Winnipeg Jets New Year’s Resolutions for the Rest of the Season
It’s the beginning of a new year, and while that concept means nothing in the grand scheme, we’re out here acting like things will change just because we thought about changing them for a week. The Winnipeg Jets, however, could resolve to do a few (reasonable) things in the second half.
The Winnipeg Jets are good! Very good, in fact, and among the NHL’s elite. They could use slightly better goaltending, and they have a hole on defense, but I said they were elite, not flawless.
Now, every team has its flaws and things it’s looking to fix before the playoffs roll around. Well, all the good teams. Well, except maybe Tampa. The bad ones are mostly looking for good teams to trade them future assets for current ones.
I don’t need to explain to you how sports works, but whatever. The Jets have a couple holes to address and some things they could improve on. They’ve seemed slightly inconsistent, but when only two teams have more points than you do, things are going well.
We’ve obviously dug into the Jets extensively, and hey, the New Year is upon us. That means those resolutions are coming. I’m uncertain who made this a thing, and while I’m generally of the mind that it’s foolish, I’m going to exploit this tradition to get your sweet, sweet clicks.
I do not have any personal resolutions, because I refuse to attempt to better myself, but I didn’t want to be excluded from this, because I’m selfish. So I’ve made a few resolutions for the Jets.
Let’s see what they can fix in the second half, and maybe walk away with a President’s Trophy come the end of game #82.
While that hardware means little, it does mean home ice in the playoffs, which the Winnipeg Jets could make full use of. Without further ado, let’s get to it.
Resolution #1: Develop a rookie to be…anything, really.
Yes, the Winnipeg Jets have Jack Roslovic in the lineup on a nightly basis, having played 38 of 39 games. But he’s yet to impress, and I think it would be great if they could develop, at the least, a steady role player moving forward.
The Jets have built their core around this youth movement, inspired by the front office’s stellar record with first round picks.
Kyle Connor fully broke out last year, becoming a 30 goal scorer who looks about on pace to do it again this year, with mostly different linemates.
The year prior, it was Patrik Laine, scoring 36 goals in his rookie, age 18 season. Before that? It was Nikolaj Ehlers scoring 36 points as a rookie, and Mark Scheifele was steadily ascending during that whole period.
Point is, the youngsters came in waves and have carved out really big roles on the Jets. Added to veterans Dustin Byfuglien and Blake Wheeler (and aided by other youngsters coming up like Josh Morrissey and Jacob Trouba), this team built a really incredible core.
It was team full of role players that grew stars. Now, I want the team full of stars to grow role players. The Winnipeg Jets are going to be fighting the salary cap as long as they’re competitive.
It’s how the NHL attempts to keep things fair. You can only pay so many people before the roster construction has to suffer. The Jets already traded Joel Armia, an adequate role player, for salary relief. They knew they had Jack Roslovic to plug in his spot.
Problem is, Roslovic has been invisible with the Jets. In those 38 games, he has just two goals and six assists. His Corsi% is fine at 50.3%, but he’s getting almost 80% of his starts in the offensive zone, more than any regular on the team.
Oh, and he’s averaging under eight minutes a game. Eight minutes! That’s comparable to the small samples of guys like Mason Appleton, Brendan Lemieux and Nic Petan.
Paul Maurice is short about one guy he can trust, and it isn’t any of the youngsters, yet. That could change. And I hope it does. It doesn’t just apply to the offense.
With Byfuglien missing more time and the defensive issues the team has had, the opportunity was there for someone like Sami Niku or, uh…Nelson Nogier? Okay, sure, one of them to show he can be a capable bottom pair defenseman.
I’m less confident that happens (playing defense in the NHL is so, so difficult) than I am that one of the offensive guys can figure something out. If Brendan Lemieux becomes more Steve Downie and less Tanner Glass, or if Roslovic shows he can make a play here and there and pitch in on defense.
Heck, even Appleton doing more than two points in 14 games. Lemieux scored two goals, including the game winner, in the last game of 2018. He also committed the penalty that helped the Oilers to a PPG. I wouldn’t count on him scoring a bunch, but he can be that Downie type.
Maybe even Kristian Vesalainen comes back and shows us what we’ve been missing. I don’t care which one it is. I just want the Jets to feel good about one of them at the end of the year. Develop someone, just to show that the team will keep adding these dudes through the system.
That’s the only way they can achieve sustained success.
Resolution #2: Turn Connor Helleuyck back into a viable starter
The Winnipeg Jets haven’t gotten the Connor Hellebuyck of last season. I didn’t expect them to, but this drop-off has been much more than we expected.
I knew that Connor Hellebuyck would regress. I mean, I kinda hoped he didn’t, but it was unrealistic to expect that type of performance again. He literally set a record for wins by an American born goalie. And finished as the runner-up in the Vezina.
While defeating the person who won the Vezina in a 7 game playoff series, and pushing his team to the brink of the Stanley Cup Finals. Hellebuyck put the team on his back when they weren’t outscoring everyone in sight.
It was a beautiful relationship. Only, it hasn’t continued to be the same this season. Hellebucyk has started 30 games, and gone 17-11-1, with a .908% save percentage and 2.88 GAA. Not good, Connor.
That save percentage is good for 29th among qualified goalies, and the GAA 33rd. He also is without a shutout, and has a quality start percentage of 47%. It’s started to make last year’s numbers of 44-11-9, .924% and 2.36 look more and more like the outlier, and that’s sad.
He’s picked things up a bit of late, but still peppers in way too many poor starts. Thankfully, the emergence of backup Laurent Brossoit (8-1-1, .939, 2.11, 1SO) has kept the Jets from being a total disaster in goal.
Even he’s looked a bit more mortal lately. But if we can get Connor in respectability, it’ll be okay. I’d hate to be wondering who the starter should be after this season.
That big contract is a problem if he doesn’t improve. So, resolve to stop a few more pucks in 2019 there, Connor. We’re counting on you. I do believe he’s better than he’s looked, but there’s definitely a lot less to like than there was last year.
Just carry the Jets a few more times, kid, and it’ll be okay.
Resolution #3: Playoff health for Big Buff (and the rest of the team, really)
The Winnipeg Jets haven’t dealt with too many injuries the past two years, but their most fearsome defenseman just went down for about a month.
If they could keep everyone healthy by the time the playoffs roll around, that would be cool with me. I’d be more concerned about Dustin Byfuglien’s absence if the Jets were jockeying for playoff position, as they were a few weeks ago.
Yes, I know their lead on the division could evaporate within about three days, but I’m being optimistic here. Either way, the Jets can survive a few weeks without him.
As a plus, their oldest regular gets a rest in the regular season, so he could theoretically be at his best in the playoffs. Basically the same thing happened last playoffs, and Byfuglien was a monster throughout.
I’m looking forward to that, and that’s why I’m just concerned that he (and really, the whole roster) is healthy come playoff time. Dmitry Kulikov has dealt with injuries, Andrew Copp had that concussion…and I think that’s really it for the injuries, aside from Byfuglien’s missed time.
He had already missed a few games earlier, as did Josh Morrissey, but thankfully they were both to minor injuries. The defense needs to stay healthy more than the offense does.
Let’s face it, the Winnipeg Jets have a high-powered offense but their defensive depth is already fairly thin, so I’m worried about them incurring another injury. As long as they’re all in for the playoffs, the defense should be fine. The offense, too.
That being said:
Resolution #4: Go get Paul Maurice some extra lineup help.
The Winnipeg Jets don’t desperately need anything, but some help on the blueline and maybe another top 6 center would be a welcome addition.
Yes, acquiring someone like Matt Duchene would be incredible for the Jets and their immediate postseason chances. It might also cost a pretty penny in picks and prospects, as I’d imagine Kristian Vesalainen would be at the top of Ottawa’s list.
A center who can score at nearly a point per game pace on the worst team in the NHL seems like a really good player to acquire. He’s only 27, and is a free agent after the year.
It’s basically guaranteed that the Senators will move him (although they’re a tire fire and it wouldn’t surprise me if they did something foolish), since he’s a rental and they’re not making the playoffs.
It would be essentially Paul Stastny 2.0, and while the Jets didn’t win the Stanley Cup, Stastny played well in the playoffs. Well enough that the Jets wanted to re-sign him, although that didn’t happen.
Aside from Duchene, I’d be very interested in Michael Del Zotto, who is another rental. The former first rounder is 28, is left handed (which the Jets need on the blueline), and carries a cap hit of $3MM.
Del Zotto isn’t much of an offensive player, although he has shown ability in the past. But the best part is, the Jets don’t need him to be. They have Byfuglien to run the power play, and Morrissey and Jacob Trouba are capable of backing him up on the man advantage.
Del Zotto would be there to stabilize the left handed portion of the defense, and fits in right next to Byfuglien on the second pairing. They’d slot in behind Morrissey and Trouba.
That would leave Tyler Myers on the third pair with either Joseph Morrow, Kulikov, Ben Chiarot or rookie Sami Niku. I think that’ll play. Del Zotto isn’t a star, but he’s a capable defenseman who knows how to throw the body, and that would be valuable to the Jets, at conceivably a reasonable cost in prospects and actual dollars.
That was my last resolution, but that doesn’t mean that’s all I wish for the Jets.
I just wanted to give them a few fairly reasonable tasks. I’m not saying they can do all of them. I’m just saying those are all well within the realm of possibility.
Especially the trades. They can do that one, I’m certain. I guess other teams could set unrealistic asking prices, but that seems unlikely considering their lack of leverage.
I was going to list a fifth resolution to finally bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada, but I think that’s aiming a little high.
Don’t get me wrong, I do wish for that to happen. And I think it is possible. But it’s a lot to ask, considering how difficult a challenge that is.
The competition is fierce, as always, and Tampa seems like an unstoppable juggernaut (although one that Mark Scheifele was able to stop, at least in one game).
I mean, that could only be a problem should both teams meet in the Final. But the teams in the West will be no cakewalk. Minnesota seems to pose a real problem for this year’s Jets, as does Edmonton, who Winnipeg cannot stop in the third period.
dark. Next. The Jets and the Weight of Expectations
Either way, it’ll be a fun second half. And the theoretical improved play of Connor Hellebuyck, added in with a trade acquisition or two and Dustin Byfuglien’s newfound health, and a mini breakout and they’ll be even more likely to make all these things a reality.
If those resolutions can be held, anyway.