We are well into the middle of July, but there are still plenty of names available for the Winnipeg Jets to target. Cap space is an issue, as the organization announced an extension for Morgan Barron, which carried an annual average value of $1.35 million throughout two seasons.

With that signing, the Jets have roughly $7.2 million in remaining cap space. With remaining restricted free agents (RFA) such as Gabriel Vilardi, Rasmus Kupari, Declan Chisholm, and Logan Stanley, it’s safe to say that the Jets won’t have much cap space to play with.

That is why the names on this list consist of depth forwards – an area that the Jets have been active in past years, signing forwards such as Riley Nash and Trevor Lewis. With the defence core the same as last season, there would be no reason for the Jets to target yet another depth defender unless they moved one, of course. With all those caveats in mind, here are some names that could provide value to the Jets lineup in 2023-24, if they can find the cap space.

Pius Suter – Detroit Red Wings

Pius Suter of the Detroit Red Wings is an unrestricted free agent (UFA) currently on the market that fits a very specific niche. If the Jets sign him, he’d add his penalty-killing abilities to an already elite penalty-killing team. He is a natural centre and could improve the Jets’ already phenomenal forward depth.

He can ease the matchup load off of third-line centre Adam Lowry, as he can play the role of “shutdown centre” in the bottom six while chipping in on the scoresheet. Last year he posted 14 goals and 24 points in 79 games, which would be a solid grab for their bottom six. 14 goals are more than Lowry, Barron, and many of the Jets’ bottom-of-the-lineup had last season.