NHL Rumors: Brad Lambert gets permission from the Winnipeg Jets to find a trade partner

Brad Lambert wants to leave Winnipeg

Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast – The Struggling Edmonton Oilers episode, about the Winnipeg Jets allowing Brad Lambert to seek a trade partner.

** NHLRumors.com transcription

Kyle Bukauskas: “Mention there, Brad Lambert, who was their first pick in 2022, that his camp has been cleared to look for a trade partner. So he’s only played four games with the Jets this year. It just seemed like it was hard for him to get into the lineup on a regular basis. We went back to the American League. So, where are things at there and anything else you can add to that story?

Friedman: “Well, I’m not terribly surprised. You know, it comes the day after, the news came out about (Pavel) Mintyukov, right? And it’s, the reaction of this stuff is, is really interesting to me, because there’s a lot of people talking about that, the days of patience are over if you don’t play.”

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For example, I’m not here to sound like a middle-aged man from Saturday Night Live: “When I went to school, we walked uphill, both there and at home, and we liked it.” No, that’s not what this is about. Me, but I do think it is a recognition that, especially among young players, there is less patience now. They are not willing to do that. In most cases, everyone is different. If they don’t see a path, they want to get away faster.

And you know, especially Lambert, you know, Winnipeg is a good team. He should be a top-six forward. When you look at that lineup, there really isn’t much room for him. And maybe twenty years ago he might have waited longer and been patient. Today’s players are not like that. Young players are wired.

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So they have a winning hand now, but I think that’s the realism of what we’re dealing with right now in the NHL: the kids, they want to play faster. They don’t have a lot of patience anymore like maybe they used to have, or should have, for the American Hockey League.

Lambert, it’s hard to see him in the top six there. They are quite loaded. So I’m not terribly surprised. You know, I, he’s still young. I could see him, I could definitely see that teams were interested.

Just like I can see with (Pavel) Mintyukov. Mintyukov is a young defenseman who can move the puck. There will be interest in him.

With Lambert, what’s my, what’s my opinion, past behavior is always the surest predictor of future behavior. Winnipeg, they’re used to this. They are used to people saying, ‘Maybe I want to leave or I want to move on,’ and they can deal with it very well now.

(Rutger) McGroarty, it happened to him a few years ago. What did they do? They were patient. They were patient. They were patient. They said, Look, if you want McGraorty, you have to give us something that we consider equal. They have (Braydon) Yager.

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Okay, so that’s how I look at it. If Lambert goes, the Jets will be patient, but they will say, “We want something Lambert-like in return.” And people around the league will know that. Something the Jets think is similar to him, or maybe they can use for something else. And that’s what their history with McGroarty has proven to people.

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