Winnipeg Jets: Three Moves Our Management Needs To Make
The Winnipeg Jets are cruising up the standings, now at third place in the Central Division, but there still are some issues the management should attend to.
So, the Winnipeg Jets are cruising, right? Well, it’s not necessarily all smooth sailing. We have some key pieces to our puzzle that are missing, and well, some extra pieces that don’t really fit. Maybe we could work a swap to give our excess pieces that aren’t working for better fitted one, maybe not. All I know is there should be some moves made by GM Kevin Cheveldayoff.
1. Nic Petan just needs a fresh start…
I can’t be, and I’m not the only one who’s noticed it. Nic Petan hasn’t found any success playing for the Winnipeg Jets. Petan was a highly touted second round pick who we grabbed in the 2013 NHL Draft. Nic lit up the WHL on the Portland Winterhawks in his draft year, as well as the year prior. Nic’s problem is that he never really could transfer that success into the NHL.
106 career NHL games, and just a mere five goals to show for Nic Petan. The small forward was able to find himself producing in the WHL with seasons seeing him score up to 120 points. Not only the ‘dub, but Petan found some points down on the Manitoba Moose. Playing on the Winnipeg Jets, well that’s another story.
Petan’s first problem is that he has nothing going for him. There can’t be much confidence being carried by a guy playing like him, so it must be tough. He hasn’t been successful in the NHL, well, ever. He’s struggling to manage more than a single point and Winnipeg just hasn’t been a good spot for him.
Secondly, Petan gets next to nothing in terms of ice time. Now I’m not saying he’s played well enough to get first line minutes, but the kid has zero chance of improvement on our fourth line. I can tell you from experience that when you barely see eight minutes or less of ice time, it’s hard to get into the game.
Nic’s tenure in Winnpeg hasn’t been what was expected or hoped for by Jets fans and the management. I honestly can’t see him getting any better while being stuck on Winnipeg’s fourth line or even being scratched half of the time. Swinging a trade to send Nic Petan would be good for us, but even better for him.
To be honest, I have absolutely no clue what the market value of a guy like him is. The one thing I know for sure is that it cannot be high, or near anything of what it was when he was first drafted to the ‘chel. Maybe we could deal him as a part of a trade for a defenseman, due to the battered back end we have at the moment.
2. Brenden Lemieux needs a stint with Manitoba…
Obviously you’re fourth line isn’t going to produce a ton, maybe they’ll pop in the odd goal here or there that gets the crowd all pumped, but that’s about it. That hasn’t been the case whatsoever for or fourth line.
While suiting up Brendan Lemieux and Nicolas Petan on our fourth unit, we have been an absolute disaster. There are no positives at all about the Petan – Roslovic – Lemieux line that don’t include Jack Roslovic. One tap in goal for Lemieux (which should’ve been Petan’s until Brendan Lemieux swooped in to tap it in, stealing what would’ve been Nic’s first goal all season) has been about all the duo of Petan and Lemieux have done for the Winnipeg Jets.
I think it’s fair to since he has yet to exceed 25 NHL games played, (as well as being a little bit younger than Petan) that Brendan isn’t quite yet in need of a trade. However, I think the Winnipeg Jets need to send the grinder down for a conditioning stint at least. I can’t say he’s been all that impressive, I just think some time in the AHL could be beneficial to him
Now, if we send Lemieux down, we need to call a guy up. Basically we have four possible options. Marko Dano, Seth Griffith, Logan Shaw, and Michael Spacek.
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Marko Dano would be the most likely of the four to be called up, having previous experience of the Winnipeg Jets, as well as multiple other NHL teams. Dano was picked off waivers from us by Colorado earlier in the season, after he lost his spot in our lineup. Eight games and zero points was enough for Colorado to put him back onto waivers, allowing Winnipeg to reclaim him.
Now back in our farm system on the Manitoba Moose, Marko has four assists in four games. No goals, but still sitting at a point per game. I say we should give him another shot, especially knowing that we have guys who are really underperforming.
Maybe instead, Winnipeg is looking for someone else, a new face who hasn’t been given a shot with us before. That has us looking at Shaw, Griffith, and Spacek. Logan Shaw would work good because he has some NHL experience, as well as having a point per game in the AHL. (19 points, 19 games). Griffith would also be a viable option as he has NHL experience, but would be a new face in our locker room. Griffith hasn’t ever been successful enough to stay on an NHL team’s roster.
Finally, an interesting one, Michael Spacek. Spacek has never played in an big league game before. Michael was Winnipeg’s fourth round draft pick in 2015. He’s a smaller winger, who’s been able to set up plays, as well as put points on the board for the Manitoba Moose.
Spacek is on pace to have a lot more points compared to last year, however not nearly as many goals. It wouldn’t be a bad thing to see in a guy like him would be better suited in our lineup than Brendan Lemieux.
3. Swinging a little trade wouldn’t hurt…
Okay, so a while back I was talking about how the Jets need a second line center. Well, Bryan Little has clearly proved that he doesn’t want to be ousted from his spot. It’s safe to say another top player would be nice, but I think a move to add depth would be a bit smarter.
Our fourth line has been nothing short of treacherous. So the thing is, after Paul Maurice shook up the lines and Andrew Copp returned from injury, it looked WAY better. The problem is as soon as Copp went back down due to an injury, we are back to putting either of Brendan Lemieux or Nic Petan into the lineup.
That’s not our only problem though…
Defencemen have been going down faster than dominoes. Sure, some of them aren’t out for long. The problem is lately we’ve had a d-man out of the lineup for almost the entire season. Maybe it’d make sense to swap for a cheap, reliable D.
Not saying Vegas would trade him, as he’s there hometown fan favourite, but a guy like Derek Engelland would make sense. A UFA at the end of the season on a bad team, as well as being the age where he has experience lots of our young guys don’t have. Not entirely sure if he’d be able to be traded, but essentially a guy for him would make sense.
Next. Is Connor Hellebuyck finally shaking the monkey off his back?. dark
Looking at a forward for depth, maybe Derick Brassard? He’s on a somewhat cheaper contract and hasn’t found much success in Pittsburgh since being traded there at last year’s deadline. If we got him, there’s also always the hope he could find his footing, and come in somewhere in our tight top 6.