Minnesota Wild: The Case to Re-Sign David Jones
David Jones was the only player to be brought in to the Minnesota Wild lineup at last year’s trade deadline, and he instantly made solid contributions. With a lineup shake-up happening this offseason do the Wild have the ability to re-sign him?
The Minnesota Wild were expected to be very active at this past season’s trade deadline. GM Chuck Fletcher however did not make what anyone would call a blockbuster deal, opting instead to shuffle a few minor league players and he only made one NHL level trade. That trade saw long time Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom shipped off to Calgary for forward David Jones.
It was a small yet shrewd move by Fletcher to get the Wild some modest forward help. The trade gave Backstrom a chance to play again for the Flames after being the third goaltender on the roster and not playing a minute of action in 2015-16. Additionally, Jones’ $4 million cap hit fit in a swap for Backstrom’s $3.4 million cap hit.
Jones instantly embraced the move explaining to Dan Myers of NHL.com on deadline day that “I think this situation for me is great. I get to go to a team that is going to make a push. I’m excited.” In his 22 games with the Wild, Jones earned a reputation as a very hard worker who Interim Head Coach John Torchetti lauded on many occasions. Still his stat sheet of 3 pts in 16 regular season games, and 1 pt in 6 playoff games told a different story that makes one wonder if his days of 20 goal seasons are past.
Now that the Wild are headed into a pivotal offseason where many hard decisions will need to be made, is there a place in the Wild’s future for Jones? With his current cap hit of $4 million per season, the initial though is no. That $4 million can be used to get the Wild a much more needed scoring minded forward. Jones’ $4 million could be used to sign a new free-agent, or by itself would likely be enough to re-sign three huge Wild free agents Jason Zucker, Mathew Dumba, and Darcy Kuemper.
Could Jones’ find himself in a Wild uniform next season if he takes a pay cut? Absolutely. With the more than likely departure of Jaret Stoll and possible departures of Ryan Carter and Chris Porter, Jones makes a lot of sense to re-sign to be that nucleus for a physical yet talented 4th line.
If Jones takes a salary that is more in the range of $1-2 million he could find himself back with the Wild. The $2-3 million that he would free up would be enough to make a sizeable dent in the Wild’s other free agent aspirations while still securing solid forward help that Fletcher has said is a priority. With declining production numbers, a lower salary starting point would not be out the question when negotiating a possible contract with the Wild.
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Fletcher has most likely begun to formulate how to approach Jones’ situation already, so expect that if the Wild make him an offer it will be done before the July 1st start of free-agency, or Jones will more than likely not be a part of the Wild next season. Jones is an excellent player and there is a future for him with the Wild, it just needs to be negotiated at the right price. As with most free agents we’ll have to see if that price can be worked out.