The Winnipeg Jets, first place in the Central Division and Western Conference at 39-14-3 entering a two-week break for the 4-Nations Face-Off, are likely going to be sniffing around for a centre at or ahead of next month’s trade deadline who can bolster their offensive attack.
The Jets’ “need for a second-line centre” — or, at least the media perception of that need — has been a storyline for most of their 2.0 history. It’s no different now, despite the Jets being the league’s highest-scoring team and Vladislav Namestnikov doing a workmanlike job between Nikolaj Ehlers and Cole Perfetti in that role with 10 goals and 19 assists for 29 points in 52 games and 10 points in his 13 games since the calendar rolled over to 2025.
Last February, Jets general manager (GM) Kevin Cheveldayoff traded for Sean Monahan and he fit very nicely up the middle on the second line but left as an unrestricted free agent (UFA.) If Cheveldayoff can find a centre with a similar offensive upside so head coach Scott Arniel can bump Namestnikov down, it would bolster the top and bottom six simultaneously.
Here, we’ll take a look at four centres playing for possible deadline sellers Cheveldayoff can target.
Related: Jets 2025 Trade Deadline Assets
Scott Laughton
Laughton, currently centreing the Philadelphia Flyers’ second line, is known as an intelligent and versatile guy who can also play wing, net-front on the power play, and on the penalty kill.
The 30 year old has spent his entire 12-year NHL career in the City of Brotherly Love since being selected by the Flyers 20th overall in 2010. In 655-career games, has recorded 106 goals and 158 assists for 264 points and is also noted to have good defensive awareness.
Adding Laughton wouldn’t represent a huge splash for the Jets like some of the players we’ll get into later would and his point-per-game average is a little lower than Namestnikov’s. However players like he and Namestnikov — glue guys who do whatever it takes to win and are happy to be plugged in anywhere — seem to disproportionately become playoff heroes.
Laughton, who serves as one of the Flyers’ alternate captains, entered this season coming off a down campaign (39 points in 82 games) and has 26 in 54 games this season. It might not take huge assets to get Flyers GM Daniel Briere to part with him so he can amass future assets for his club that currently sits last place in the Metropolitan Division.
Related: 4 Teams That Should Be Sellers at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline
Another benefit to acquiring Laughton is that he still has one season left after this one on his contract that carries a fairly team-friendly $3 million average annual value (AAV.) Trading for players with term is something Cheveldayoff likes to do considering Winnipeg often has trouble attracting high-profile UFAs.
Brock Nelson
Pierre Lebrun, on the Friday, Feb. 6 edition of TSN’s “Insider Trading” segment, noted the Jets were among the teams interested in the long-time Islander’s second-line centre. It’s easy to see why.
Nelson, 33 and a UFA this offseason Lebrun said is not likely to re-sign in New York, has spent his entire career with the Islanders since they drafted him 30th overall in 2010. The left-shooter has 292 goals and 274 assists for 566 points in 895-career games and seems to be aging like a fine wine. He has blossomed into one of the league’s most accurate shooters in recent seasons, potting 37, 36, and 34 goals in the three campaigns prior to this one, where he has 17 along with 18 assists for 35 points. Overall, he has seven 20-plus goal seasons on his resume.
Nelson may be underrated league wide, but his goal-scoring prowess, skating, 6-foot-4 205-pound frame, and strong past playoff performances (27 goals and 23 assists for 50 points in 78 games) all add up to make him one of the league’s biggest pieces of trade bait now that the Vancouver Canucks have dealt J.T. Miller.
Despite Nelson’s pending UFA status, it may take a lot to coax Islanders’ mercurial GM Lou Lamoriello to trade him considering the Islanders are still in the wild-card hunt thanks to a hot streak and Lamoriello is not much of one to make a splash in-season. Given Nelson’s age, he would likely be a pure rental for a team like the Jets who have forwards like Nikita Chibrikov and Brad Lambert pushing for NHL work. However, Nelson would undeniably give an already-potent Jets offensive attack another huge threat.
Ryan O’Reilly
O’Reilly was expected to be a member of one of the league’s best teams this season. Instead, he’s a member of one of the worst.
The veteran of 1124-career NHL games, currently centreing the Nashville Predators’ second line, is one of the most experienced guys in the league and has 296 goals and 509 assists for 805 points between the Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Blues, Buffalo Sabres, and Colorado Avalanche. He also has 26 goals and 41 assists for 67 points in 81-career playoff games and won the Stanley Cup in 2019 with the Blues, leading them with 23 postseason points and winning the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP.
A Stanley Cup winner, six-time 60-point guy, and well-respected leader would be a big get for the Jets, who don’t have anyone who’s hoisted Lord Stanley’s mug on their roster. The 34 year old, in the second year of a four-year deal that carries a $4.5 million AAV, would probably also love to get dealt at this point because the Predators, who loaded up in the offseason and were thought by most to have a good chance at being elite, have had a rotten time overall and sit seventh in the Central. It doesn’t appear to be a team that will give him a chance to add another Cup ring.
Predators GM Barry Trotz said in December after swinging a minor trade with the Montreal Canadiens that “it’s not a rebuild” and that he is “not in the business of not winning.”
“We’re not selling off. We are resetting. We know where we are. It’s not where we thought we would be,” he continued.
The Predators are still not where they thought they would be and one has to wonder if Trotz’ calculations have changed since then. He’s been inconsistent about whether he needs to tear it down as in November, he said “if we don’t get it going, then I’m going to start our rebuild plan.” From ‘GM Barry Trotz hints at looming rebuild if Nashville Predators don’t improve soon,’ The Tennessean, Nov. 5, 2024.)
Regardless, O’Reilly, who has 14 goals and 20 assists for 34 points this season, will have plenty of suitors. The Jets should be one of them.
Ryan Strome
Strome, currently centreing the Anaheim Ducks’ second line and their first power-play unit, is another veteran with a solid track record of consistent production. The 31-year-old ha has 163 goals and 306 assists for 469 points between Ducks, New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, and Islanders and seven goals and 23 assists for 30 points this season, his third in a Ducks uniform.
He is tied for second in points on the sixth-place club, whose full-scale rebuild is coming along but are not contenders yet (they have beaten the Jets twice already this season, though.) Ducks GM Pat Verbeek will likely be looking to divest of a few veterans to get more draft picks to build on his already-impressive collection of highly-skilled youngsters.
The speedy playmaker, who was chosen fifth overall by the Islanders in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, has three 50-plus-point seasons and six 40-plus-point seasons under his belt, with his career high in points being 59 in 70 games with the 2019-20 Rangers (he would have had more if the season hadn’t been shut down prematurely due to COVID-19’s arrival in North America.) He experienced a long playoff run in 2021-22 with the Rangers when they went to the Eastern Conference Finals in six games and has five goals and 14 assists for 19 points in 37-career postseason tilts.
Like Laughton and O’Reilly, Strome would come with term as he still has two seasons left on his contract after this one that carries a $5 million AAV. All three players’ AAVs would look even more team friendly after the salary cap rises from $88 million to $95.5 million next season and $104 million the season after.
Which centre do you think the Jets should target? Are there any this article didn’t cover? Comment below.