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NHL Trade Rumors: Winnipeg Jets Put Forward On Trading Block As Team Keeps Surging

By Matt Couden
Published on: 09:18 PST, Dec 20, 2017

According to recent NHL trade rumors, the Winnipeg Jets are making one of their forwards available for trade. The news arrives as the team has been enjoying a successful season so far and may be looking to further improve their roster for an NHL Playoffs run. While a move won’t happen right away, it seems as if the team is looking for some sort of deal to keep the season’s momentum going. Not only that, but there’s also free agency on the way, which is impacting their decision.

According to SportsNet’s Elliotte Friedman, 29-year-old forward/center Shawn Matthias is the player who has recently been made available for trade by Winnipeg. Basically, the team has had trouble finding enough playing time for him due to their success right now. With other players available in the minor leagues for Winnipeg to draw from, they’ve recently sent a notice out to all teams that their veteran is available for a trade. Matthias is set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season, giving the team incentive to make a trade as soon as they can. The NHL is currently under a roster freeze for trade activity right now, meaning any sort of deal would have to come after this holiday week.

For the current season, Shawn Matthias has scored no goals and has just two assists but he also has not been part of the lineup all that much, participating in about half of the team’s games. The 10-year player, listed as a center via his Hockey-Reference profile page, was originally a second-round draft pick by the Detroit Red Wings in 2006. In his decade in the league, he’s tallied 89 career goals and 84 assists for a total of 173 points. While not any sort of offensive threat, he could certainly make a solid veteran addition to another roster in need. Matthias was listed as a “healthy scratch” in the team’s most recent win over the St. Louis Blues.

Back in late October, he spoke about his team’s success and the outlook for the Jets’ upcoming season.

Right now, Winnipeg is sitting third in the Central Division with a record of 20-10-5 and 45 total points. Just ahead of them are the St. Louis Blues and division leaders, the Nashville Predators. Winnipeg has won two-straight and is 5-4-1 over their last 10 games. The team also ranks fourth in the league in goals scored (3.3 per game) and third in power-play percentage (25.2). As of this report, Vegas Insider lists the Jets at 25 to 1 on the future odds to win the NHL Stanley Cup, which is tied with multiple teams.

The NHL’s roster freeze period lasts through December 26, with the trade deadline set for February 26, 2018, by 3 p.m. Eastern Time.

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