Jets have 'a lot of great pieces,' Niederreiter says

TAMPERE, Finland -- Nino Niederreiter hasn't been around the Winnipeg Jets for long, but he thinks the pieces are in place for a team that could be facing some tough decisions in the offseason.

"You have an elite goaltender," the forward said. "You have goal-scorers on the team. You've got a lot of great pieces, but it's up to management what they're going to do."

Niederreiter was traded to Winnipeg by the Nashville Predators on Feb. 25 for a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. He had 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 22 games after the deal and four points (one goal, three assists) in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, when the Jets were eliminated in five games by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference First Round.

Several core Jets can become unrestricted free agents at the end of next season: Niederreiter, goalie Connor Hellebuyck, forwards Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele, and defensemen Brenden Dillon and Dylan DeMelo.

"You have a great fan base, but I also do know it's a tough market over there," Niederreiter said. "A lot of free agents don't really want to go there because they don't really know what it's all about. When you go there, you see the hotel and you see the arena. That's all you see. Sometimes as the visiting team it's unfair to judge the city. The fan base is fantastic. They take care of the players very well. It's a lot better than a lot of people think."

Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers would like to see Niederreiter stay for the long haul.

"Oh yeah, great vibes," said Ehlers, a native of Aalborg, Denmark. "I think for me, I've lived in Switzerland for six years. I speak Swiss German, so we have that connection. We've got the same agent as well. He's a great guy, and the way he works his [butt] off on the ice is something you appreciate. He came in and fit in right away.

"That's a guy that we're going to want to keep, I think."

Niederreiter, who had 28 points (18 goals, 10 assists) in 56 games with Nashville, isn't focused on his future right now. He's captain of Switzerland at the 2023 IIHF World Championship and helped it finish first in Group B (6-0-1-0) with five points (four goals, one assist) in round-robin play to set up a quarterfinal game against Germany on Thursday.

"It's definitely a big honor," Niederreiter said. "It's very special. As a little kid, you dream about being a part of the leadership group and to be able to wear the 'C,' it's definitely unbelievable. Definitely a big honor."

He's one of several Switzerland-born players to jump from the playoffs into the tournament, including Los Angeles Kings forward Kevin Fiala, New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier and Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler.

The contingent has a pact.

"A few years ago, we made a commitment that whenever we have the chance to go, we want to go and have to go," Niederreiter said. "It's something that has to do with pride."

Niederreiter played for Switzerland at the 2008 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championship, twice at Worlds (2013, 2018) and the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Switzerland has 9,805 male players, 2,011 female players and 18,839 junior players and just 49 indoor rinks, according to the IIHF.

"We have maybe 33,000 players in the whole country and we're still a small hockey country," he said. "It's another reason why Nikolaj Ehlers is going for Denmark. He wants to go there. He wants to help. He wants to make sure they aren't going to be relegated because that's something that hurts their country and would hurt our country a lot. That's something we want to achieve to make sure if we can go, we can go."

Niederreiter would like to leave the 2023 World Championship with a gold medal after winning silver in 2013 and 2018.

"I think it's big, especially for Switzerland," Niederreiter said. "This tournament means a lot. Obviously, we were so close a couple times to winning the gold medal and we never won. It's something that's a big goal for ours.

"When I grew up and when I was little, these are the games we were able to watch. For me it was the highest stage. The NHL was always there but it just seemed so far away, and I maybe never thought I'd get the chance to play in the NHL, so my goal was to play for Team Switzerland. When I get the chance, I love to represent my country."