NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, the Winnipeg Jets.
The Winnipeg Jets enter the 2023-24 season with a new look after two key players departed this offseason.
Winnipeg bought out the final season of forward Blake Wheeler's contract -- with the former Jets captain then signing a one-year contract with the New York Rangers -- and traded center Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Los Angeles Kings for forwards Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo and Rasmus Kupari along with a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
"I do believe that this opportunity that we had to acquire these players does serve our organization very well," Winnipeg general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said after trading Dubois. "We're a much deeper team; our top nine has a lot of different kinds of players that can come in and contribute in a lot of different ways."
Vilardi, a first-round pick (No. 11) by Los Angeles in the 2017 NHL Draft, had his development hampered by a back injury early in his career, but the 23-year-old is coming off his best NHL season with 41 points (23 goals, 18 assists) in 63 games. He signed a two-year contract with Winnipeg as a restricted free agent July 19.
"It's great that I had a successful year last year, but I definitely want to keep improving," Vilardi said. "I see myself doing even better and I just want to keep growing my game, and that's how I kind of look at it."
Vilardi should help make up for some of the offense lost by the departure of Dubois (63 points; 27 goals, 36 assists in 73 games) and Wheeler (55 points; 16 goals, 39 assists in 72 games).
Iafallo, Kupari and forward Vladislav Namestnikov also should help in that regard. The Jets are expected to have a well-rounded offense with a top-six forward group as balanced as any in the Western Conference.
"The players that we got have the capacity to grow and have the ability to become even better than what they are, and contribute even more," Cheveldayoff said. "The depth gives us an opportunity to have many different options. Vilardi can play center, he can play wing, so can Rasmus, so there's lots of real positives that we feel we've gained."
At defenseman, Josh Morrissey is coming off a breakout season with 76 points (16 goals, 60 assists), more than double his previous NHL career high, which he set in 2021-22 (37 points; 12 goals, 25 assists). He leads a talented group on the blue line that includes Neal Pionk, Dylan DeMelo, Brenden Dillon and Nate Schmidt.
Laurent Brossoit, signed to a one-year contract as an unrestricted free agent July 1, should help take a load off Hellebuyck, who made an NHL-high 64 starts last season. Brossoit won the Stanley Cup with the Golden Knights last season. He was their playoff starter until sustaining a groin injury in Game 3 of the second round against the Edmonton Oilers that sidelined him for the rest of the Cup run.
Brossoit played three seasons for the Jets from 2018-21 before signing with the Golden Knights.
"I felt a familiarity, coupled with the fact we're retaining a lot of guys in Winnipeg," Brossoit said of signing with the Jets. "It's going to be a little bit different then it was last time, and that excited me. I felt there was a little more opportunity for me to win starts and be a bigger part than I was last time. Those were big key points for me."
The Jets (46-33-3) were fourth in the Central Division last season and the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. They lost in the first round in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Winnipeg believes it once again is a playoff team and will look to qualify for the sixth time in seven seasons.
"I thought they were really good last year," Vilardi said. "In the playoffs, they battled with Vegas, and I think if they didn't lose Scheifele (with an upper-body injury in Game 4), they could have gone even further. They have a great team and I'm super excited to be joining them and hopefully help them out. We'll see how it goes."
