Cheveldayoff adds to Jets blue line, acquires Benn

OTTAWA - The main message Winnipeg Jets General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff wants his group to take away from this year's trade deadline is simple.
"We believe in you."
Cheveldayoff made one move, acquiring defenceman Jordie Benn from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a 2021 sixth round pick, to help shore up the team's blue line depth.
"We made a big trade earlier in the year. That trade has helped strengthen us as a team," said Cheveldayoff, referencing the acquisition of Pierre-Luc Dubois in January.
"We think the group that got us to this point deserves to continue to get rewarded and continue to play."

The deal that brought the 33-year-old Benn to Winnipeg came together in the final minutes leading up to the 2 pm CT deadline.

Throughout the day, Cheveldayoff said he was in conversations with other teams but deals never came together.
"The asking prices, obviously they ebb and flow from year to year and that's what the market is," said Cheveldayoff. "Certainly, we were prepared to be in the marketplace with the prices. Again, someone wins and someone doesn't get the player sometimes in different situations. That's the hard part of this job, you take your swings and you go from there."
Cheveldayoff connected on his swing with Benn, who is travelling from Vancouver to Winnipeg today and will have to serve a quarantine upon arrival.
In 31 games with the Canucks this season, Benn has nine points. While the point totals may not stand out, Benn averages 14:40 per night and is fourth on the Canucks in blocked shots with 46.
On top of that, the left-hand shot defenceman is also versatile.
"Jordie gives us a player that can play right side, can play left side, competes real hard and is someone that can add some physicality to the lineup," said Cheveldayoff.
In addition to the Canucks, Benn has also played for the Montreal Canadiens and Dallas Stars over the course of his 548 career NHL games.
"He's a player that competes hard. He's a pro," said Cheveldayoff. "He's got a lot of games under his belt and a lot of experience that I think will be helpful as the games get a little more intense and a little more rugged. Again, he's a big body that is not afraid to play that way as well."

As much as Benn's acquisition improves the depth on the Jets blue line, it also shows the level of confidence Cheveldayoff has in young defencemen in the organization - like Dylan Samberg and Ville Heinola.
The 20-year-old Heinola was reassigned from the Manitoba Moose to the Jets taxi squad on Mar. 17, just as the Jets were starting a season-long seven-game road trip.
He hasn't played a game since but had 10 points in 16 games with the Manitoba Moose this season.
"I think Ville, he's been a little bit of a victim of circumstances here with respect to the taxi squad being up here," said Cheveldayoff. "We think Ville can step right in and play when the opportunity presents itself. We think Ville will have a very short learning curve in that he stepped right in last year, even with less experience, and proved that he can step in. He's that much stronger, that much more a pro."
Logan Stanley is another player on the back end who has taken big strides this season.
The 2016 first-round pick played his first NHL game on Jan. 18 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the scored his first NHL goal on Mar. 27 against the Calgary Flames.
Stanley averages 12:46 per night and his +12 rating leads all NHL rookies this season.
"The interesting thing is that we're at a point in time, we're 40 games in, which generally is the halfway point of a season where young players like (Stanley) are only just finding their way and continuing to get better and better," said Cheveldayoff. "So, I look at the opportunity that's in front of this group to continue to reap the benefits of some of the younger players getting better and getting an opportunity that should be beneficial to us moving forward."
Winnipeg is 16 points above the playoff line and sits second in the North Division with 15 games left on the schedule.
As much as they'd like to give players like Heinola and Samberg a look, they're also limited to what the collective bargaining agreement allows them to do - specifically, the four-recall rule.
"The four-recall-rule is something that, again, once you use that recall then that player basically has to stay," said Cheveldayoff. "So, again, we'd like to get all our players playing some sort of games here at some point in time. That's a priority, whether that's guys eligible to play in the American League, we'd like to get them playing some games, or if it's giving some opportunities to some players in the National Hockey League."
With the deadline behind him and the team, the focus is now squarely on the battle for positions in the North.
"Obviously, a lot of teams did some other things, but for yourself you look at what's available in front of you, what fits and you make those moves accordingly," said Cheveldayoff. "I think we've sent the message that we've added some depth that can help us as we move forward here in the remaining games and into the playoffs."