Jets make 'huge' deal, send Kane and Bogosian to Sabres

Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian are no longer Winnipeg Jets.

The Jets announced Wednesday they sent the two young stars to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for defenceman Tyler Myers — the NHL's rookie of the year in 2009-10 — and wingers Drew Stafford, Joel Armia and Brendan Lemieux, who is the son of former NHL star Claude Lemieux.

The Jets also get a first-round draft choice in the 2015 NHL Draft while Buffalo gets Jason Kasdorf, a 22-year-old goalie who is from Winnipeg and was in the Jets farm system.

Kasdorf plays for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), a NCAA Division I college team in Troy, New York.

New 'family'

"I'm excited about what this trade brings to our organization," said Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, who thanked Bogosian and Kane for their contributions to the team and wished them the best.

Acknowledging a reporter's comment that Bogosian was popular among the players, Cheveldayoff admitted it was difficult to trade "such a quality person."

"But when you're crafting a deal this big, value has to go both ways," he added, saluting the Sabres for helping to make the trade happen.

Asked if he spoke to the team yet, Cheveldayoff said "that dressing room is Paul's," referring to head coach Paul Maurice. "I believe he addressed the team today."

Jets' alternate captain Blake Wheeler said Maurice told the team the family lost two members but added others. They will now need to welcome those players and get them up to speed, Wheeler said.

Cheveldayoff described both Armia and Myers as strong and Stafford as someone he believes will flourish in Winnipeg.

"He's big, he can skate, he can shoot. He can log a lot of minutes," he said about Myers, who stands 6-foot-6, according to his player profile.

Not 'knee-jerk reaction'

Cheveldayoff danced around the questions of whether the controversy involving Kane forced the trade.

- TIMELINE | Evander Kane and the Winnipeg Jets

"I don't make deals for the sake of a deal. I never go into something to try and force it," he said. "This was not a knee-jerk reaction."

It just so happened the opportunity was there, he said.

"It's not easy to make deals in this league," Cheveldayoff added, noting a lot of things need to align: prices, values, rosters, timing.

"I wanted to look at the best interests of this organization. This will help strengthen the franchise, certainly, today, and hopefully in years to come."

He admitted the Kane issues were "a big deal over the past few days" but he prefers to keep those in-house and move forward.

Cheveldayoff added that he hasn't closed the door to more trades.

"Will we be actively looking and evaluating until the trade deadline [in March]? Yes."

Twitter lit up

The Twittersphere lit up early Wednesday Dreger and fellow TSN hockey insider Bob McKenzie first reported a "huge" trade deal was being worked on between the teams.

Buffalo had been "pushing hard" to swing a deal that would put Kane in a Sabres uniform before this season is done, they reported.

That, despite the fact that Kane has had shoulder surgery and expected to be out for four to six months.

Both Kane and Bogosian jerseys have already dropped in price at a downtown sportswear store in Winnipeg, selling for $99.99, down from $219.99.

The price on the Kane jersey was knocked down on Friday, in the wake of the recent turmoil, while Bogosian's was reduced Wednesday after the trade news came out.

Kane's tenure in Winnipeg has been rocky but it came to a head last week ahead of a game in Vancouver on Feb. 3.

CBC News and other media organizations reported last Thursday the 23-year-old winger violated the team's dress code by failing to wear a suit to the meeting. The report also said that teammate Dustin Byfuglien threw Kane's clothes in a shower after the incident.

Kane was benched by Maurice and missed the Jets' game against the Canucks last week following the altercation. It was reported he couldn't be reached until an hour before the game started when he answered his cellphone and confirmed he wouldn't be playing.

After reports surfaced, Winnipeg placed Kane on injured reserve, citing the need for the shoulder surgery.

New Jets player profiles

- Myers, 25, has played in 365 career games with the Buffalo Sabres, who originally drafted the defenceman 12th overall in the 2008 NHL Draft. From Calgary, Alberta, Myers has collected 151 career points (45G, 106A) and 256 penalty minutes over six seasons with the Sabres. Myers was honoured with the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL Rookie of the Year in 2009-10 when he posted 48 points (11G, 37A) while playing in all 82 games of his inaugural season.

- Stafford, 29, is a veteran of 563 NHL games over nine seasons with the Buffalo Sabres. In that time, the native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, compiled 322 points (145G, 177A) and 327 penalty minutes. Stafford was originally selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the first round, 13th overall, of the 2004 NHL Draft.

- Armia, 21, is playing in his second professional season in North America spending the last two seasons with the AHL’s Rochester Americans. While with Rochester, Armia collected 52 points (17G, 35A) and 69 penalty minutes over 87 games. The Finnish-born winger played his first and only NHL game with the Sabres on Dec. 23, 2014 against the Detroit Red Wings. Buffalo selected Armia in the first round, 16th overall, of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

- Lemieux, 18, was recently drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the second round, 31st overall, of the 2014 NHL Draft. The Buckingham, Quebec, native is currently in his third season with the OHL’s Barrie Colts where he’s scored 35 goals in 46 games played this season. Over three seasons with Barrie, Lemieux has posted 117 points (68G, 49A) and 317 penalty minutes in 153 games played.