Last and least, the Winnipeg Jets capped day one of free agency off by signing veteran defenseman Brian Strait. His deal will be a one-year, one-way contract worth $600,000.
The #NHLJets have agreed to terms with D Brian Strait on a one-year, one-way contract worth an AAV of $600,000. pic.twitter.com/2f5zfKTPLO
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) July 1, 2016
Brian Strait Signs with the Winnipeg Jets
The 28-year-old vet is a left-handed shot. The Jets certainly needed to add depth on the left side of their defense. Tobias Enstrom is aging, Josh Morrissey has yet to prove himself, Ben Chiarot is a third pairing guy at best, and Mark Stuart‘s days as an NHL-caliber player are far behind him. Kevin Cheveldayoff trading up to select Logan Stanley in this year’s draft was an attempt to address this need. However, the Strait signing did anything but improve their current situation.
Strait’s possession numbers are abominable. Over the past two seasons, he has put up a RelTM Corsi rating of -4.8%. This ranks second worst among all NHL defenseman with a minimum of 1,000 minutes played. What this statistic tells us is that Strait is constantly causing his teammates to be outshot while on the ice with him.
He doesn’t possess a scoring touch that trumps his ineptness at playing defense either. He’s accumulated a measly 27 points in his 182 game career.
This is a very underwhelming addition. Brian Strait is nothing more than a 7th-8th defenseman. And that’s exactly what he’ll be with the Jets.
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