Winnipeg Jets Could Have Great Replacement For Nikolaj Ehlers
The Winnipeg Jets are very likely going to lose Nikolaj Ehlers in free agency this year despite all of the attempts to keep the speedy winger. With how the Jets are built, he just wasn’t going to get top line minutes even though he was getting top power-play time.
With Ehlers heading to the open market, the Jets have to find a replacement, and with where they are, it can’t be a hope for one of their prospects to jump in and put up over 60 points. The addition of Jonathan Toews helps the Jets down the middle and Cole Perfetti can now shift over to the wing, but Ehlers’ scoring has to be replaced.
Darren Dreger suggests that the Jets could be a very good fit for Brock Boeser if Ehlers leaves. Boeser’s time on the Vancouver Canucks is at an end as well and he will not only be looking to win, but get paid. The Jets are one of the rare teams that can offer both as they won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2024-25 and have $24.4 million in projected cap space.
Boeser would have a spot on the second line with Toews and Perfetti while it would make the third line deeper as well. Boeser would without a doubt get onto that top power-play unit as he is capable of scoring and takes over whatever Ehlers did with the team.
While Ehlers was a regular 20-goal scorer, he only scored more than 25 goals twice in his 10-year tenure with the Jets. Boeser scored 25 this season in what was considered a down year for him. He potted 40 goals the season prior and has scored more than 25 goals three times in eight seasons. This would be the ideal replacement for Winnipeg to at least keep them at bay and give them the tools to repeat their 2024-25 season with some more playoff success.
