Player Discussion: Ehlers
- Thread starter Hunter368
- Start date
At this point it doesn't look good for the Jets, to lose a player of Ehlers' caliber and career stage for nothing. It's not unusual for top teams to go through this while they are in their contending window, though. The challenge for the Jets is that they generally don't have the same paths to reload via trade or UFA even with the cap space.
Still, I would imagine that Chevy and team have mapped out Plan B and C in case Ehlers doesn't re-sign, and likely have had those options in mind as they navigated the situation.
I suppose we might find out soon what alternatives Chevy has been contemplating. It's possible he is confident enough in the remaining core that he'll go into the season with them and introducing one or two young players and then look at possible trades later in the season, using cap space that he's accumulated.
Still, I would imagine that Chevy and team have mapped out Plan B and C in case Ehlers doesn't re-sign, and likely have had those options in mind as they navigated the situation.
I suppose we might find out soon what alternatives Chevy has been contemplating. It's possible he is confident enough in the remaining core that he'll go into the season with them and introducing one or two young players and then look at possible trades later in the season, using cap space that he's accumulated.
bustamente
Less Fraudulent
I'm not going to rehash why didn't Nik re sign or why didn't Chevy trade him either during last off season or during last season, all I know is we are going to lose a 60 pt. player for nothing in return and no real options in replacing him and many are going to have a problem with this, some wont.
- Feb 24, 2015
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Haven’t lost him yet…
Can always hope he stays.
Don’t blame him for using his UFA rights as he’s gonna get PAID
Chevy knows whether or not he is going to extend and my guess is he is not going to extend.
Like I was saying all season, should have sold high.
Like I was saying all season, should have sold high.
No options for replacing him? I think Cole Perfetti will replace his production just fine.
sipowicz
The thrill is gone
- Mar 16, 2011
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And who replaces Perfetti's production?
Jagger, Chibby, Lumpbart, tiny Ford all seem a long ways from the NHL
It's not just that Ehlers creates chaos by roaming through the zone, it's his ability to find teammates in prime scoring position and getting the puck to them. He's the Jets best powerplay playmaker since Wheeler.
In terms of primary assists, Ehlers was near the top of the league (5th - behind Kucherov, MacK, Marner and McDavid...in way fewer minutes on the ice - he's 1st in primary assists/60). Yes, the powerplay was running insanely hot, but Ehlers was a big part of that.
It's going to be a tall order for Perfetti to come in and fill those shoes - especially if Ehlers isn't doing the circling-the-zone stuff to draw guys out of position.
Xavier Laflamme
Registered User
- Apr 25, 2025
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Maybe Cole Perfetti replaces both his own and Ehlers production.
100 points next season.
sipowicz
The thrill is gone
- Mar 16, 2011
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Guess little Chibby has the best shot, Lambert can't even score at the AHL level!
Xavier Laflamme
Registered User
- Apr 25, 2025
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Still can't believe what happened to him last season, I didn't watch much of the Moose and obviously everyone on that team didn't play well but man what a let down.
Hopefully with Yager and Barlow and a few more youngins they can pick things up.
The issue here is this is really the only year that he produced those types of assist results on the pp. Nothing in his past really shows him as a marquee pp qb. So how easy will he be able to replicate those results vs. Was this just the case of a scorching hit pp.
I think it's dangerous to assume a career pp season will be what should be expected moving forward. It seemed once teams figured it out the team started regressing to the mean pp wise.
Replace Appleton with someone who can score 30 points. Then you only need 42 points from Perfetti’s replacement. Lots of options there. Plus the Jets were the third highest scoring team in the league last year. Lots of room for a bit less scoring.
Lambert had a very, very low shooting % last season (less than 5%). I expect that will regress back towards a more normal of more than 10%.
Still, I think it's unrealistic to expect him to fill a major gap in offense at the NHL level by next season. He still needs to develop more strength and savvy in his offensive game at the pro level.
Still, I think it's unrealistic to expect him to fill a major gap in offense at the NHL level by next season. He still needs to develop more strength and savvy in his offensive game at the pro level.
With where we are at as a team in our competitive cycle, at this point it sucks to lose any top line calibre guy like Ehlers.
But Perfetti can help bridge that gap, and that likely downgrade at least allows us the opportunity to upgrade even more in the bottom six.
If we can grab a player in UFA with comparable impact to Perfetti, we can come out not too far behind. Who knows, maybe Lambert or Chibrikov can fill that role if UFA route doesn't work out? Optimistic but maybe Jets are considering it.
But Perfetti can help bridge that gap, and that likely downgrade at least allows us the opportunity to upgrade even more in the bottom six.
If we can grab a player in UFA with comparable impact to Perfetti, we can come out not too far behind. Who knows, maybe Lambert or Chibrikov can fill that role if UFA route doesn't work out? Optimistic but maybe Jets are considering it.
Ehlers was a big part of the top powerplay unit this year. It was better with him, than without. He contributed a lot in terms of primary scoring and playmaking.
Even if he's re-signed, I think the powerplay regresses, maybe out of the Top 10, but I'd guess somewhere around 10th. Without him I think it drops back a bit more to the middle of the pack. Small samples caveat, and all that...
- Feb 13, 2019
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Again, I think you're overestimating how much Ehlers is "ad libbing" on the PP, at least in terms of plays that work. As has been said (and you can watch the vid i posted earlier), most of the movement on the PP was coached and choreographed with specific goals in mind of creating quiet ice and opening passing lanes
For every genius "wow, what a pass that leads to a goal" there's a "what the f*** was he thinking there" pass to nobody with Ehlers. Even the pass to Connor on the Manitoba Miracle goal was a dumb play... the only reason it worked was because Connor flubbed the shot and it went to Perfetti - a stroke of pure luck. That puck should have been put on the net with less than 5 seconds left in the game. The goal was a classic Bob Ross "Happy Accident".
At the end of the day, this sort of boils down the issue with the guy. Fans see the amazing plays that work out and revere him, while coaches and some linemates yearn for a more predictable player. I'm sure people will hear that and think that I'm putting Ehlers down, but I'm not. He just needs guys who see and think the game like he does to play with. Unfortunately, in the highly structured and scripted game of today, they're hard to find
Yeah, I've said it before but I don't think he really fits with how this team wants to play offensively. He's a dynamic ad hoc rush player in a system where the team wants to use the forecheck, cycle/switches/rotation to create chances. Despite their overall positive performance I often found the second line to be out of sync, especially when they got the puck in the offensive end.
I'm also not putting the guy down, his skill set and production more then offsets that. But I do think that at times it's hard for his linemates to adhere to the teams systems with him on the ice playing his ad hoc game.
tbcwpg
Moderator
- Jan 25, 2011
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Feel like the "we should've traded him" crowd are operating 100% in hindsight. Sometimes you lose players when their deal runs out. It's very unlikely Chevy could've got equal value for the present in an Ehlers trade either last offseason on even less unlikely at the deadline.
I wanted them to trade him before the deadline if there was ANY chance he wouldn't re-sign. We could have had a replacement ready to rock already. If he signs, the. It's moot but if he doesnt..... Man, what a terrible waste of a high end asset that we get absolutely zero for. We most likely could have got a very good prospect, good roster player and a draft pick out of trading him.....
If he walks, getting anything would have been ideal. Plenty of teams would have taken him at the deadline. It's crazy to think he had less value vs nothing lol.
Hey, all this could be for not as long as he signs a reasonable deal but we will have to wait and see.
Hey, all this could be for not as long as he signs a reasonable deal but we will have to wait and see.
How is it hindsight when folks were saying it last year?
Yes sometimes you lose players, shappens, like Dillon, Tanev, Myers, Frolik, Chiarot for instance. But none are at the name level of Ehlers.
Winnipeg is 1) not built like teams like Vegas or TBL,where TBL can lose Stamkos and replace it with Guentzel in UFA. 2) hear so many praise them for asset management but the lack of transactions here would've been a p poor management of one which I think isn't out of bounds to call out. 0.75 of value>0 value.
Regardless I'm not writing ehlers off just yet. Insiders are hardly ever right on the Jets.
gojetsgo
Registered User
- Nov 1, 2015
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yes, plenty of teams would have taken him at the deadline, including the jets, who were where in the standings?
Do people not understand that Chevy also needs to manage and is accountable to the players in the room in this market.
Yeah it would have gone over real well for Chevy to take whatever he could get at the deadline for Fly then walk into the room of a 1st place team and try to sell he's trying to manage the assets for the future to the current group.
In this market he needs to keep players invested into staying here. He had to sell it hard to Mark and Helle that they could win a cup here. Selling off good players at the deadline when you are contending runs counter to that.
Yeah it would have gone over real well for Chevy to take whatever he could get at the deadline for Fly then walk into the room of a 1st place team and try to sell he's trying to manage the assets for the future to the current group.
In this market he needs to keep players invested into staying here. He had to sell it hard to Mark and Helle that they could win a cup here. Selling off good players at the deadline when you are contending runs counter to that.
- Feb 13, 2019
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So you would have just been OK with having a second line of Nino - Names - Perfetti rolling into the playoffs?
On ice results trump asset management
Im curious about who you think his "ready to rock" replacement might have been. I feel like you're living in fantasy land
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