Kevin Cheveldayoff has made another trade. This is not a joke and I am very serious here. After years of fumbling around at the Trade Deadline, Cheveldayoff has smartly acquired players that bolster the bottom end of the roster. This has been done again with the shrewd acquisition of Lee Stempniak from the New York Rangers for the low cost of little-used AHLer Carl Klingberg.
Stempniak at a Glance
I reached out to noted pug enthusiast and Pittsburgh Penguins fan (Stempniak’s former team) Mike Darnay to find out what type of player Stempniak is. Stempniak is a bottom six winger who can play along skilled players without looking out of place, but he is best served in the bottom six. He has strong possession numbers and is a winger, the Jets‘ weakest area up front.
As the HERO Chart shows, Stempniak is about a third liner possession-wise, but he is able to produce shots at a better pace than most bottom six players. This should help with goal scoring on the bottom lines because more shots should equal more goals over the long run.
So what does this all mean? The Jets got another useful player that should help out with depth problems and who will remain useful once everyone returns to health…for very little. Kevin Cheveldayoff makes another good trade because Stempniak is better than Chris Thorburn and Anthony Peluso and that is good enough for the Jets right now.
The moves Cheveldayoff has made recently have been a massive departure from the general manager who would sit on his hands and make no moves whatsoever. He has finally started bringing in help for his players and the difference will hopefully be felt this year with the Jets making their second trip to the playoffs in franchise history, and the first since moving to Winnipeg in 2011. It's a nice change to see the general manager actually do things instead of hoping for the best.
