The gap between a playoff spot and the bottom of the standings was so slim that it really wasn’t clear how many teams were going to become sellers ahead of the trade deadline.

Over the last few weeks, that has changed. There are a number of teams that have gone on some pretty hard slides and now look like they might be forced to sell.

One of those teams is the Winnipeg Jets, and on Wednesday, we had Jeff Marek on Oilersnation Everyday, and he threw out a pretty interesting name: Jonathan Toews.

“There will be teams that come to Winnipeg asking about Jonathan Toews, and he’ll cost you basically nothing,” said Marek. “He’d have to waive to go, but nonetheless, I really wondered as Winnipeg fell, that’s one of those names I wondered about and where he could fit. Edmonton in the middle, third line?”

Toews has appeared in 49 games this year for the Jets and has recorded seven goals and 11 assists, but it’s worth noting that he has four goals and two assists in his last ten games.

Now, there is the obvious connection between Toews and Oilers GM Stan Bowman. The two won multiple Stanley Cups together in Chicago, so I could certainly see there being interest from the Oilers side in a move for Toews.

A lot of people are stuck on the slow start that Toews had this year in Winnipeg, which should have been expected considering he hadn’t played an NHL game in two years, but he has started to look better as of late.

“He’s getting better. Do you want someone in the playoffs who is going to win 70 percent of the faecoffs?” added Marek.

My take on it is a little complex.

Do I think Toews could be a good fit on the Oilers? I do. Six weeks ago, I would have automatically dismissed the idea, but as time has gone on and Toews’ play has improved, I’ve become more intrigued.

I think he could give the Oilers solid minutes in their bottom-six and he would be an improvement on someone like Adam Henrique.

I spoke with Connor Hrabchak from Winnipeg Sports Talk about Toews play this season and here’s what he had to say:

“He’s starting to produce a lot more and even scored in four straight games recently. His possession numbers are solid since then too. Earlier in the season, he was trailing the play a lot and I feel like he’s picked up his pace quite a bit and isn’t glaringly out of position as much.
Still not perfect, but he’s finally starting to look more like a solid middle-six centre and would probably be a solid fourth-line centre for contenders if he wants to be trade.”

If he were to cost nothing more than a late-round pick and the Jets are moving on from him simply to do right by the player and give him a chance to go on a playoff run, then the Oilers should at least make a call.

If the Jets are asking for even a third round pick, then the Oilers should pass.

The other side of this is the salary cap situation. Toews comes in at a modest $2 million against the cap, which the Oilers could probably get the Jets to retain on. The bonus structure around his contract does complicate things a little bit, however.

Toews gets $500k if the team he’s on makes the playoffs and then gets another $250k for every round that the team wins (he must play in 50 percent of the team’s games). If he plays in over 50 percent of the team’s playoff games and they win the Stanley Cup, he unlocks another $1 million bonus.

So the Oilers would be signing up for some bonus overages that would go against next year’s cap, which would not be ideal, but what if the Jets were willing to take back Andrew Mangiapane’s contract in the trade?

Losing Mangiapane’s $3.6 million cap hit for next season would not only offset the cost of any potential bonuses against Toews, but it would actually save the Oilers money in 2026-27.

I also don’t think they should view him as the final solution to their depth issues up front. Toews would be a decent complementary add, but he can’t be the only piece that the Oilers add to their top-nine.

There has been a lot of debate over the last few weeks over whether or not the Oilers should look to acquire a skilled third-line centre or if they should target a scoring winger to play with Connor McDavid in the top-six.

If a player like Toews is available and the cost is low enough, maybe the Oilers can take a stab at having him on their third line while still having the assets and cap space necessary to still go out and add another scoring winger.

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