Jets GM Cheveldayoff Believes in Laine, Frustrated with RFA Roslovic

The Winnipeg Jets are inching closer to the beginning of training camp. To be held at the Jets’ training facility at the west-most of Winnipeg, 36 skaters and ‘a number of goaltenders’ will report to camp on January 3, in hopes of cracking the team’s 2020-21 regular season roster, or potentially the four-to-six man taxi squad.

With World Junior Hockey Championship participants Cole Perfetti and Ville Heinola preoccupied in Edmonton, AB., Winnipeg has been the travel destination for nearly every active player set to participate in Jets training camp. That is, except for restricted free agent forward Jack Roslovic.

“So, all of them are in town,” Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff told local media in a Zoom call. “There are a couple of quarantining things that will probably delay one or two, just with logistics. Getting (Manitoba Moose goaltender) Mikhail Berdin out of Russia with some flight logistics and things like that was an ongoing thing. As far as everybody being in Winnipeg, I don’t think Jack is, as an RFA yet, I believe everybody will be in and will be quickly out of their quarantine.”

Roslovic, 23, is entering his fourth season in the NHL after putting up 26 goals, 67 points and 18 penalty minutes through 180 total games played with the Jets since he was drafted 25th overall in the first round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by Winnipeg. As a restricted free agent, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound forward is in the need of a new contract from the team.

“Obviously, he is an RFA and currently not signed,” Cheveldayoff said. “To my knowledge, he is also currently not in Winnipeg. So moving forward there is going to be a quarantine situation, whenever we come to an agreement. We made our qualifying offers back when everyone made their qualifying offers. And as far as the cadence of a conversation or the contents of a meeting, I’ve always had the belief and the way I’ve conducted business is that that’s been kept private.”

Roslovic, who recently switched representing agencies to 4sports hockey and Claude Lemieux, the father of good friend Brendan Lemieux, has reportedly asked the team for a trade following the advice of Lemieux.

“I haven’t actually spoken to him since he’s been back,” Cheveldayoff said of Laine’s return to Winnipeg. “I have been in constant contact with his representatives all the time throughout the long pause however. We’re excited. Obviously camp is getting started here and we think with some of the acquisitions that we’ve made – obviously adding Stas – we think we’ve got one of the better, if not one of the best, top-sixes in the National Hockey League. We’re excited about having the ability down the middle with Scheifele and Stastny on our top-six with the quality of wingers like Patrik and Wheels and Nik Ehlers and Kyle Connor. I think there’s lots of different combinations that can be very, very dynamic. We’re excited and I think you’re going to see some good things.”