NHL trade rumors: 3 teams who should trade for Kris Letang

2. Winnipeg Jets

Kris Letang would make all the sense in the world for the Winnipeg Jets as a trade target. The Jets desperately need to add to their defense, as they were horrible this season. Connor Hellebuyck masked a lot of their flaws, and boy, did they have flaws.

Here’s how the Jets did at 5v5 during the regular season.

• 12th most shot attempts per hour (57.06)
• Sixth-most shots against per hour (31.96)
• Third-most expected goals against per hour (2.58)
• Eighth-most scoring chances against per hour (27.9)
• Second-most high danger scoring chances against per hour (12.89)

Also, Josh Morrissey clearly missed Jacob Trouba (and vice versa). Morrissey had arguably the worst season of his NHL career. The usual fancy stats darling had subpar underlying stats and a huge reason for it was the Jets never made an effort to replace Trouba. Dustin Byfuglien’s injury certainly didn’t help either.

Letang wouldn’t solve all of the Jets problems, but he’d sure help them address their defensive issues. He’s a great defenseman, so if he’s available, the Jets should absolutely be interested in him. There’s no excuse for Winnipeg to not be interested in virtually any defenseman with a pulse.

However, do the Jets have what the Penguins want? Winnipeg has a surplus of forwards, but Pittsburgh just traded for Kapanen and their forward group seems pretty much set. It takes two to tango. The Jets are likely willing to tango. But what about the Penguins?

Also, would Letang accept a trade to Winnipeg? It’s a brutally cold city. Not all hockey players like the cold.