Jets bolster defense trading for Brenden Dillon from Capitals; re-sign Paul Stastny to 1 year deal
Anthony Scultore
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The Winnipeg Jets have been trying to bolster their defense ever since they traded Jacob Trouba to the New York Rangers in 2019. They were able to do so as the Washington Capitals needed to clear some cap space.
Defenseman Brenden Dillon was traded to the Jets late in the evening on Monday, acquiring a pair of second-round picks.
In exchange for the 10-year veteran, the Jets sent the Capitals a second-rounder in both the 2022 and 2023 drafts.
Dillon, 30, was acquired by Washington in a trade with the San Jose Sharks in February 2020. The Jets will be his fourth team.
Capitals trade Brenden Dillon to Jets
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound blueliner posted two goals and 17 assists and was a plus-15 in 56 games last season. In 439 career contests, he has amassed 24 goals and 109 assists with the Dallas Stars (2011-12 to 2014-15), San Jose (2014-15 to 2019-20) and Washington (2019-20 to 2020-21).
In addition, the Capitals submitted qualifying offers to goaltender Ilya Samsonov and defenseman Lucas Johansen on Monday.
Samsonov, 24, is poised to be the team’s top goalie next season, and general manager Brian MacLellan is reportedly engaged in long-term contract talks with the Russia native.
Samsonov went 13-4-1 with a 2.69 goals-against average last season, his second in the league.
Johansen, 23, was Washington’s first-round pick (28th overall) in the 2016 NHL Draft. He has yet to play an NHL game, spending the past four seasons with the AHL’s Hershey Bears.
Jets re-sign Paul Stastny
The 35 year-old center scored 29 points in 56 games and showed the Jets he still has some left in the tank. Yesterday, GM Kevin Cheveldayoff re-signed him to a one-year deal worth $3.75 million.
Stastny was originally drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in 2005 but built his reputation as a star for the St. Louis Blues. In his career he’s played 1001 regular season games and registered 755 points. He was acquired from the Golden Knights last season for a Carl Dahlstrom and a conditional fourth round pick in the 2022 draft.
He played in his 1000th NHL game for the Jets this past season.
–Field Level Media contributed to this article