To waive or not to waive, that is the question.

It's at least a $5.75 million question for the Winnipeg Jets and the answer could go a long way to determining which direction the organization is going to go in next month's expansion draft for the Vegas Golden Knights.

Technically, the question is whether or not to ask veteran defenceman Toby Enstrom to waive his full no-movement clause.

If the question is asked and Enstrom agrees, it would solve the Jets prospective dilemma and allow them to protect one goalie, three defencemen and seven forwards.

Otherwise, the Jets will be forced to protect one goalie and eight skaters.

By going the three and seven, the Jets could protect Connor Hellebuyck, Dustin Byfuglien, Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers, Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, Bryan Little, Mathieu Perreault, Adam Lowry, Joel Armia and most likely Andrew Copp.

The eight skaters option leaves several difficult choices.

At the present time, the Jets have more depth up front than on the blue line, so they could absorb the loss of a young forward a lot easier than losing Enstrom or Myers on the back end.

It's important to remember there's still time for deals to be made to ensure the Golden Knights wouldn't select an available player and the protected list could also look different today than it will be when Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff submits it on June 17.

For the time being, let's focus the discussion around Enstrom, who is one of two players on the Jets roster who has a full no-movement clause (Byfuglien is the other and he's going nowhere).

By any measure, it was a down season for Enstrom, who is known for his puck-moving ability and has essentially been playing on a shutdown pairing for the past few years.

Enstrom is 32 years old and entering the final season of a five-year deal that carries a $5.75 million average annual value (and salary).

Last season, Enstrom had only one goal and 14 points while averaging just less than 22 minutes of ice time.

He was also dealing with a personal family matter and that may have been a factor in his play as well.

Enstrom's season came to a premature end after he was on the receiving end of a hit-from-behind from Pittsburgh Penguins enforcer Tom Sestito, suffering a concussion on the play.

Enstrom was officially shut down in early April after undergoing knee surgery.

Injuries – many of them of the hard-luck variety – have plagued Enstrom since the Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg, as he's only played 82 games once in six seasons (and 72 in another).

Although he occasionally still plays on the second power-play unit, Enstrom is no longer the offensive threat he was with the Thrashers, where he posted 50 and 51-point seasons between 2009 and 2011.

Roles change and Enstrom has been an effective player for a good chunk of his time with the Jets, but high expectations come with a high salary.

Those expectations weren't met last season and many would argue the same was true for the previous season as well.

If it were as simple as that, why wouldn't the Jets just ask Enstrom to waive his no-movement clause?

First and foremost, the Jets/Thrashers organization is all Enstrom has ever known and he's expressed his interest in sticking around and seeing things through.

Besides, he earned the right to a no-movement clause in his current contract and is under no obligation to say yes.

The other issue to consider is more complex.

When you hand out a no-movement clause, it has to count for something – especially in a market like Winnipeg.

The Jets are already on the most no-trade clauses among players in the NHL.

So while it's easy to just say don't let sentimentality or emotion play into the decision, it's not that easy.

Until the organization can become a more consistent playoff team, attracting players and then convincing them to stick around for the long term can be challenging.

The Jets are chipping away at that stigma and getting many of the core players to sign long-term deals – like Scheifele and Byfuglien last season and Wheeler and Little before that – is obviously important.

But Enstrom was considered to be part of that group not long ago as well.

That's not to say Cheveldayoff isn't ultimately going to ask Enstrom to waive his no-movement clause, but it's certainly going to be a delicate conversation if and when it happens.

And the potential ramifications could stretch well beyond next month's expansion draft.

kwiebe@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/WiebeSunSports