Why Cole Perfetti is at the center of how rivals plan to beat the Jets
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Daniel Lucente
Mar 30, 2026 (5:26 PM)
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Photo credit: © Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
David Pagnotta says teams told Scott Arniel's Jets to start with Cole Perfetti, and that exposed exactly how rivals are trying to play Winnipeg.
Perfetti is 24, the No. 10 pick in 2020 by the Winnipeg Jets, and he is finishing a 2-year deal carrying a $3,250,000 cap hit before restricted free agency.
That's why this mattered. Winnipeg was looking for a winger or centre who could skate with Perfetti, hold pucks, and help the second line breathe. Instead, some clubs answered by trying to grab the playmaker himself.
Here's the post in play:
Re Jets: "They had looked around the league, how can we bring in [players] that can play and mesh with Cole Perfetti; as they were exploring some teams were saying well you could just give us Perfetti; that didn't really get too far."
- David Pagnotta
- David Pagnotta
That is not normal trade chatter. That is the market telling Kevin Cheveldayoff it still sees Perfetti as one of the cleanest value pieces on the roster.
And from Winnipeg's side, that should end the debate fast. If teams keep asking for the same young forward, you do not move him just because the phones got loud.
Jets should treat the Perfetti ask as a warning
The disrespect angle is real because the Jets were not shopping a rebuild piece. Pagnotta reported they wanted help that could mesh with Perfetti, which means the assignment was support, not subtraction.
Winnipeg is 31-30-12 with 74 points and a -16 goal differential, so every add had to be about fixing structure and secondary offence.
Perfetti's contract also makes him more attractive to other clubs than to the Jets' own trade board. A 24-year-old skilled winger at $3,250,000 is exactly the kind of asset contenders and retooling teams try to pry loose.
That is why Arniel and Cheveldayoff should read those calls as a scouting report from rival front offices. The league did not identify Winnipeg's problem piece. It identified one of the Jets' better bets to solve it.
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| POLL | ||
MARS 30|122 ANSWERS Why Cole Perfetti is at the center of how rivals plan to beat the Jets Should the Jets shut down any trade call that starts with Cole Perfetti this summer? | ||
| Yes | 93 | 76.2 % |
| No | 29 | 23.8 % |
| List of polls | ||