The Winnipeg Jets have acquired Kevin Hayes from the New York Rangers for Brendan Lemieux, a first round pick and a conditional pick. Hayes has 42 points including 14 goals. His relative Corsi is 1.89%, so he is a bit above his team.
The conditional pick in the Kevin Hayes deal is a fourth-rounder if the Jets win the Stanley Cup. Otherwise no extra pick.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 25, 2019
This is a solid move for the team as Hayes can play both wing and centre and is a big body. The cost is steep, but it is not nearly as high as it would have been if the trade was for Mark Stone. Trading for Hayes also addresses a bigger need as he can play centre where the Jets could use a different style of player than Bryan Little.
Speaking of Little, this makes for an interesting problem for the Jets. They could run a super fourth line with Little, Mathieu Perreault, and Mason Appleton or Jack Roslovic. That line would be the ultimate mismatch line in the league and should help the team five on five. One thing that should not happen is the Jets should not move Patrik Laine off of Mark Scheifele’s wing as the two of them are showing some good chemistry.
The Jets still should look for some help on defence, but this is a solid start to the day for the Jets and it does not include any of their key young players on the Jets whom they need to help manage the salary cap.
