New Leaf took less money from Toronto to avoid having to play in Winnipeg
According to reporter Ken Wiebe multiple free agents, including new Leaf Calle Jarnkrok have turned down much more money from Winnipeg to sign elsewhere. Jarnkrok signed a 4-year deal worth $2.1M per season with the Leafs last month.
It doesn't really come as a surprise given the issues Winnipeg has had with retaining players over the past few seasons. Jacob Trouba wanted out, Patrick Laine wanted out and now it seems Pierre Luc Dubois will be leaving when he reaches UFA status. Not only that, but there have been reports of the Jets shopping both Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler. For whatever reason, whether it be the cold or the hotel wifi, players just don't seem to want to stay in or go to Winnipeg.
Another factor that could have deterred players from joining Winnipeg this off-season is that there is uncertainty with where exactly the Jets are going. They missed the playoffs last season and were a "middle of the pack" team so there have been questions about whether they are going to go into a rebuild or a retool. It doesn't appear that they will be entering a rebuild just yet, but it also seems that retooling will be difficult given the trouble they have at recruiting free agents and getting players that want to stay.
