- Jets land defenseman Jack St. Ivany from the Penguins for forward David Gustafsson
- St. Ivany, 26, had seven assists in 20 games with Pittsburgh last season
- Read below for the full breakdown of the depth swap
The Jets are adding some defensive depth before free agency opens.
Winnipeg acquired defenseman Jack St. Ivany from Pittsburgh on Monday in exchange for forward David Gustafsson, both teams confirmed.
St. Ivany, 26, is heading into the final year of a three-year deal that carries an $850,000 cap hit. He becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer.
The Flyers drafted him in the fourth round in 2018, but he never suited up in their system. He took the college route at Yale and Boston College, then signed with Pittsburgh and spent the next few years bouncing between the NHL and AHL.
Last season was his first stretch as more of an NHL regular, though injuries kept getting in the way. He missed the first 28 games with a lower-body issue and another 12 late in the year after hand surgery. When he was in the lineup, he put up seven assists in 20 games.
Gustafsson goes the other way after a quiet run in Winnipeg. The 26-year-old was a second-round pick of the Jets in 2018 and held down a regular role by 2022-23, but he spent all of last season in the AHL, where he racked up 32 points in 48 games.
Pittsburgh moved fast to keep him around. The Penguins handed Gustafsson a qualifying offer hours after the trade, protecting his rights as a restricted free agent:
This is a low-cost depth pickup for a Jets team coming off a busy stretch that already saw them make history at the draft. St. Ivany gives Winnipeg another body on the blue line without adding any real money to the books.
