Canadian team among the contenders linked to Nikolaj Ehlers

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Tom Banks
October 16, 2024 (10:13 PM)

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Winnipeg Jets star Nikolaj Ehlers continues to draw trade interest, and now it appears as though a top Canadian team is becoming a genuine suitor.

The Winnipeg Jets had a stellar regular season a year ago, but ultimately fell in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to the Colorado Avalanche, leading to a summer of trade speculation. The team ultimately moved prospect Rutger McGroarty, but the continued speculation rolls on surrounding veteran forward Nikolaj Ehlers.

For the better part of the last two years, Ehlers has been involved in some sort of trade rumor in Winnipeg, and it appears that will continue until he's moved, with two more teams now linked to the veteran winger. According to Eklund of Hockey Buzz, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres both remain in on Ehlers, who could become one of the hottest trade chips at the deadline depending on how Winnipeg starts the season.

Ehlers had the highest point total of his career since 2016/17 last season, tallying 25 goals and 61 points, and given the fact that the Jets continue to preach getting younger, it could be just a matter of time until he's moved. Except for one year when he played just 42 games, Ehlers has become a consistent 25-goal scorer in the NHL over the past five or six years, but at 28 years of age, the Jets need to decide whether he's a part of their future or not.

At this stage, trading him for a young winger like Nick Robertson could be the move, as it would help Toronto improve while getting Winnipeg younger, so his performance this year could change the return in a big way. Through three games thus far, Ehlers has 2 assists on the season, and if he continues playing well and the interest persists, expect to hear his name more and more ahead of the trade deadline.