Eight trade destinations to watch for Winnipeg Jets’ Nikolaj Ehlers

Credit: Jan 4, 2024; San Jose, California, USA; Winnipeg Jets left wing Nikolaj Ehlers (27) controls the puck during the first period against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

Good player. Good team. But the fit between Nikolaj Ehlers and the Winnipeg Jets hasn’t been good for a while now.

On one hand, he’s a speedy, underrated left winger who plays criminally low minutes relative to his talent level. Over the past three seasons, among 434 forwards with 1,000 or more minutes played at 5-on-5, he ranks ninth in the NHL in points per 60, right behind Jason Robertson and Nikita Kucherov. Ehlers ranks seventh in shots per 60, right behind Brady Tkachuk. Ehlers leads all NHLers in shot attempts per 60 over the past three seasons. Yet he only sits in the 63^rd percentile of ice time among those 434 players. From the perspective of Ehlers, who reportedly isn’t interested in signing an extension with the Jets, it certainly makes sense why he’d like a fresh start after playing nine seasons with the team that drafted him. Especially when the Jets replaced retired head coach Rick Bowness with an internal hire in Scott Arniel, who wouldn’t be a lock to up Ehlers’ ice time.

From the Jets’ side, it’s also understandable why a divorce may be in order. Ehlers, gifted as he is, struggled a lot with durability for several years before finally staying upright to play 82 games this season. His playoff stat line must be read and re-read to be believed: four goals in 37 games? Seriously?

With Ehlers entering the final season of his deal and the Jets needing a shakeup after bowing out in Round 1 of the playoffs a second consecutive season, an Ehlers trade feels inevitable. He ranks fifth on my colleague Frank Seravalli’s most recent Trade Targets board. If feels like Ehlers could blossom elsewhere and that the Jets could fill a need, perhaps at right defense, by dealing him. Both sides of an Ehlers deal could wind up winners.

Which landing spots would be logical fits for the Great Dane? It’s a long list. He carries a palatable $6 million cap hit. He has a 10-team no-trade list but, theoretically, he might be open to more than 21 landing spots if he specifically wants out of Winnipeg. Consider these eight destinations.

Boston Bruins

Why he makes sense: David Pastrnak was the lone Bruin to exceed 29 goals this season. After a huge exodus last summer that included Patrice Bergeron’s retirement, and with Brad Marchand getting up there in years, the Bruins look increasingly top heavy. They can’t count on much help coming from within, either, as their prospect crop is among the league’s weakest. Particularly if they can’t agree on a new contract with pending UFA Jake DeBrusk, they’ll desperately need another scoring winger.

Fly in the ointment: Is GM Don Sweeney willing to weaken his D-corps to land a talent like Ehlers? Big right-shot blueliner Brandon Carlo is an ideal fit for the Jets’ needs on paper. He has a 10-team no-trade list, however, and, with all due respect to the city of Winnipeg, it’s one of the league’s most isolated markets and is known to frequently appear on players’ no-trade lists. There’s a decent chance Winnipeg would be on Carlo’s.

Buffalo Sabres

Why he makes sense: The Sabres have to show progress in 2024-25. This past season was supposed to be the breakthrough after they missed the playoffs by one point in 2022-23. Instead, they were on the wrong side of the bubble pretty much all year en route to an NHL-record 13^th consecutive playoff miss. They regressed from a top-three offense in the league to one of the weakest. Their power-play was the primary culprit, but Ehlers would give them a big 5-on-5 boost, too. The Sabres almost have too many good young prospect forwards and could easily spare one in an Ehlers trade. Which one might depend on whether Ehlers would sign an extension.

Fly in the ointment: The likes of Zach Benson, Matt Savoie, Jack Quinn, Jiri Kulich and so on are all appealing prospects. But the Jets quietly have a decent forward pipeline of their own, including young NHLer Cole Perfetti and the next wave of Rutger McGroarty, Colby Barlow and Brad Lambert. They need blueline help and ideally right-shot blueline help, which is something the Sabres lack. They’re loaded on the left side of their defense with Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson.

Carolina Hurricanes

Why he makes sense: The Canes have one of the most in-flux rosters in the league. Last week while working on an upcoming story for Daily Faceoff, I asked right winger Seth Jarvis whether the Canes’ loss in the playoffs hurt more because so many players on the team are free agents, and he gave a resounding yes. It was almost too painful for him to talk about. The UFAs include Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainen and Jordan Martinook at forward and Brett Pesce, Brady Skjei and Jalen Chatfield on defense, among others. The RFAs include Jarvis and Martin Necas. If Carolina can’t re-sign Guentzel and the pre-ordained trade of disgruntled Necas happens, GM Eric Tulsky could have holes to fill up front. Ehlers would help there as a long- or short-term solution.

Fly in the ointment: As I wrote last week when listing Carolina as a fit for Mitch Marner: this team needs a true gamebreaker, a forward good enough to compete for year-end awards. Ehlers is a tier or two below that, a rock-solid play driver who struggles to score in the playoffs, which sounds a lot like what Carolina already has.

Chicago Blackhawks

Why he makes sense: There are two paths for an Ehlers trade here. He could actually make sense as a rental, a player who helps make the young Hawks more competitive, ensures they reach the salary floor and becomes an attractive expiring asset to flip at the 2025 trade deadline. On the other hand, Ehlers, 28, could also fit into Chicago’s longer-term plans on an extension. They need to start building a competitive team around Connor Bedard. Ideally, they’ll want to break through and at least threaten for a playoff spot while Bedard is still on his entry-level deal. Ehlers would make for an exciting linemate.

Fly in the ointment: Chicago’s depth chart is still barren enough that it would be risky to dip into the prospect pool to bring Ehlers in. Given all their cap space, it might be wiser to find an upgrade in free agency rather than surrender assets in a trade. They do have a right-shot asset to dangle in Seth Jones, but that wouldn’t be an easy trade to execute. He carries a $9.5 million AAV and a full no-movement clause. It’s tough to envision any scenario where he’d agree to play out the next six seasons of his deal in Winnipeg. So then it becomes a question of whether Chicago has the right package to offer. Connor Murphy? He only has two seasons left on his deal but does have a 10-team no trade list. It feels like the Hawks have enough to acquire a year of Ehlers but maybe not enough to pull a big blockbuster with an extension baked in.

Detroit Red Wings

Why he makes sense: The Wings have gone from a 25-year playoff streak to an eight-year playoff drought, and fans have good reason to feel restless about the Yzerplan at this point. General manager Steve Yzerman behaved like an aggressive buyer the past two offseasons, bringing in a lot of veteran help, and still doesn’t have a postseason berth to show for it. Ehlers would help because he can drive the play as a two-way presence on top of bringing straight-up offense. Detroit made major scoring strides this past season but struggled badly to drive the play at 5-on-5.

Fly in the ointment: Do the Wings need to aim a bit higher? One could argue they’ve doomed themselves to mediocrity by loading up on B-grade assets over the past two offseasons. While their $29 million plus in projected cap space is somewhat of a mirage given Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider need extensions, they’ll still have a good chunk of change left over, but do they need to use it for a bigger swing? Guentzel or Steven Stamkos, perhaps? Ehlers is an excellent player but doesn’t even have a 30-goal or 65-point season to his name (in part because his best season came in the shortened 2020-21 schedule).

New York Islanders

Why he makes sense: Lou Lamiorello’s Islanders stubbornly chase the Stanley Cup like George Costanza walking up the hill toward his house in the Hamptons, refusing to admit that it’s all a farce. If we accept the premise that the Isles fashion themselves contenders, it make sense to picture them pursuing a player of Ehlers’ ilk. They badly need to improve on their 22^nd-ranked offense if they want to compete for a higher playoff seed. The speed of Ehlers on a line with Mathew Barzal would be something to behold. An intriguing trade target: defenseman Ryan Pulock, a right shot coming off an injury-abbreviated season. His cap hit is just $150,000 more than Ehlers’. Pulock has a no-trade list…but he happens to be a Manitoba boy.

Fly in the ointment: Even if the Isles made a roughly equal money-in, money-out type of transaction, they’re tight against the cap, already having committed more than $81 million for next season. Whatever moves they make, they have to keep in mind that top defenseman Noah Dobson and No. 2 center Brock Nelson are eligible to sign extensions as of July 1. Both will get significant raises beginning in 2025-26.

Ottawa Senators

Why he makes sense: Despite their promising on-paper skill, the Senators struggled to score this past season. Like the Red Wings and Sabres, they’re restless and perhaps ready to do something aggressive in hopes of fast-tracking their rise toward the playoffs. After six seasons without Brady Tkachuk in the playoffs, something has to change. Ottawa has a logical piece to send the other way in Jakob Chychrun, who, like Ehlers, is entering the final season of his deal. He’s a left shot but has lots of experience playing the right side.

Fly in the ointment: Ottawa’s scoring did disappoint this past season, but Shane Pinto (suspension) missed the first half, Josh Norris (injury) missed the second half and Tim Stutzle simply had a down year. One could argue Ottawa needs a right-shot defenseman and help in goal a lot more than it needs another top-six forward. When icing their full lineup, they still have a well above average forward group.

Seattle Kraken

Why he makes sense: If the Kraken still believe they can be the 2022-23 version of themselves and fight for a playoff spot next season, they need another game-breaking forward up front. They had just two 20-goal scorers and zero 30-goal scorers this past season. They also feel like a team that could entice Ehlers to re-sign. They’re known as a cutting-edge organization and they successfully convinced veteran right winger Jordan Eberle to re-up this winter rather than head to a contender at the trade deadline. If the Jets need a right-shot blueliner, Adam Larsson sure seems like a nice fit.

Fly in the ointment: Are we sure the Kraken should seek veteran upgrades in trades right now? It’s possible the 2022-23 playoff berth was a fluke. This team may be better off staying young, losing a bit more, securing some good draft capital and fortifying their developmental pipeline. Would Ehlers really take this team closer to a Stanley Cup?

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