[Discussion] Mason Appleton

[Bertuzzipunch]

Weve all seen him play after a great series vs the oilers. A top 9 player on the jets. Plays wing but is a natural Center. Hes 25 yrs old, 6 foot 2 195 pounds and imo is a damn good overall player.

 

Kind of the perfect 3rd line center for a young team like us. After this playoffs and going into the summer hes one of the players i really dont think winnipeg will be able to keep for the expansion draft. 
 

He has 1 yr left on his deal for 900k contract (which is perfect with a cap handcuffed team like us) but what would it take from us to get him out of winnipeg before he goes to seattle. 
We would have enough money next season to sign him to a multi year extension with all the crap contracts off the books.

 

Is this someone JB should target and what would it take to get him from winnipeg?

Edited May 26, 2021 by Bertuzzipunch

[Outsiders]

I like Appleton a lot and was going to start a thread the other day but forgot. It is hard to say if he can play the middle at the NHL level or not as he has only been used on the wing in WPG. He's worth a shot though as 3C and if he doesn't work out as a C I could see him fitting well on a line with Horvat. Appleton is speed and skill which is exactly what Benning said he is after!

[TNucks1]

just thinking about the expansion draft, who we leaving exposed?

[Ilya Mikheyev]

This is an interesting discussion for sure. I think you're right - it'll either be Appleton or Copp exposed amongst Fs- I think more likely it'll be Copp at this point, but with the right incentive you never know. They're probably also gonna be unable to protect Logan Stanley which might be more tempting for the Kraken

 

I don't think Appleton has played a minute of center at the NHL level unless I am wrong? NHL.com tells me he's taken a total of 27 faceoffs in his full career so far. So it might be a stretch to count on him as a center

 

I wouldn't sleep on his offensive output either. Scoring per 60 5-on-5 he would've been 5th on the Canucks this year, ahead of Horvat and Pearson for example

 

Canucks seem to have space to protect one more forward. And at 900k next year, he's definitely a mile-ahead of Lind or Highmore at this point for 3rd line RW.

 

The Jets don't really have space for to protect any D either, so the swap would have to be pick and prospect based. I'm sure the Canucks' high 2nd this year would get their attn, but a second piece would likely be needed.

[smithers joe]

what would he cost? a 2nd, 3rd or 4th?

[c00kies]

He's an interesting guy for sure, but I wonder how the players on the Jets will transfer to our system. The Jets play more aggressive and try to be a puck control team, so I think the player would look different and be a different fit here.

[Ghostsof1915]

My money is Appleton is taken by the Kraken in the expansion draft. 

[dm_ranger]

1 hour ago, Ghostsof1915 said:

My money is Appleton is taken by the Kraken in the expansion draft. 

I think the point of the thread is, could we trade for him so WPG gets something for him instead of losing him for nothing?  It is the very reason he might be available.

Edited May 26, 2021 by dm_ranger

[BCNate]

The question in these scenarios is who will the Jets lose if they trade Appleton?  If they trade Appleton, they will still lose one of Poolman, Stanley or Niku, which means they won't just give away Appleton.  I'd go as far as a 2nd or possibly even Juolevi.  I'd hate to give up on OJ, but Appleton would fill a huge need, and OJ likely isn't in our top 6 D next year.

[Bertuzzipunch]

1 minute ago, BCNate said:

The question in these scenarios is who will the Jets lose if they trade Appleton?  If they trade Appleton, they will still lose one of Poolman, Stanley or Niku, which means they won't just give away Appleton.  I'd go as far as a 2nd or possibly even Juolevi.  I'd hate to give up on OJ, but Appleton would fill a huge need, and OJ likely isn't in our top 6 D next year.

If thats what it takes im down for it. I dunno who winnipeg has for prospects but im sure they can replace appleton on that line.

[Rick Blight]

 I suspect they will protect Wheeler, Connor, Scheifele, Ehlers, Dubois, Lowry and Copp as their 7 forwards. Morrissey, Pionk and Stanley as their 3 d-men and Hellebuyck as their goalie.

 

It looks like Seattle will have a choice of Stastny, Appleton, DeMelo or Brossoit. If they trade Appleton they will also lose one of the other 3 on this list to Seattle. So they will need to decide if they are comfortable with losing one of the 4 or losing 2 of them by making a trade for a draft pick. If it were my decision, I would keep all 4 and let Seattle take their choice OR I would offer Seattle a 3rd round pick if they would take Jansen Harkins in the draft.

[BCNate]

6 minutes ago, Rick Blight said:

 I suspect they will protect Wheeler, Connor, Scheifele, Ehlers, Dubois, Lowry and Copp as their 7 forwards. Morrissey, Pionk and Stanley as their 3 d-men and Hellebuyck as their goalie.

 

It looks like Seattle will have a choice of Stastny, Appleton, DeMelo or Brossoit. If they trade Appleton they will also lose one of the other 3 on this list to Seattle. So they will need to decide if they are comfortable with losing one of the 4 or losing 2 of them by making a trade for a draft pick. If it were my decision, I would keep all 4 and let Seattle take their choice OR I would offer Seattle a 3rd round pick if they would take Jansen Harkins in the draft.

Demelo would be worth taking a look at as well if he were cheap.  Solid stay at home RHD on a pretty decent deal.  I think we can do better, but he would be a good addition.

[HorvatToBaertschi]

This brings up a great point; we need to weaponize our extra protected slots and get somebody like Copp or Appleton. I'd be fine with both, they seem to be Green/Benning type players. I'd go as far as give a 2nd round pick without batting an eye. 

[Bertuzzipunch]

14 minutes ago, HorvatToBaertschi said:

This brings up a great point; we need to weaponize our extra protected slots and get somebody like Copp or Appleton. I'd be fine with both, they seem to be Green/Benning type players. I'd go as far as give a 2nd round pick without batting an eye. 

A 2nd to solidify our 3C for years definitely is worth it.

[Silky mitts]

He’s a lock for Seattle 

[JM_]

3 hours ago, Ghostsof1915 said:

My money is Appleton is taken by the Kraken in the expansion draft. 

for sure, WPG isn't going to expose Lowry. 

 

He's an upgrade on anyone in our bottom 6 and cost controlled to boot. I would think they'd want someone off our protected list (Lockwood?) and a pick. 

[Dazzle]

I hope they don't give up Juolevi. He's just starting out.

[Elias Pettersson]

3 hours ago, Rick Blight said:

 I suspect they will protect Wheeler, Connor, Scheifele, Ehlers, Dubois, Lowry and Copp as their 7 forwards. Morrissey, Pionk and Stanley as their 3 d-men and Hellebuyck as their goalie.

 

It looks like Seattle will have a choice of Stastny, Appleton, DeMelo or Brossoit. If they trade Appleton they will also lose one of the other 3 on this list to Seattle. So they will need to decide if they are comfortable with losing one of the 4 or losing 2 of them by making a trade for a draft pick. If it were my decision, I would keep all 4 and let Seattle take their choice OR I would offer Seattle a 3rd round pick if they would take Jansen Harkins in the draft.

Stastny and Brossoit are UFA's so they don't even need protection.  The choice for Seattle would be Appleton or DeMelo.  They probably take Appleton so If they trade Appleton then Seattle only has one choice.  So if Winnipeg can get an asset back for Appleton they may do it and just lose DeMelo.

[Rick Blight]

15 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

Stastny and Brossoit are UFA's so they don't even need protection.  The choice for Seattle would be Appleton or DeMelo.  They probably take Appleton so If they trade Appleton then Seattle only has one choice.  So if Winnipeg can get an asset back for Appleton they may do it and just lose DeMelo.

Yeah, I missed Stastny and Brossoit being UFA's this year, my bad. I guess the trade decision would hinge on the type of return you could get for either of them. You would not want a player in return that you would have to protect or risk losing so compensation would have to be in the form of "exempt" players and/or draft picks. If they can swing that kind of trade they would probably try to trade both DeMelo and Appleton and leave Seattle with a choice of maybe Harkins or Niku. Tough decision to make though as you would be losing 2 players off your existing roster that are valuable contributors to their playoff run.