While plenty of NHL teams went deep sea fishing on Monday, the Winnipeg Jets stayed close to shore and barely dipped their toes into the free agent waters.
Consider this: On a record-setting day when the other 31 clubs combined for more than $1.1 billion in new contracts, the Jets reeled in a depth defenceman and two goaltenders to compete for the backup spot: D Colin Miller (two years, US $1.5 million per season), G Eric Comrie (two years, US $825,000 per season) and G Kaapo Kahkonen (one year, US $1 million).
Not exactly the July 1 “frenzy” that many other markets experienced.
Former Buffalo Sabres goaltender Eric Comrie is back with the Winnipeg Jets after signing a two-year deal. (Jeffrey T. Barnes / The Associated Press files)
“For us, we’re sitting here on July 1 and there’s a little ways to training camp and there’s lots of different thought processes that we’ll certainly take a look at,” said general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, who added he still had a “few other things on the go” which might pan out.
One of those is believed to be interest in veteran centre Adam Henrique, who joined the Edmonton Oilers at the trade deadline but was not re-signed. The Jets have a glaring need up the middle that he could help fill.
The biggest storyline around the Jets Monday wasn’t what they added, but what they lost, as four UFA skaters who were part of last year’s 110-point team quickly found new homes.
Second-line centre Sean Monahan, obtained prior to last year’s trade deadline for a first-round draft pick, signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets for five years at US $5.5 million per season. The Jets were in the bidding right up until the final moments.
“I had a great time in Winnipeg. Some great friendships. It was a brief stint and definitely something I was trying to decide on,” Monahan told the Free Press in a Zoom interview. “It was not an easy decision.”
Monahan, 29, said it came down to family and wanting to play in the Eastern Conference and re-unite with former Calgary Flames teammate Johnny Gaudreau. His wife, who is great friends with Gaudreau’s spouse, just gave birth to their first child a month ago.
Goaltender Laurent Brossoit, who excelled as Hellebuyck’s backup last year and essentially priced himself out of Winnipeg, inked a deal with the Chicago Blackhawks for two years at US $3.3 million, where he’ll get a chance to perhaps be the No. 1 behind Connor Bedard and company.
“It was not an easy decision.”–Sean Monahan
Rugged defenceman Brenden Dillon is now a member of the New Jersey Devils (four years at US $4 million), while trade-deadline addition Tyler Toffoli went to the San Jose Sharks (four years at US $6 million).
The Jets also officially bought out the final year of Nate Schmidt’s contract on Monday, making him an unrestricted free agent and clearing yet another spot on the blue-line.
“Obviously it was a tough decision, but we wanted to open up some opportunities within the organization for some of the players that have been here more,” said Cheveldayoff.
“But even more so I didn’t want to have to put Nate through the situation where if he’s a veteran guy that’s getting scratched, it just wasn’t right. So we talked about it and that’s why we as a group, including talking to Nate’s representatives, made that decision.”
The lack of activity, at least so far, would appear to be good news for promising prospects such as Brad Lambert, Nikita Chibrikov, Ville Heinola, Elias Salomonsson and Simon Lundmark.
“If I’m a young player in the Jets organization today, I’m pretty excited about the opportunities that are in front of me and I’m working pretty hard in the offseason to make sure that I take full advantage,” said Cheveldayoff.
Another option to boost the roster could be finding a team that blew its budget and now is in a world of hurt when it comes to complying with the US $88-million salary cap and needs to shed a player or two at a discount rate.
Goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen signed a one-year deal with the Winnipeg Jets that pays him US $1 million. (John Woods / Canadian Press files)
Winnipeg currently has more than US $9 million of cap space available, although some of that will be taken up with new contracts needed for restricted free agents Heinola, Cole Perfetti, David Gustafsson and Logan Stanley.
“I can guarantee you, because I’ve been on the other side, as exhilarating as it can be to be make some of those deals, sometimes you wake up the next morning and kind of wonder what did I just do,” said Cheveldayoff.
“The one thing about free agency is that it doesn’t just stop on free agency day. Once the dust settles, you go through the different teams and you may find some needs for trades or different things of the like in some organizations. We’ll take a look at all of that.”
As for the three players Winnipeg inked, two are familiar faces.
Miller, 31, was obtained at the trade deadline last year from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round draft pick, but barely played under then head coach Rick Bowness (five regular-season games and one playoff game). The right-hander will get a bigger chance under new bench boss Scott Arniel.
Comrie, 28, is back for a fourth stint with the organization that drafted him 59th-overall in 2013.
“I love everything about Winnipeg, I love the guys and it always feel special back there because I’ve had such great fond memories being there for a long time.”–Eric Comrie
“I love everything about Winnipeg, I love the guys and it always feel special back there because I’ve had such great fond memories being there for a long time,” Comrie, 28, said in a phone interview. “An unbelievable organization, they treat their players as good as any team I’ve been on, and I’ve been on a few so I know how well they treat their guys.”
Comrie has 57 games of NHL experience with a 24-26-2 record, 3.38 goals-against-average and .893 save-percentage. His best season in the big leagues came in 2021-22 with the Jets, when he appeared in 19 games with a 10-5-1 record, 2.58 GAA and .920 SV%.
“I just have a very good working relationship with Helly. I think myself and him get along really well, and he’s the best in the world, so it’s amazing to learn from him, watching him every single game and in practice,” said Comrie, who spent the past two years with the Buffalo Sabres bouncing between the NHL and AHL.
“And they have one of the best goalie coaches in the world, if not the best (Wade Flaherty). He’s unbelievable at what he does. How much my game grows when I’m with him and how sharp he keeps my game, it doesn’t matter how much you’re playing or when you’re playing, he knows how to keep goalies ready to go and keep them sharp.”
Kahkonen, 27, was drafted by the Minnesota Wild and split last season with the San Jose Sharks and New Jersey Devils. He has appeared in 139 NHL games in his career and has a 49-67-15 record, 3.33 goals-against average, and .899 save percentage.
Thomas Milic had a terrific rookie season with the Manitoba Moose, so the organization wants a more veteran presence to work with him. Whether that’s Comrie or Kahkonen remains to be seen.
The Winnipeg obtained Colin Miller at the trade deadline last year from the New Jersey Devils but he only appeared in five regular-season games and one playoff game for the Jets. (Fred Greenslade / Canadian Press files)
“Obviously you’ve got to go to camp and earn a job and that’s my main thing, to go there and earn a job and just work as hard as I can and try and secure that position,” said Comrie.
mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca
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Mike McIntyre Sports reporter
Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.
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PARIS – Canada won its first Paralympic medal in women’s sitting volleyball and ended the country’s team sport podium drought Saturday.
The women’s volleyball team swept Brazil 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-18) to take the bronze medal at North Paris Arena.
The women were the first Canadian side to claim a Paralympic medal in a team sport since the men’s wheelchair basketball team won gold in London in 2012.
“Oh my gosh, literally disbelief, but also, we did it,” said veteran Heidi Peters of Neerlandia, Alta. “It’s indescribable.”
Canada finished seventh in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and fourth in Tokyo three years ago.
Seven players of the dozen Canadians were Rio veterans and nine returned from the team in Tokyo.
Eleven were members of the squad that earned a silver medal at the 2022 world championship.
“I know how hard every athlete and every staff member and all of our family back home have worked for this moment,” captain Danielle Ellis said.
“It’s been years and years and years in the making, our third Paralympic Games, and we knew we wanted to be there.”
The women earned a measure of revenge on the Brazilians, who beat Canada for bronze in Tokyo and also in a pool game in Paris.
“There’s a lot of history with us and Brazil,” Peters acknowledged. “Today we just knew that we could do it. We were like, ‘This is our time and if we just show up and play our style of volleyball, serving tough and hitting the ball hard, the game will probably going our way.’ And it did.”
Calgary’s Jennifer Oakes led Canada with 10 attack points. Ellis of White Rock, B.C., and Peters each contributed nine.
Canada registered 15 digs as a team to Brazil’s 10.
“Losing to Brazil in the second game was tough,” Ellis said. “It just lit the fire beneath us.”
Canada’s men’s wheelchair basketball team fell 75-62 to Germany in the bronze-medal game in Paris.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2024.
PARIS – Canadian para canoeist Brianna Hennessy raced to her first Paralympic medal with a reminder of her mother on her paddle.
The 39-year-old from Ottawa took silver in the women’s 200-metre sprint Saturday in Paris.
The design on Hennessy’s paddle includes a cardinal in remembrance of her late mother Norma, the letter “W’ for Wonder Woman and a cat.
“My mother passed away last year, so I said I’d be racing down the course with her,” Hennessy said Saturday at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.
“In our family, a cardinal represents what our love means. My mum was my Wonder Woman, and this is a cardinal rising up. This is our family pet that passed away two months after my mum, of cancer, because I think their love was together.
“All this represents so much to me, so it’s my passion piece for Paris.”
Hennessy finished just over a second behind gold medallist Emma Wiggs of Britain in the women’s VL2 Va’a, which is a canoe that has a support float and is propelled with a single-blade paddle.
Hennessy’s neck was broken when she was struck by a speeding taxi driver in Toronto in 2014 when she was 30. She has tetraplegia, which is paralysis in her arms and legs.
“This year’s the 10-year anniversary of my accident,” Hennessy said. “I should have been dead. I’ve been fighting back ever since.
“This is the pinnacle of it all for me and everything I’ve been fighting for. It made it all worth it.”
After placing fifth in her Paralympic debut in Tokyo three years ago, Hennessy was a silver medallist in the last three straight world championships in the event.
She will race the women’s kayak single Sunday. Hennessy and Wiggs have a tradition of hugging after races.
“I always talk about the incredible athletes here, and how the Paralympics means so much more because everyone here has a million reasons to give up, and we’ve all chosen to just go on,” the Canadian said. “It’s more about the camaraderie.”
Hennessy boxed and played hockey and rugby before she was hit by the taxi.
She was introduced to wheelchair rugby by the Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre.
She eventually turned to paddling at the Ottawa River Canoe Club, which led her to the Paralympic podium in Paris.
“It has a good ring to it,” Hennessy said. “I’m so happy. I feel like we’ve had to overcome so much to get here, especially in the last year and a half. I’m just so proud.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2024.
