The Canadiens are making a hard push for Mark Scheifele today, and the Jets already have a Montreal center circled on the roster.
That center is Oliver Kapanen. Montreal-based insider Sacha L. reported on X that the Jets love the 23-year-old, and Winnipeg wants more than one piece coming back.
The follow-up is where it gets expensive. The Jets are also asking for a B+ prospect and a first-round pick, and Kent Hughes is holding firm on his price.
Nothing is close to official. The full terms haven't surfaced, and even the reporter couldn't say whether anything gets done today.
The appeal is obvious. Scheifele put up 39 goals and 103 points last season, the best offensive year of his career.
And it wasn't a one-off. He had 87 points the year before, so Winnipeg would be moving a center coming off back-to-back elite seasons.
He's never worn another NHL sweater, either. Winnipeg took him seventh overall in 2011, and all 961 of his regular-season games have come with the Jets.
Scheifele's contract runs until he turns 38
Here's the part Montreal fans should chew on. He's 33 right now, and his deal doesn't expire until 2030-31, when he'd hit unrestricted free agency.
Taking on that contract is like buying a sports car with a five-year payment plan and 150,000 kilometres already on the clock.
The first two years are a blast. Nobody wants to be making payments in year five.
Paying Kapanen, a first and a B+ prospect for that would be a bad trade for Montreal. This is exactly how a young core gets mortgaged for a short window.
Kapanen isn't a throw-in, either. He scored 22 goals last season while carrying a $942,500 cap hit.
His deal runs through 2026-27, and he'll be a restricted free agent when it expires. Winnipeg would get cheap production now and control later.
He did not dress in last night's 3-2 win in Toronto. Montreal opened the season with 12 forwards in the box score, and none of them was Kapanen.
So where would Scheifele even slot? Nick Suzuki logged 18:43 in that opener, and stacking a point-per-game center behind him turns Montreal's top six into a matchup headache.
For the Jets, the timing is strange. Winnipeg hasn't played a regular-season game yet and opens Friday at home against Boston.
Moving Scheifele would free his $8,500,000 cap hit for Kevin Cheveldayoff. That's real money for a roster still built around Kyle Connor and Connor Hellebuyck.
These teams haven't met yet this season. The first look comes October 25 in Winnipeg, and that date could get awkward in a hurry.
So who blinks? Hughes won't move off his number, and Cheveldayoff isn't under any clock to move a franchise center before puck drop Friday.
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Should Kent Hughes give up Oliver Kapanen and a first-round pick for Mark Scheifele?
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