NHL Rumors: Teams "Kicking The Tires" On Jets' Trade Candidate

It's been a tough season thus far for Winnipeg Jets depth defenseman Logan Stanley. He's splitting sixth D-man duties, and has only played four games thus far. But that hasn't stopped teams around the league from checking in on the availability of the pending restricted free agent. 

According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, "Teams have been kicking the tires" on Stanley. 

A big blueliner (6'7", 228 pounds) who can hand out hits and block shots, Stanley was re-signed by the Jets to a one-year, $1M contract for this season. But with teams expressing interest, perhaps that helps explain why the Jets inserted him Monday night after an 18-day layoff, going with an 11-and-7 lineup, looking to get the rugged D-man a little showcase. 

“We wanted to get Logan into a game and (Declan) Chisholm had played well the game before, and we know who our top five are, so that’s why we did it — to get Logan into the game and to give Chizzy another chance,” head coach Rick Bowness said after the game.

Stanley, 25, played just a tick under 13 minutes in the game, took a couple of shots and drew one penalty. 

"Definitely nice playing a game," said Stanley. "It sucks that I've been watching. I think as a competitor you always want to play, right? So it was great to get back in and help the team get a win."

He only got into 19 games last season and was a healthy scratch on 22 occasions, but the previous year, in 58 contests, he handed out 131 hits while blocking 100 shots in 58 games, while registering a plus-1 rating. 

"It’s fair to say the Jets aren’t shopping Stanley," adds Garrioch, "but that’s not stopping league executives from calling to see what it might take."

Photo: Terrence Lee-USA TODAY Sports