Can the Jets ease the pressure on the Hellebuyck trade with the late free agent signing?

The Winnipeg Jets are facing a trade for Connor Hellebuyck, but that’s not their only option to improve their roster.

There are a number of NHL-caliber free agents, including several former Jets, who could be signed to ease the tension once Hellebuyck returns. Add Connor Ingram or Cam Talbot and Winnipeg could draft a better forward rather than worry about a backup goaltender. Add a secondary goal and it takes the pressure off Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor – at the expense of ice time for younger players like Brad Lambert or Isak Rosen.

Today we’ll pick nine intriguing UFA names, evaluate their abilities, and explore the pros and cons of signing them. Good players make Winnipeg better, but they also take up spots on a crowded roster. There is still quality left in the free agency market. Should the Jets continue shopping?

Patrik Laine, 28, right wing

Previous hit: $8.7 million
Usage: Fourth line in a five-on-five game, power play with the first and second line.
Production: 0 goals, 1 assist, 1 point in 5 matches played

Winnipeg is where Patrik Laine became Patrik Laine. It was here that he scored 36 goals as a rookie and nearly 100 goals as a teenager. Where he launched shots with such force that just seeing the puck fly towards the goal was not easy. In those years, it seemed that Laine would become the second best scorer of his time, but it didn’t work out.

Lane did not have the same obsession with nutrition, exercise and off-ice improvement as the Jets veterans of the time. Winnipeg no longer feels like home. He peaked with a points-per-game season in Columbus (and a 55-game encore with 52 points), but hasn’t come close since. In fact, he hasn’t played a full season in the NHL since he played for Winnipeg, battling multiple injuries as well as depression and anxiety following the death of his father in 2021.

His injuries have had a positive effect: Laine is eligible for a bonus contract as a veteran who has played more than 400 NHL games and spent more than 100 days on injured reserve last season. But what is he capable of? Is his heart in the NHL at this point in his career? Both questions are relevant after a five-game 2025-26 season in which he recorded one assist. Lane’s knee, wrist, ankle and abdominal injuries should temper expectations; it would take a persistent and determined offseason for him to get his game back on track.

Biggest plus: Laine is 28 years old and easy to play on the power play, scoring at even strength, and his one-time goal is still a weapon.

Biggest disadvantage: Didn’t we just do this? Homecoming can be very, very good without helping the home team win hockey games.

Logan Stanley, 28, left hand drive

Previous hit: $1.25 million
Usage: Third pair at five on five, penalty kill in second unit
Production: 9 goals, 17 assists, 26 points in 76 games played.

Mario Ferraro’s arrival in Winnipeg should put an end to the idea of ​​a Stanley reunion. Ferraro is a year younger, skates better and has a more consistent track record of third pairing and penalty kill. He has also been able to fill the more challenging role of a top-four defender at times. Stanley’s ideal use would be as a third-pairing or depth defenseman despite Winnipeg’s decade-long hopes for more, but I’m still surprised no one has signed him yet.

It appears that Stanley’s contract hopes and/or the role he hopes to play have gone beyond what the market is willing to pay. His disappointing playoff performance may have played a role, interrupted by an undisclosed injury and a 3-1 lead over Buffalo’s opponents when he was on the ice. He could still find success on a suitable third pairing, but probably not in Winnipeg.

Biggest plus: Stanley was highly respected in the Winnipeg locker room. He’s ready to fight (and more capable of doing so than most Jets). He would be a great number 7 or number 8D.

Biggest disadvantage: The Jets are too well stocked at LHD for Stanley to be a worthwhile acquisition. If the idea is to improve toughness, then Tyrell Bauer is the better fighter and plays on the right wing, where Winnipeg could have a spot to start the season.

Michael Bunting, 30, Leo.

Previous hit: $4.5 million
Usage: Second or third line in a five-on-five game, second block in a power play.
Production: 14 goals, 19 assists, 33 points in 74 games played.

Over the past three seasons, Bunting has averaged 18 goals in 82 games. He’s also averaging two teams per season, which seems to indicate that teams value—and are simultaneously willing to part with—his aggressive, goal-scoring, rat-like style of play. Bunting wins fights, gets to the net and takes a disproportionate number of shots from the most dangerous areas of the ice. The Jets don’t have anyone quite like him in that regard.

If the Jets were a faster team, rich in forwards and skilled forwards, or if Bunting played right wing instead of left, he would automatically be an interesting player. That would make sense if the 30-year-old were looking at a term: perhaps four or five years, which would be close to the $4.5 million he made last season.

Biggest plus: Bunting gets into the bottom slot, succeeds while he’s there, and upsets people while he’s there.

Biggest disadvantage: Limited exposure outside the attack zone. His defensive numbers are poor, largely due to his lack of transition defense.

Vladimir Tarasenko, 34, RW

Previous hit: $4.75 million
Usage: Third line in five-on-five play, second power play unit
Production: 23 goals, 24 assists, 47 points in 75 games played.

Tarasenko’s 47 points would have ranked him fifth on the Jets last season. Part of that success depended on the quality of Minnesota’s offensive group, which helped Tarasenko get into the offensive zone often enough to beat goalies with his shot, as he had done in his youth. His defensive impact was predictably poor: Tarasenko was never a good player, even when he had back-to-back 30-goal seasons in his 20s with the St. Louis Blues. He’s slower than before.

Biggest plus: Tarasenko can get to the soft ice and snatch the puck from his wing.

Biggest disadvantage: He doesn’t do anything anymore. His teams tend to spend a lot of time in their zone when he’s on the ice.

Connor Ingram, 29, defenseman

Previous hit: $1.95 million
Record: 16-10-3
Statistics: .899 save percentage, 2.60 goals-against average

I recently called Ingram “the class of the UFA group” (goaltenders) and I still believe it. Ingram’s .899 save percentage is above last season’s league average of .896, and his 10.3 above-expected goals saved (per Evolving Hockey) points to his ability to steal games at times. He won the starting job in Edmonton from Tristan Jarry, whom the Oilers gave up significant assets to acquire.

Biggest plus: Ingram would give Winnipeg a viable tandem with Stuart Skinner and the freedom to focus on other assets in the Hellebuyck deal.

Biggest disadvantage: If he ever leaves, it will put a lot of pressure on Tomas Milic or Dom DiVincentis – likely before they’re even NHL ready.

Cam Talbot, 39, defenseman

Previous hit: $2.5 million
Record: 12-9-6
Statistics: .883 save percentage, 3.19 goals-against average

Talbot was discussed at length in the same goaltending article, but he has the same advantages as Ingram – notably, he would immediately eliminate the need for Winnipeg to bring back a goalie in a trade for Hellebuyck. He has performed well in five of the last seven seasons, although last year was one of his worst and included a negative GSAx.

Biggest plus: Many years of quality experience.

Biggest disadvantage: There isn’t much runway left in Talbot’s career.

Adam Henrique, 36, C

Previous hit: $3 million
Usage: Fourth line in a five-on-five game, second power play block, first penalty block.
Production: 3 goals, 12 assists, 15 points in 65 games played.

Henrique played as Edmonton’s fourth-line center last season, winning 54 percent of his faceoffs and playing a big role on the 20th-ranked Oilers team. According to Hockey Viz, he was less likely to score against the Oilers on penalties despite his overall lack of success. There was a day when Henrique scored a minor goal as a mid-six decision, but he scored three goals last season.

Biggest plus: Faceoffs, depth and the idea of ​​veteran wisdom.

Biggest disadvantage: Who sits so the older, slower center can play?

Nick Blankenburg, 28, right-hand drive

Previous hit: 775 thousand dollars
Usage: Third pair in a five-on-five game, second power play block, second penalty block.
Production: 8 goals, 16 assists, 24 points in 61 games played.

Blankenburg is undersized and unsigned despite playing at a 32-point pace last season for the Nashville Predators and Colorado Avalanche. I think he would be ideal as the third pairing and second power play player on a team with two more dominant options on the right wing in Dylan DeMelo and Neal Pionk. He is agile and smart and makes good passes into dangerous areas. He is not a very good defender despite good efforts.

Biggest plus: Vision, good offensive IQ. This could be an ideal option with 3RHD if Salomonsson struggles.

Biggest disadvantage: Salomonsson needs playing time in the NHL. Meanwhile, Winnipeg’s right flank is generally not strong enough, and defending the front line is a challenge.

Carson Soucy, 32, left hand drive

Previous hit: $3.25 million
Usage: Third pair in a five-on-five game, second block from the penalty spot
Production: 5 goals, 7 assists, 12 points in 76 games played.

Soucy is a strong and physical defenseman who protects the front of the net but doesn’t make much of an impact with the puck on his stick. He played with Neal Pionk, Alex Iafallo, Dominic Toninato and Karson Kuhlman at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. He won’t be a threat to earn a starting job, but could be a viable No. 7 or 8.

Biggest plus: Big. Capable in a combat situation. Friends with current and former Jets.

Biggest disadvantage: One-dimensional. This will not help Winnipeg play quickly or pass the puck.

Constant: timeless

Biggest plus: Opportunity to give minutes to Viggo Bjork, Lambert, Rosen, Salomonsson and other young Jets players if the game calls for it.

Biggest disadvantage: Options like Ingram and Bunting are better at their position than the Jets’ existing options.