Zito kept Lundell over Hellebuyck, and he was right

Zito said no to Winnipeg over Anton Lundell, and tonight in the Jets' barn is a good night to say it plainly: he was right. He was right even with Lundell cold and Florida's net leaking.

Here's the deal that didn't happen, and it's worth remembering exactly what was on the table. Friedman said Florida's offer for Connor Hellebuyck was Evan Rodrigues, Eetu Luostarinen and a chunk of the picks that later went to Ottawa for Brady Tkachuk. Winnipeg wanted Lundell to finish it. Florida wouldn't put him in.

Last Friday the Jets finally sent Hellebuyck to New Jersey for Dawson Mercer, Nick Bjugstad, Nico Daws, a 2026 first-rounder and two later picks. You can argue the Panthers' package was better than that. You can also argue it didn't matter, because the Panthers had already made their bet.

The number that makes it hard

Akira Schmid has a .872 save percentage through six games, by our count from the NHL's box scores. Jacob Markstrom is at .898 and out 10 to 14 days. Stuart Skinner, the guy Winnipeg is riding now, is at .911 in eight starts.

So yes, a Vezina goalie would have helped, and nobody in Sunrise is pretending otherwise.

Why Lundell still stays

Barkov is on LTIR. That makes Lundell the third center on a team that just lost its captain's minutes in the middle. He's averaging 17.8 minutes a night, per NHL data. Trade him and the third line becomes a guy from Charlotte or a winger playing out of position.

He's also in a rut. Lundell has gone five games without a point, and Luostarinen, the forward Florida offered, has gone 10. But a cold center you trust on the penalty kill is still a center.

Lundell kills 3.0 minutes a night, tied with Lars Eller for the most among Panthers forwards, on a unit running at 84.9%. He's won exactly half of his 180 draws, too.

That's the bench view. You don't trade the center who kills your penalties and takes your big draws to fix a problem that a healthy Markstrom could fix in two weeks.

Maurice, back in his old barn

Maurice spent part of his day defending Winnipeg. He said one goalie leaving doesn't make it a bad place to play, and he pointed to Adam Lowry and the group still in the room. Coming from a guy who ran that bench for parts of nine seasons, that's not spin. It's loyalty, and the Jets earned it.

The Jets are 0-3-2 in their last five, every loss by one goal. That's a desperate team, and desperate teams usually play their most dangerous hockey in front of their own building. If Schmid gives them a soft one early, the building wakes up.

Pabs' read: Lundell owes the cats a better week, and tonight's a good place to start. The Lundell call was right when Zito made it, and it's still right. But it only stays right if he starts scoring like the guy Zito wouldn't move.