The Winnipeg Jets have added defenceman Luca Sbisa to the roster for 2020-21. The deal for only one season with a cap hit of $800 thousand. Darren Greger of Sportsnet announced the move late Friday afternoon.
Wpg signs Luca Sbisa. 1 year $800,000.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) October 9, 2020
Jets Sign Luca Sbisa
Sbisa is returning to the Jets for a second consecutive season. He played in 44 games for Winnipeg in 2019-20 with two goals, 10 points, 91 hits and 71 blocks. The team relied on other defenders far more frequently for offence which pushed Sbisa into heavy usage on defence and the penalty kill. He was third on the team in average shorthanded ice time behind only Nathan Beaulieu and Anthony Bitetto.
The Philadelphia Flyers originally selected Sbisa in the first round of the 2008 Draft. He debuted in 2008-09 with seven assists, 46 hits and 48 blocks in 39 games. Sbisa has never been a major offensive threat but he does have one campaign of more than 20 points that came in 2011-12 with the Anaheim Ducks. Overall, the former 19th overall selection has just 20 goals and 113 points in 548 games but he has been a useable physical presence.
What This Means for the Future
The Jets will likely use Sbisa as one of the primary short-handed options again in 2020-21. He is a poor scoring option and doesn’t do much to drive play with poor possession metrics. His only real value comes from his willingness to check with his 6’3″, 204-pound frame. However, Winnipeg has one of the shallowest bluelines in the NHL so Sbisa has a clear role already carved out for next season.
Winnipeg has been active since its postseason began. Sbisa is already the third blue line signing after Beaulieu and Dylan DeMelo. They also signed backup goaltender Laurent Brossoit last week and traded for Paul Stastny early on Friday. However, the team has just under $3.4 million in cap space so additional big moves are unlikely. They would have to trade a big contract to make any more significant moves but there is plenty of time for that to happen.
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