The Winnipeg Jets are still looking for a new Head Coach, and while we are still a while away from the end of the playoffs, the draft, and free agency, the Jets are looking to get a decision made sooner, rather than later.

Some of the coaches confirmed to be either interviewed, or as least on the Jets radar include; Barry Trotz, Pascal Vincent, Scott Arniel, and whispers of some others. I also strongly believe Kirk Muller will be high on the Winnipeg Jets list, but we will see if anything official comes out on that.

Muller has been a coach at the NHL level for a long time now. While only being Head Coach briefly after Paul Maurice left Carolina, where Muller took over. With much success, most notably this season with Darryl Sutter in Calgary. That coaching style would work very will in Winnipeg, if he keeps any of what Sutter coaches.

As we all know now, Barry Trotz has interviewed in Winnipeg, and for a few hours it sounded like Trotz had accepted an offer with the Jets, but as Elliotte Friedman reported, it is premature to have these beliefs. Trotz has had, or will have, interviews with Vegas, Philadelphia, and though nothing oifficial has been said, Detroit would be a part of this list as well. I have to wonder about Dallas as well, as they have announced they have parted with Rick Bowness. Trotz is clearly the most highly touted coach, so let's see where this goes. We all know everything about Trotz's game.

Pascal Vincent has spent lots of time in the Jets/Moose organization, and is very familiar with the way things work. After accepting a job in Columbus, he has been reached out to again by the Jets club, and an interview has been schedule. Vincent was an Assistant Coach in Winnipeg for 6 seasons, Head Coach of the AHL's Manitoba Moose for 5 years, and 11 years as a Head Coach in the QMJHL, all with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, except for 3 with the Montreal Juniors. With a QMJHL winning percentage of 52.86%, and as the HC in Manitoba, he has a 47.69%. Those AHL numbers aren't giving me a lot of confidence, but I am still on board for giving Vincent a shot.

Scott Arniel has much better AHL stats than Pascal Vincent, with a 55.05% winning percentage across 396 games. He has been a part of a lot of teams that know what they are doing, and though he has not won a championship at the NHL level, he has been on some very successful teams as an assistant. I would also be very interested to see where this goes.

Any one of the three that are closely tied to Winnipeg would be a great pickup. I am looking forward to see what the Jets pick, and who accepts an offer. It will really dictate how the off-season goes.

The Jets will need a big move here, and Kevin Cheveldayoff said that there will be a wide-net search, but other than Trotz, this may be the smallest wide-net search I have ever seen. Keeping things very close to home, which could potentially turn up to be quite dangerous for this team.

The locker room situation needs to be resolved this summer, before all of the young stars the Jets have come in, and immediately don't want to stick around. It has been very public now, that there are lots of issues. If I am a top prospect headed into this team, I am not looking forward to it.

Mock Trades?

So, the decision of the Head Coach will dictate a lot of what the offseason may look like, but that doesn't mean we can't still have fun.

In the comment section below, leave some mock trades. Make sure you take the salary cap, team need, and everything else into account, but other than that, they can be the most talked about trades, or the wildest trade you can think of. I want to see some on moving Nate Schmidt, all the way to what the return could be for Kyle Connor is the Jets blow it up.

I will give you all this evening and tomorrow to submit these in the comments, and on Friday I will be releasing my thoughts on these mock trades you come up with, and what adjustments I would make.

That is all for today, I have some big pieces in the works I am very excited about, so keep an eye out for those over the next 7-10 days

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