JJ Peterka Should Be The Number ONE Winnipeg Jets Trade Target This Off-Season
the Buffalo Sabres are preparing to trade JJ Berka it seems like they’re at an impass and trade is the only option should the Jets be in on this find out on tonight’s episode of Locked On Winnipeg Jets you’re Locked On Jets your daily podcast on the Winnipeg Jets part of the Locked On Network your team every day hey friends and welcome to tonight’s episode of Locked On Winnipeg Jets part of the Locked On podcast network your team every day i’m your host Harrison Lee an avid Winnipeg Jets fan and an online blogger you can follow me on Twitter at hliving Loco and at L_Winnipeg Jets thanks for making Lockdown Jets your first listen of the day every day if you like what you’re hearing be sure to like follow and subscribe on all of your favorite podcasting platforms and YouTube doing so of course is always free of charge and ensures you never miss another episode most of all though we just love and appreciate your support tonight’s episode we have some fun to talk about i want to chat about a lot of different teams the Jets could trade with a couple of big updates for uh one of the biggest names on the trade market right now JJ Berka and maybe some teams that have centers that we haven’t chatted about but maybe there’s a reason that we’re not talking about those centers all coming right up on tonight’s episode but of course let’s start off with JJ Perka so the Buffalo Sabres have not exactly been a good team lately i don’t think that that you know that’s not really a shocker to anyone who has actually followed the Atlantic division who has heard about the Sabres kind of having some internal strife uh sounds like a lot of players on this team are not very happy so you know the the Sabres kind of need to do something right and sometimes that’s more of a threat to the fan base than maybe it looks but Buffalo needs to make a change and probably a very big change this coming summer now one of the biggest names that’s really started to circulate on the trade market is JJ Peter uh Elliot Freriedman has pointed out that apparently the Sabres now are are really gearing up to trade him they’re kind of at an impass with him he doesn’t really sound like he wants to resign which I guess given the Saber situation is not super shocking uh but because of that there’s not really a lot that they can do yeah they could hold on to his rights and try and wait it out but it just really doesn’t feel that productive right they’ve got a 23-year-old RFA who’s expiring this summer you got to do something about this right and the Sabres are kind of in this weird spot of a lot of the guys that they currently have under contract kind of being in the mid to late 20s or even early 30s and so this team has some sense of urgency to make something happen uh something could be bad in a lot of ways you know don’t get me wrong I think you want to be careful when we’re talking about what that something is but if you’re the Jets this feels like a very interesting uh situation for you to be monitoring because it’s not just Peter that’s on the move we’re hearing that Alex Tuck could also be out there and for the Jets this is probably uh one of the best potential one-stop shop sorts of spots you could find now in terms of you know who could be on the move uh Tuck and Peter are probably two of the easiest names that I think I would look at peter is going to cost you an arm and a leg and it’s not like Tuck will be cheap either but Peter in particular I mean he’s a young 23-year-old RFA now I guess the good news is that you’re talking about a guy who’s disgruntled and wants out so you might have some leverage to a point but I think pretty much everyone out there who has any sense of being able to bring Peter in for you know 78 million is immediately going to be pounding the phone lines calling up the sabers and asking what they want for him he’s a great player he’s got positional versatility posted 60 plus points last year easy easy decision for me to to pursue this guy especially when you’re Winnipeg and you actually have a real spot for him now the trick with Peter is that he’d actually have to want to sign with the Jets and that could be a challenge uh I will say that I feel like the mood and and sort of the perception of the Jets over the past year or two has really started to shift and maybe you know guys like Brock Nelson turning the Jets down aren’t indicative of how some of these younger guys who perhaps uh grew up elsewhere or even outside the US maybe they see Winnipeg maybe they don’t really care about some of this stuff uh he doesn’t have a family as far as I know that he has to really manage and and make sure that they get to good schools and stuff so he could actually be in an okay living spot to try and you know make something happen maybe he’s a little easier to convince anywhere has to be better than Buffalo at this point right it’s not like he’s living in the most glamorous city with the world’s best team he’s on the Sabres and Buffalo is a cool place but it’s not like the most exciting spot ever right so I look at Peter and I feel like there’s a real uh opportunity for the Jets and I kind of wonder if this is where the Gabe Valardi situation comes in right valardi hasn’t signed his extension yet and the longer it goes the more I wonder just what his situation is uh Valardi kind of could be a Buffalo player maybe you know you’ve got a big scoring winger with a pretty great shot maybe you know a swap of RFAS is what kind of gets this done obviously the Jets would probably have to add on their end because we’re talking about Valardi versus you know an even more promising youngster but Valardi has a lot of value and I I could see maybe a trade here making a lot of sense for both parties the Jets with their wing depth are a little more uh secure than they are with the center depth and a Paterica addition could really transform Winnipeg’s top six and maybe even help fix the top line right the top line right now has kind of been all over the place and if you swap out Valardi for somebody and maybe move Peter to your 2C spot I don’t know man i’m I’m seeing some real potential here and it could make a lot of sense for both teams the Jets give them a really good primeed uh player who’s maybe got some cosmetic challenges but is still very good and is absolutely lethal on the power play and the Jets get a promising young RFA who could immediately improve the Jets in the present and the future especially down the middle so you know there’s a lot of intrigue you know if if Winnipeg adds you know some prospects and picks and stuff u not like crazy amounts here but enough to move the needle maybe this is a trade that would really benefit both teams i also kind of look at teams like New York as maybe having a more uh desperate need for a guy like this the Rangers are going to try and swing for something so Winnipeg’s going to have a lot of competition if they enter the Barero race a guy that could be a little more on the affordable side is Alex Tuck though tuck’s got one year left uh he does have some trade protection of a sort but you know if he would will be willing to wave and come to Winnipeg you know he spent time in Minnesota so Winnipeg’s really not that different uh he comes up maybe he’ll have a really good season for the Jets and perhaps he’s a free agent that you resign for the longer term i think the challenge with him is that Buffalo was supposed to be kind of a hometown sort of thing for him so I don’t really know how he feels now but you know the rumors of them potentially shopping talk does make it seem like they’re not really anticipating him sticking around so for Winnipeg you know this this could be a really intriguing option uh I’ve also talked about Ryan Mloud before mloud I I don’t really know if he’s going to be on the move if they start moving guys like Peter and stuff I can’t really see them jettisoning another you know primeaged RFA that can contribute down the middle and who was quite good for them this past season so uh let’s let’s I guess not get greedy so to speak but I’ve also mentioned Tuck before he’s he’s a real promising guy players that I hope they kind of avoid i would probably avoid Greenway uh I like him personally i don’t like him for what the Jets need winnipeg needs scoring help and Greenway is more of like a big two-way uh defensive type and also he’s paid $4 million so that’s kind of a lot uh not not the best situation if you’re trying to find some real offense for your middle six but man if this Perkica thing really does pan out the Jets probably should be uh pounding the door trying to get this deal done if they try and they don’t get it that’s fine i just want to see them really pursue stuff like this because this is a really cool opportunity for Winnipeg to maybe swing big and come away with something special now I also mentioned that there are some other teams we haven’t really explored and one team that I kind of hope the Jets avoid dealing with just because I’m a little concerned about what they would be going for is uh it’s the Montreal Canadiens and Habs fans if you’re listening sorry you’re about to get a little bit coaked on this one but we’ll chat about why I would hope the Jets go elsewhere for their shopping in just a sec looking for a snack that’s both delicious and nutritious crack into a good source of protein with Wonderful Pistachios wonderful Pistachios is one of the highest protein nuts each one on serving has six grams of protein giving you over 10% of your daily value and they’re packed with fiber and better for you unsaturated fats to help keep you feeling fuller for longer now as a Marylander I personally like the shawled variety of pistachios they’re great they’re easy to crack open they’re tasty it’s kind of like cracking open a blue crab even if it’s more of a nut but maybe you’ve got no time you’re on the go you’re dropping your kids off at school or you need something right before you hit the gym they’ve got a great no-shell variety and of course they come in some great flavors and Wonderful Pistachios offer a complete protein providing all nine essential amino acids so get snacking and get cracking with a snack that packs a protein punch visit wonderfulpistachios.com to learn more hey friends and welcome back to this episode of Locked on Winnipeg Jets part of the Locked on Podcast Network your team every day every day thank you so much for rejoining us as we are chatting about uh you know some some decent trade options out there i also want to focus on this episode for like the second half talking about maybe teams that we haven’t really looked at and maybe some stuff to just flat out avoid right one of those teams that kind of feels like an a bit of an avoiding situation is Montreal uh now apparently Winnipeg was maybe talking to the Habs at some point uh this past trade deadline i don’t really know how much there ever was to any of this but if there was um you know there was talk about Jake Evans Josh Anderson stuff like that and this is one of those teams that I think the Jets just really need to steer clear of no offense to Montreal but a lot of what they have on their roster just doesn’t really help the Jets you know you’ve got some players who are decent and maybe fill some nice you know niche holes for them but if you’re the Jets right Winnipeg frankly needs to get and and really swing bigger you look at what’s uh on offer for them you’ve got Josh Anderson who’s kind of a declining 30-year-old physical winger uh he kind of fits sort of the Lowry mode of player but just without the the really positive impacts and you know he’s I think he’s kind of on the market uh they haven’t really been shopping him like crazy crazy crazy amounts but we’ve we’ve heard a lot of rumors about the Jets being interested in an Anderson type over the past couple of seasons and for me it’s just kind of like no you know the assets that you would have to give up to bring in a 31-year-old winger who’s decent you know he’s not bad and I don’t think that that’s really how people should look at this but he’s just not a guy that really solves what’s wrong with the Jets right and I say wrong with the Jets in a very relative sense Winnipeg just needs more goalc scoring help Right and that’s not really something that Anderson is going to bring in he’s had a couple of seasons where he had some shooting percentage spikes but it’s just not really his game and at 5 a.5 million per season kind of pricey you know not exactly the kind of player that I think is is a guy you want to spend a lot of assets for then you also kind of look at maybe like a Kirby Doc type doc I would have some time for uh the thing with Kirby is that he’s just been bad like I don’t know what’s happened to him since he left Chicago uh but he has really not been anything to write home about apparently uh during this past season he had a bit of a spat with the coaching staff when he just didn’t react well to some feedback he received i have no idea what to even make of him uh you know there was some goalc scoring potential there he had some uh offensive talent but like his overall game has really been uh a bit of a shell of itself right and it’s not like it was really wellformed even in the early days with Chicago but seeing him now with the Habs it’s just kind of been not great um and and Doc at this point I just don’t know if he’s really long for for a big spot in this league uh he’s kind of an interesting punt if you can get some salary retained but I would probably uh look elsewhere right you need a real Tucy i would go with somebody with real backing and you know some some level of of uh I guess track record you know maybe that’s what I’m looking for right uh pedigree is perhaps the better way to describe it doc you know he’s he’s on the younger side i just don’t think he’s very good i really haven’t seen anything in his game that makes me feel like he’s going to be the guy to help turn the Jets around uh if the attitude stuff is really true then that’s not going to mesh well with how the Jets are winnipeg has become increasingly you know accountable and to the point about their performances you know they still have some things that they need to work out but I promise you Doc’s attitude if again confirmed we don’t know that that it’s 100% true but if confirmed wouldn’t really align with how this team is so you know I I look at this as a situation where yeah you you could take the risk and punt on it but you know would I really be that happy about it probably not uh Montreal just doesn’t really have a lot of roster players that are super exciting the one exception that I will say um and and sort of this is kind of like not really the most exciting and sexiest of names but if you could find a way to get Alex Kerier out of there uh Kerier could be really interesting now he’s got uh two years left and and you know he is a little older but if you’re looking for a guy who’s a solid two-way puck mover and could probably help out the Jets third pairing he’s actually legitimately pretty good uh the only trick is you know obviously the Jets have a lot of defenders on their uh current roster and unless Shen wants to go up to uh Montreal I can’t really see how this would work but again of the positions that I would target the blue line’s probably you know the the most sensible sort of spot elsewhere you know you just look at this team and you’re like “Yeah not not not really seeing too much to trade for.” Another team that kind of fits the sort of trappy mold um and and maybe one that has similar sorts of salvage opportunities but ones that I’m probably not that high on it’s Chicago uh Chicago is well yeah uh you look at their roster you look at how they performed this past season and it makes a lot of sense they don’t have a lot uh at past Bard you know you’ve got a couple of decent prospects and some younger players but yeah you know it’s it’s a little bit of a grim situation and Bard frankly just needs help right if there was ever a time for them to really start uh overhauling this team it’s probably over the next year or two they just need to get these guys some real help cuz like this team has so little to work with and it’s probably why we’ve heard them talked about as maybe an eer sort of destination the thing that I kind of worry slightly about is that the Jets are going to be looking at this team trying to go shopping and make something happen winnipeg’s had connections to you know Chicago for forever now obvious for obvious reasons you know we’ve had guys come from there including Chevy uh but I I just feel like and say you know Tabes comes in what would you realistically want off this roster and I look at who’s available and you could try for a Lucas Reichel uh Reichel 23-year-old center bad um that’s the best way to describe it just bad uh he had a really rough season on the ice and offensively there is talent there and maybe something that the Jets could really unearth but it’s a little hard for me to project that to what the Jets are doing and how they play right again if you get him out of Chicago maybe you have a lot more success and of the players that you could take a swing on I would probably look more at guys like him maybe some dudes with legitimate upside Bourc established for me and is a guy from uh Dallas that I’m a little higher on but a Riel if it’s cheap enough I wouldn’t hate it valeno is maybe a different direction for me valeno this past year with the Hawks again like most of Chicago’s roster just bad uh he’s never really lived up to the exceptional hype and status that really surrounded him but I mean as a center if you’re looking for a guy who could play on your fourth line it’s not horrible i just feel like the Jets already have a lot of players who already offer very similar things to him uh the only hope is that you know if he gets out of some of these crap teams that he finally starts to put together some of that offensive potential and skill that he has had for a while he’s just not really been able to show it uh but you know for a lot of reasons I’m a little bit skeptical that you know that would really translate into anything the only guy that I think would really be up the alley and and somebody that I would be very intrigued by it’s Tara Vinan now he went back to Chicago and signed for Lord knows what reason i guess it was comfortable and he wanted to stick around he is the only player that I would really say I would pay up for uh Terrain you know maybe he didn’t have the craziest season this past year but I like him a lot i know him from his uh you know his his Carolina days and you know also the early uh Chicago days he’s a great great player and I’m a big fan of his uh the past season honestly was really pretty decent by what you’d expect from a guy playing on one of the worst offenses in the league you know almost 60 points in 80 odd games that’s that’s pretty pretty solid right and clearly he can handle like your 2C sort of duty um he can also play as a wing if you want i just feel like if the Jets are going for anyone off this team Terrain would be the dude he’d also have to wave his trade protection but I just wonder how much he actually wants to sit there and sit through this rebuild but maybe he does maybe he’s comfortable maybe it’s just about being in Chicago he likes the city uh there aren’t that many reasons to go back and sign there to begin with so clearly something had to really attract him u that may not be as hockey related so um for that reason you know this is a team kind of in the Montreal situation where you look at it and you’re like you could maybe force a fit but probably best if you go shopping elsewhere now speaking of shopping elsewhere there are two teams that I haven’t really talked a lot about recently but that do actually have some intriguing names that the Jets could be into i want to chat about the Calgary Flames and San Jose Sharks in a brief moment hey friends and welcome back to this episode of Locked On Winnipeg Jets part of the Locked On podcast network your team every day every day thank you so much for rejoining us on tonight’s show as we are chatting a little bit about uh the Chicago Blackhawks uh you know the Montreal Canadians those are teams that I would probably want the Jets to generally avoid trading with if I’m looking for teams though that are maybe a little bit underrated and some destinations and names that we haven’t really chatted about a lot uh I’m looking at Calgary and San Jose now these two teams have a lot of challenges and they have a lot of needs the Flames and uh Sharks both are are really rebuilding they’re trying to overhaul their roster and I think the Jets actually have a lot of mid-tier uh prospects and picks that could make a lot of sense for teams that really need to just bulk up and add volume now the Sharks are slightly in a different spot they’ve got lots of picks uh I think they could use some real roster bodies and and maybe this is where you know the Jets have some guys who are kind of just on the cusp of making the NHL but maybe don’t fit Winnipeg’s long-term plans let’s look at the Flames first though calgary uh is a name that’s come up in the past and they’ve had a couple of intriguing options nazim Kadri one of the most effective centers in you know in that whole uh squad and and really one of their best players i don’t imagine that he’s too keen to move uh but you know he’s 35 he’s still putting up pretty crazy results uh he has some trade protection and that could be a bit of a challenge he’s got a no movement clause this upcoming season that becomes a modified no trade after this but Kadri you know he is one of those guys where you’d probably hope for the next two to three years he can still put up uh top six results based on how he’s played I don’t think he’s really in line to decline that fast um he does play a physical style and he is you know occasionally edgy but it seems like he’s really settled in as a flame he puts up top tier results he’s a great player and he also has a lot of finishing talent uh if the Jets were trying to maybe look for a real 2C option to back up Shley that’s kind of like a shadow on 1C and you are willing to swallow the fact that he does have four years and he’ll be almost 40 by the time this deal ends this could be a really interesting match you’d probably have to pay a decent amount because his cap hits only at 7 mil which is really really modest um I know that the age is kind of a trick but given how he continues to perform he does all the stuff that we wanted Brock Nelson to do but he actually does it well so you know looking at Cadri I I kind of like him as a player a lot i’ve sort of warmed up to him again and I I could see a legitimate fit but again the Flames would have to want to move him i don’t know if that’s really the case he’d have to want to move that you know there’s a little bit of trickery here so um I don’t think he’s that likely to get moved anytime soon but if he is on the block this summer and the Jets maybe go off the board and go for a center that we’re not talking about a lot Kadri would probably be one of my more desired names blake Coleman uh he’s a guy who has had success previously you know he’s a fast skater he had really good seasons with uh the Devils and with the uh with the first couple of runs with the Flames really did well i would say you know at this stage of his career I don’t know if he’s capable of really playing like a 2C role i think ideally you want him in the 3C spot but he is still putting up pretty decent numbers you know 40-ish 50-ish points uh I would say again you’d probably want him more in the middle six rotation than like a hard uh hard lock 2C kind of thing but given how the Jets use their middle six he would probably fit reasonably well he’s got another year after this one upcoming uh just under five mil a little on the older side and that could be a trick with uh you know whether he has a bit of a crash out after this season or next but again for a two-year rental if you’re looking at him as a guy who might be uh a good stop gap to any sort of longerterm situation with maybe Braden Joerger or something along those lines Coleman could be a very decent target and he’s got no trade protection so the Jets could actually make that happen i don’t think he’d really have too many issues playing in Winnipeg um and he’s just a good player you know I’ve liked him in the past i’d be down with it uh the Flames again I don’t quite know what they would want from the Jets they might be asking for sort of a Lambert return or something h I mean you could talk me into it if you’re moving Lambert I would probably prefer something a little bigger but you know Lambert stock also is kind of all over the place so you know I I understand if maybe teams don’t value him that highly and I know personally I probably overvalue him to a point because that’s how I am with all of our Jets prospects but again if you make it the right return I am more than willing to listen i’m also real interested in the uh the Sharks they’ve got Venberg for one more season and Venberg is kind of like my ideal two-way 2C the only problem with him is that he really doesn’t score that’s been a traditional thing with him it’s it’s still kind of a trick uh with his his goal scoring ability unfortunately you know it’s just not that uh potent but he’s still a good playmaker i think you know if you’re looking for a real upgrade on the Mesnikov and somebody who can actually do the 2C role maybe doesn’t put up crazy numbers but keeps up with Perfetti and whoever else is going to be on that line i think it makes a lot of sense venberg is a productive two-way center he’s a solid setup guy he has some real strong defensive impacts i like him a lot he does have some charade protection and you know with the uh with the Sharks not really looking to move too too many bodies I don’t think i don’t quite know what their plan is for the summer they’ve got lots of picks and stuff to work with so they probably want more rostery kinds of players um I’d be curious to know if they go after a guy like Mason Appleton in free agency it just sort of feels like the sort of player that they would add to their middle six and maybe he can do well maybe he can kind of bring some of that collegiate success along with Will Smith and Cabbrini but um I don’t know wenberg Venberg you know could be of interest on their defense you know you’ve got Mario Ferraro i would avoid that ferraro has not been great for them and sure it might be a systems thing and also just the Sharks really struggling to defend in general but for the Jets I kind of feel like if you’re trading for a defender it it should probably be somebody that you can guarantee will upgrade your bottom pairing if not don’t worry about it you’ve got a lot of guys signed already you need to focus more on offense that’s where the real money is and where the Jets are probably hurting the most hopefully we can find some real goalc scoring help this coming summer because that remains uh one of Winnipeg’s biggest challenges once the playoffs start to roll around but curious to know if any of these names really pique your interest is there anyone that you would go after who would you avoid drop your thoughts on some of the proposed trade options below and what you would give up for some of them or talk about some targets that I haven’t discussed uh in the comments section or at my social medias at HL loco and at l winnipeg jets for tonight’s episode though that is going to be all the time that we have i thank you so much for listening and making Lockdown Jets your first listen of the day every day we’ll see you back here tomorrow so have a great night and as always go Jets go
JJ Peterka is apparently being made available for trade, and it would behoove the Winnipeg Jets to get in line for his services. Why should the Jets be hot to trot for the young RFA? Would he even be willing to sign in Winnipeg? Who else would the Jets need to fend off to acquire his signature? What teams should the Jets avoid trading with this off-season, and why? Are the Flames and Sharks still opening to moving some of the forward talent they have left?
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