NHL insider Elliotte Friedman has a strong inclination that Ville Heinola's time with the Jets is nearing its end, and he could be traded before the trade deadline. Ville Heinola's stint in Winnipeg is ending. The 2019 draft pick, once hyped to be a potential top-four defenseman of the future, <a href='https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/time-for-jets-to-wave-white-flag-on-ville-heinola/' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>can't seem to get into a lineup</a> after great AHL work and a start when he was only 18 years old. Nothing shifted this season. After rehabbing a foot injury in camp, he's been deployed in suboptimal situations, such as a brief stint playing on his off-side in a pairing with Logan Stanley. In his return in January, he's been a healthy scratch in 11 of the last 13 games. «It's been a tough two years for him,» head coach Scott Arniel said in November. «I'm probably his biggest fan here. I wanna see him.» <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/BR_OpenIce/status/1888614066358264038'> </a></blockquote></div> Stanley and Haydn Fleury's usage in depth spots block Heinola's path to regular minutes. The looming trade deadline likely complicates things, in that draft capital is going to be used to acquire defensive help, pushing him even farther down in the lineup. <h3>A trade can help rejuvenate Heinola's career</h3> Keeping him around as a spare defenseman is unnecessary, in that he's no longer waiver-exempt. Sending him to the AHL jeopardizes losing him for nothing, making a trade the most logical option. NHL insider <a href='https://x.com/FriedgeHNIC' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Elliotte Friedman</a> agrees with that. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/NikLynam/status/1888986345038815639'> </a></blockquote></div> <a href='https://www.hockeylatest.com/nhl-team/winnipeg-jets/four-centers-are-linked-to-the-jets-in-possible-trades-during-4-nations-break' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Winnipeg, in win-now mode,</a> is going to use draft capital to get it done. Trading Heinola, even for a small return, would recoup a little of that wasted capital. Both sides would be better to start over at this point. Winnipeg has other depth options better suited to its vision, and <a href='https://www.nhl.com/jets/player/ville-heinola-8481572' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Heinola</a> needs a team that's going to give him a fair shot. Fair or not, the Jets have moved on, it's now time to make it official.