have looked at acquiring over the past few weeks. Canadiens forwards Joel Armia, Jake Evans and Josh Anderson have been in trade talks lately. However, Jake Evans just signed an extension yesterday, and Canadiens GM Kent Hughes seems to be one of those GMs that never “lose” a trade, so I would be cautious in approaching them in any deal prior to the deadline. A more realistic option for the Jets at forward is Kraken winger Brandon Tanev. The 33 year old, former Jets forward is a free agent after this season, and could be a fit on the Jets 4th line and penalty kill. The Kraken are one of the “sellers” this trade deadline, and with several potential players on the block, the Jets could be able to strike a deal with them in the coming days.

3 other “big” names that would be riskier, “all in” trades for the Jets are Brandon Carlo, Colton Parayko and Scott Laughton. Carlo and Parayko are both big right handed defencemen, but the Bruins value Carlo highly now with McAvoy out of their lineup, and Parayko’s stock is high after a successful tournament at the 4 Nations Face-Off alongside Josh Morrissey. Laughton is a player with interest from 5+ teams currently, and the Flyers are looking for a 1st round pick (and possibly more) for him, so it could end up being a real bidding war to acquire the 30 year old two-way centre.

It’s really a guessing game this trade season as to what the Jets (and other contenders) might do before Friday’s deadline. Looking at recent trades around the league, the market really seems to favour the “sellers” right now, as even players on expiring contracts that may serve as rentals are going for a hefty price. Stay tuned here at Jets Nation for the latest Jets trade rumours and news, including “live” coverage of the 2025 NHL trade deadline all day Friday.