The Jets cannot let this OPPORTUNITY slip...

A Flyers reporter on Monday said that Matvei Michkov would likely want a fresh start somewhere else. By Tuesday, a team source said that he has not requested a trade internally with the Flyers. Both can be true, and that's exactly when a player like this is going to be traded. He has 10 goals in 26-27, the most on the Flyers, and 4 assists on top of that. He is 22 years old, and he is making $950,000 this year. So here's the trade I love for Winnipeg to go out and get Matvei Michkov. It is Isaac Rosean, Brian Lambert, and a first-round pick for Matvei. If you put him on the line with Jaeger and Dawson Mercer, that's a line nobody wants to play against. Is that line lethal, and would Philly say yes? ESPN's Emily Kaplan reported that Michkov has not formally requested a trade, and the Flyers are surprised by all the chatter. They say that the Flyers were caught off guard by Weitz' report. That is a team that did not see this coming, but a team that didn't deny it either. Daily Faceoff put it best, Michkov and Tyson Forrester are not being shopped, but they are not untouchable. Back in February, a team source told Daily Faceoff that Michkov is objectively one of the top three on the team in terms of skill. In July, when he was asked if there had been contract talks, he said no, there haven't been any talks yet. A start on a contract that ends a team that opened 0-5-3 and no extension talks is how every trade rumor starts. Did Philadelphia want to hear any of that? Winnipeg would not be calling a team that is selling, it would be calling a team that is upset with these headlines. Michkov had 20 goals and 51 points last season when he was 21. This season, he has 14 points tied for second on the Flyers with Trevor Zegras. And five of his goals have come on the power play the most on that team. The skill is not in doubt. He went seventh in the 2023 draft and he scored 20 goals last season. His ice time is the fight right now. A French language report says he made a strong plea for more ice time and he argued with Nick Seeler on the bench on November the 10th. Nobody put a minutes part on that, so I'm not going to invent one. What I will say is that a team source told Daily Faceoff he is not being shopped, but he is not untouchable either. That is a team keeping a door open on trade like this. His contract is the reason the door matters, because his $950,000 deal ends after this season. He becomes a restricted free agent this coming summer, and whoever holds his rights is going to have to pay him. Now the fun part, the line. Braden Yeager came up on November the 5th after 12 points in 10 AHL games. He scored his first career goal in Tampa on November the 8th. The Jets are 3-0-1 with Yeager in the lineup and 1-5-0 without him. That is a small sample, but he is a $940,833 center who is already changing results. Next to him is Dawson Mercer, who has 10 points and is on a $4 million deal that also ends this year. And if you want to hear the latest on all the Jets trade rumors, we're here for it here on YouTube. Subscribe below, hit that subscribe button. It's completely free to do so. Now, picture a third guy on that line, a guy with 10 goals on a tough Flyers lineup. Mercer is the only one of the five players in this whole deal on a real salary at $4 million, and the other four are all under $1 million. This is why that line is almost free. You get three young forwards for about $5.9 million combined. Yeager is the center, Mercer is his winger, and Matvei Michkov is the shooter they have been missing. It also doesn't take anything from the top line here. Connor leads the Winnipeg Jets with 21 points, and Mark Scheifele has 19 himself. So, Michkov is not fixing the top line. It's giving you a second one that you should be scared of. Winnipeg is 8-8 and 6 in the Central Division after beating New Jersey 4-2 on November 10th. Cole Perfetti has 16 points, and Gabe Vilardi has 9. So, there is room above them for a real score. A team sitting there needs a second line more than a fifth defenseman. This is not a rescue mission either, and that's what makes it interesting. The Jets have won four straight, beating Montreal 5-4, Vancouver 6-2, Tampa 4-3, and New Jersey 4-2. That is 19 goals in four games, and Connor scored twice in the win over New Jersey last night. A team that is already winning, adding somebody is the best time to do it because they're already having success, and the new guy can fit in, and he doesn't have to save anyone. The question for the Jets is whether the 8-8 team on the table is the real one or the one that just won four in a row. Michkov makes that question easier because he gives the Jets an option for a second goal score and we don't just have to rely on Connor having a great game every night. So what does Philadelphia get here? Brad Lambert has zero goals and one assist in nine games this season and plays about nine minutes a night. The Jets are 5-3-0 without him in the lineup and they were 3-5-3 with him. Isaac Rosean averages 12:06 a game and 9:23 over his last five. He is on his entry-level deal at $925,000 that runs through 27-28. Rosean was the 14th pick in 2021, and he had 6 goals and 4 assists in 37 games last season. The Jets got him from Buffalo for Logan Stanley and Luke Shen. Lambert had 3 goals and 3 assists in 25 games last season, and his deal ends after this year. Those are two depth young players that are NHL-ready and a first-round pick that carries the real value. Winnipeg owns its own 2027 first, and it is not conditional. That is the one that goes, and it gives Philly young players and a pick to fill that hole. Remember, the Flyers also own their own 2027 first, plus a second one from Toronto. They are not short on picks, they are short on goals. There is a catch, and I would be lying if I skipped it. Michkov is a minus 11 this season, and the Flyers open the year 0-5-3. So some of that is the team around him, but not all of it. The Jets would be getting a great scorer, but they would also be getting a guy who just got in a heated confrontation on the bench. That is a locker room risk, and the reason that this price should not go up forever. The other risk is the double raise. Mercer is a restricted free agent next summer on his $4 million deal, and so is Michkov. Jaeger and Rosean are signed through 27-28, which means Winnipeg will be paying Michkov and Mercer at once. With about $13 million of space on our cap sheet, that is the problem the Jets can't afford. Michkov is the one worth it, and Mercer will be the next conversation. The money is the easy part. Lambert was on an $886,666 deal, and Rosayen is at $925,000, so Winnipeg sends out $1,811,666 here. Michkov comes back at $950,000, so the Jets save $861,666 here. Winnipeg goes from $91 million to just about $90.2 million against a $104 million ceiling. Philadelphia goes from $91 million to about $91.8 million, also well under. The real cap problem is next summer when Michkov stops being a $950,000 player. Winnipeg already has Connor at $12 million and Scheifele at $8.5 million locked in. So Michkov's raise is something to plan for, but it's a problem that I would gladly take on. Now the honest part was if Philly would even do this. Michkov went 7th in the 2023 draft and a package of two depth players and late first is late for that. In June, San Jose sent William Eklund and two prospects to Ottawa for the ninth pick. William Eklund is 23 with a $5.6 million cap hit, and he had 53 points in 78 games, while Michkov had 51 points at 21. Boston also paid two firsts for J.J. Petterka. The Paterka deal was bigger than that. Boston sent Utah two firsts, a 23rd pick, and an unprotected 2028 first from Florida. The first name Philadelphia asks in any call is Braden Jaeger. He was the 14th pick in 2023. The Jets got him from Pittsburgh for Rutger McGrody in August 2024, and he is signed at $933,333 through 27-28. Winnipeg says no to that because Jaeger is the whole point of that line, having him and Michkov and Mercer together, so we would have to go another route. So the first round pick, Lambert and Rosean, is the opening offer and I would be willing to give up two first round picks for Michkov to be honest. So the price of a young scoring winger does go past what our mock says, that's why I would include an extra first if they do come calling for that. That is why this is a mock trade and nobody has reported that Philadelphia is selling. If the Flyers want more, the Jets still have their 2028 and 2029 firsts. I would pay two firsts for him, but not much past that. So here is my call. The Jets get a 22-year-old winger with 10 goals this season at $950,000, and the Flyers get Lambert, Rosean, and a 20-27 first. It works to the Jets because they get a better player, an incredible second line, and they save money here. The Flyers' side is the problem, though, because they might see it as a bit light for the seventh overall pick that is Michkov, so I guess throwing an extra first in here is perfectly fine with me. Because if you put that second first in there, I think we have a real shot at a deal. Then Mercer, Jaeger, and Michkov go into the lineup and we look like a dangerous team. The only thing I am watching is that if Michkov formally asks out of Philadelphia because that is what would move the price here. Would you make this trade? Let me know down in the comments by saying yes or no. This has been another episode of Jets Digest. If you enjoyed, put it down below. Hit that subscribe button. As always, I've been your host, KC. Keep your stick on the ice.