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Winnipeg isn’t ready to blow up its roster...yet

Winnipeg Jets head coach Noel speaks with Antropov and Ladd during NHL pre-season action against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Winnipeg

Winnipeg Jets head coach Claude Noel speaks with forwards Nik Antropov (L) and Andrew Ladd (R) during the third period of NHL pre-season action against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Winnipeg, September 20, 2011. REUTERS/Fred Greenslade (CANADA - Tags: SPORT ICE HOCKEY)

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Things are pretty grim in Winnipeg at the moment.

The Jets have lost four straight and five of seven. They’ve yet to string together more than two straight wins and are buried near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. Head coach Claude Noel has repeatedly blasted his team and already played the closed-door meeting card. (Just five games into the year!)

So, what comes next? Talk of shipping people out, of course.

Paul Waldie of the Globe and Mail discussed that possibility after the Jets put forth arguably their worst performance of the year in a 5-2 loss to Florida last night. Winnipeg spotted the Panthers a 4-0 lead after two dismal periods, pushing Noel to tear a strip off his team.

Again.

“Right now this is unacceptable. This is not what we’re going to be about moving forward,” Noel said. “You may think this is what we are, but it’s not going to get shaped this way. This is not going to go. This is not what I want, and this will not be the representation that we’re getting.”

Breaking it down, you can see why some are predicting roster changes. Phrases like “this is not what we’re going to be about” and “it’s not going to get shaped this way” and “this is not what I want” all sound like someone that kinda hates the makeup of his squad.

Waldie’s piece notes the Jets aren’t ready to blow things up yet -- I wonder if they can blow it up at all. What exactly can they do? Winnipeg likely wants to keep its 25-and-under core of Andrew Ladd, Evander Kane, Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little, Alex Burmistrov, Tobias Enstrom and Zach Bogosian. That doesn’t leave much for NHL GMs to drool over.

Nikolai Antropov could be a nice addition for a playoff team, but not with one year left on his deal at $4 million. Same goes for Ron Hainsey, only he’s even more expensive ($4.5 million). Johnny Oduya’s unrestricted this year and could fetch Winnipeg something, but what? And will trading him really fix the problem?

Speaking of problems, there’s Dustin Byfuglien’s five-year, $26 million deal -- the problem being Byfuglien has been terrible since signing it. Winnipeg inherited that deal from the old Thrashers regime (be sure to thank Rick Dudey, Jets fans) and it’s now about as movable as concrete.

So sure, Winnipeg might eventually want to ship players out. That’s the easy part.

The hard part will be finding teams to ship them to.