CHICAGO

It was a painstaking, time-consuming process, but in the end, Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff was happy with how everything unfolded during Wednesday’s NHL expansion draft.

Cheveldayoff met with the media on Thursday at the NHL draft in Chicago and immediately pointed to veteran defenceman Toby Enstrom as the key player in bringing the Jets’ entire expansion-draft strategy together.

Enstrom waived the no-movement clause in his contract, allowing the Jets to expose him in the expansion draft to stock a Vegas Golden Knights team that will begin playing in October.

Cheveldayoff then made sure the Golden Knights would not take Enstrom, who has a year left on his contract, by trading the 13th overall pick in Friday’s NHL draft and a 2019 third-rounder to Vegas for the 24th-overall pick.

“This organization owes a debt of gratitude to Toby for taking that stance on his own that he wanted to try to keep this team together,” Cheveldayoff said.

“I had the opportunity to speak with Toby several times and lay out the process of what could or could not happen in the expansion draft. So, really, this all hinged on Toby’s decision and what he felt was right to do. It was totally within his right if he had chosen not to waive the no-move.”

In the end, the Golden Knights selected unrestricted free-agent-to-be Chris Thorburn from the Jets, a player who was almost certainly not returning to Winnipeg anyway.

It minimized the pain on a day when the team could have lost an important player like Enstrom or young winger Marko Dano.

“Did I think that was going to be the end result? No, I didn’t,” Cheveldayoff said. “We were fully prepared to lose someone. In the end, we were able to find a way, using future assets to keep everyone together. When you don’t have to subtract to keep things moving forward, ultimately, it’s good for the franchise.”

Enstrom and his agent made it possible, even though Cheveldayoff said they knew “they were walking a tight rope without a safety net.”

It took a lot of negotiating for the Jets and Golden Knights to finally reach an agreement that would steer them away from Enstrom.

“Toby wanted to commit to help this organization win,” Cheveldayoff said. “When it was signed, the no-move was never really contemplated in a situation where it could be a detriment to the team. I can’t speak for Toby or his agent, but just through the conversations we had, it wasn’t even a long decision process for Toby.

“He really understood what the ramifications of having to lose an (Adam) Lowry, or a (Mathieu) Perreault or a (Joel) Armia or an (Andrew) Copp were going to be. I think it’s a testament to what the general fans don’t get to see and what you guys reporting on us don’t get to see, that it is a tight group. There’s a lot of belief in the general direction of the team. We haven’t had the success that we ultimately want, but there’s a general belief that we have the right people to move forward. When you have veteran players doing selfless things like that, whether you wear a letter or you don’t, it should be noticed.”

Cheveldayoff said talks were ongoing with Vegas — he did his negotiation with Knights assistant general manager Kelly McCrimmon — for quite some time and many other pieces were in play.

“We actually tried to make the deal bigger,” he said. “For a long period of time there were conversations between Vegas and ourselves. As it got closer and closer we could see that the path of making it bigger wasn’t going to be there, so we shifted to focusing on just the protection of our group as it is.”

As for moving down from 13th to 24th in the first round of the draft on Friday, Cheveldayoff said it was a necessary price to pay.

“You never want to minimize it,” he said. “In this game, you have a certain amount of assets that you are afforded. You’re afforded seven picks that you can try to do something with.

“Once you make the decision to pay the price, you can feel good about that and we did. We thought it was a well thought-out process of what was at risk for us versus what we are going to do going forward.”

The GM sounded relieved that the expansion process was over. One other GM told TSN this week that it “felt like I’ve been held hostage for the last two weeks.”

Cheveldayoff thought that sounded a bit drastic, but admitted it was a highly unusual situation.

“When your outgoing and incoming calls involve one phone number, you are certainly waiting for that phone number to ring,” Cheveldayoff said. “It maybe reminds you of the days when you are trying to go out on a date and you’re just sitting and staring and waiting for that phone to ring.”

Most people in Winnipeg would have to agree Cheveldayoff did a pretty good job with the expansion draft.

The Jets kept their roster intact, lost a player who was going to be an unrestricted free agent anyway and only felt minimal impact in terms of the future they passed on to Vegas.

Now most fans are hoping he’ll be just as successful in acquiring a goaltender who can make them a contender next season. The Jets passed on some opportunities already, so there is urgency to either make a significant trade or sign one of the few decent unrestricted free agents still available on July 1.

“We’ll continue to look at all the options that are available to us and are realistic for us,” he said. “We have been doing that. We’ve been very diligent in our work. Goaltending is something we’re going to continue to have strong focus on.”

It certainly sounds like he’s been trying to wheel and deal.

“There were some things that we looked at,” he said. “Through some contractual restriction we won’t be able to do it, not contractual restrictions on our side. But that’s life. You take your stabs and see if it does come into play.”

Cheveldayoff needs one of those stabs to find the mark in the next eight days.

There’s too much on the line for him to miss.

JETS MULL OPTIONS AT 24

CHICAGO — The 2017 NHL draft has been described as being wide open after the first two picks. That made it easier for the Jets to make a trade to drop down 11 spots in the first-round order.

The Jets will now pick 24th on Friday night instead of 13th, unless, of course, another opportunity to move up, or down, arises at the last minute.

“I’ve had a couple of conversations with different GMs about maybe moving up if a guy slides,” Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said on Thursday.

“Conversely, at 24, when you do the due diligence, now you’re looking at another group of players and you say, ‘Maybe we can slide back a little more, pick up another asset and still get someone we think is good.’ ”

The Jets were believed to be in the market for defencemen at No. 13 — and that might not change. Given the unpredictable nature of this year’s draft, they could even still land a player they hoped to get at No. 13.

“When you’re drafting at 13, you’re kind of at the mercy of a lot of things that are in front of you,” Cheveldayoff said. “The farther you go from the top picks, the more variability there becomes. At 24, it truly begins to get into more of a development phase, the lower you start drafting. You’re not counting on the guy to step into your lineup tomorrow but you might get a player who winds up being better down the line.”

PAST 10 PICKS AT 24TH OVERALL

* 2016 Anaheim Ducks, LW Max Jones (London Knights, OHL)

* 2015 Philadelphia Flyers, C Travis Konecny (Ottawa 67's, OHL)

* 2014 Vancouver Canucks, C Jared McCann (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, OHL)

* 2013 Vancouver Canucks, LW Hunter Shinkaruk (Medicine Hat Tigers, WHL)

* 2012 Boston Bruins, G Malcolm Subban (Belleville Bulls, OHL)

* 2011 Ottawa Senators, LW Matt Puempel (Peterborough Petes, OHL)

* 2010 Chicago Blackhawks, C Kevin Hayes (Nobles School, Massachusetts High School)

* 2009 Washington Capitals, C Marcus Johansson (Farjestads BK Karlstad, Swedish Elite League)

* 2008 New Jersey Devils, RW Mathias Tedenby (HV71 Jonkoping, Swedish Elite League)

* 2007 Calgary Flames C Mikael Backlund (Vasteras-IK, Sweden-1)

Twyman@postmedia.com

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