Cheveldayoff: Jets put 'strong foot forward' to land Brock Nelson

The trade deadline came and went, and the NHL's first-place Winnipeg Jets didn't address their top need: a second-line center.

It wasn't without an effort, though. Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff confirmed that he made a push for former New York Islanders center Brock Nelson, who was ultimately dealt to the Jets' Central Division rivals, the Colorado Avalanche, late Thursday night.

"It's one of those things where we were in it from a perspective of doing everything we possibly could to look at all the different angles," Cheveldayoff said, per The Athletic's Murat Ates. "When decisions are made that are out of your control, that's the way it is."

Cheveldayoff declined to provide further details when asked if playing in Winnipeg was the issue that held up a Nelson deal.

"I'm not going to get into anything specific as far as what the different situations were," he said. "But again, we put a real strong foot forward."

Nelson's contract contains a 16-team no-trade list.

The 33-year-old was the best rental center available with 20 goals and 23 assists in 61 games this season. Winnipeg's current second-line center, Vladislav Namestnikov, has recorded 10 goals and 20 assists in 60 games.

Jets head coach Scott Arniel admitted he allowed himself to get excited about the prospect of adding a player of Nelson's caliber.

"Yeah. You're sitting there, now you're sort of moving lines around, looking at different people. Yeah, that was a thing. I got to sit in on most of the meetings here. We were in on all these conversations that were going on, and we were trying to give our best offer and those type of things. It's unfortunate, but at the end of the day we like our group, we really do."

The Central Division greatly improved around Winnipeg, leading Arniel to admit that there was a "little bit of an arms race going on." The Avalanche also added Charlie Coyle, while the Dallas Stars landed superstar Mikko Rantanen.

The Jets weren't completely quiet, though: They reunited with winger Brandon Tanev and brought in veteran blue-liner Luke Schenn.