Are the Winnipeg Jets the most disappointing NHL team this season?
Many expected the team to at least be in the playoff race, and even make the post-season, but they’ve struggled to string together win streaks.
The players at the top have been excellent, but the depth and goaltending has been a big concern. The front office is usually conservative in how it adds/subtracts from the roster, but it feels like the time is near for another big splash move to fix those concerns.
The Jets aren’t out of it yet, but they need continued excellence from their top players and much improvement from the bottom of the lineup in the second half. Here’s how we’re grading the lineup.
Forwards
Mark Scheifele, A-plus
The ascension of the seventh overall pick of the 2011 draft to No. 1 centre status started in the back half of last season after he returned from an upper-body injury. Scheifele finished with 37 points in his last 33 games of 2015-16 and when Bryan Little went down in late-February Scheifele really excelled in increased minutes and posted 27 points in 21 games. He’s maintained that workload this season and has kept up the scoring pace, holding down a top 10 position in the league-wide race with 20 goals and 43 points in 45 games.
Patrik Laine, A-plus
So far, Laine has lived up to every bit of the hype that surrounded his entry to the NHL. Compared to Alex Ovechkin in his specific ability to score goals, Laine was leading all rookies with 21 goals and 37 points in 42 games before he sustained a concussion. And he’s already provided a few memorable moments, not least of which was the OT winner he scored against the Leafs, which came immediately after his rookie rival Auston Matthews missed a chance at the other end of the rink. The goal also gave Laine a hat trick.
Blake Wheeler, A
Winnipeg’s first line has been tremendous this season, but don’t discount how important Wheeler’s role on the second line has been. He may not be on pace for another 78-point season (a career high), but he should end up in the mid-to-high 60s again. Wheeler is second to Scheifele in average TOI, but gets more time on the penalty kill. He’s the most well-rounded forward on the team and is the best possession driver on the Jets, as the team gets 54.63 per cent of all shots taken when he’s on the ice.
Nikolaj Ehlers, B-plus
Maybe I’m a tough marker, but Ehlers’ slow start is going to dock him some marks. With 15 goals and 40 points in 48 games, Ehlers has already bettered his offensive totals from his rookie season. He’s much improved in how he attacks off the rush and gets chances from the slot, but how much of that is him and how much of it has to do with the fact he plays on a line with Scheifele and Laine (when healthy)? Ehlers surely is the third target to defend. Still, he is taking advantage of being on that line and producing at a great rate — we’ll see in the second half just how sustainable it is.
Bryan Little, B-plus
A long-time member of the Thrashers-Jets franchise, Little has become somewhat of a forgotten man, especially as Scheifele has usurped his standing as the top-line centre. But he’s been a fairly steady producer and driver of offence over the years and is a nice complement on the second line now. With a 54.28 Corsi percentage, Little is second on the Jets to Wheeler in that regard and despite missing some time due to injury, the 19 points in 25 games he’s posted is one of the better scoring paces he’s had in his career.
Mathieu Perreault, B
A versatile forward who the Jets have used in the top six, bottom six, wing and centre. That versatility is what makes him valuable, but his offence has struggled this season. On pace for 28 points in 68 games, that would be one of the worst seasons production-wise in his career. But he is one of just six Jets forwards with a positive effect on shot generation.
Adam Lowry, B-minus
The 23-year-old averages the most shorthanded time on ice per game on the Jets and has played the fifth-most penalty-kill minutes among all NHL forwards. He’s already scored as many goals as he did all of last season (seven), and leads all Jets forwards in hits and blocked shots. Lowry is a stereotypical bottom-six, physical forward and he’s playing that role well.
Joel Armia, C-plus
The 23-year-old will never live up to his billing as a scorer picked 16th overall in 2011, but he’s at least earned more of a role on the Jets and over the past month or so he’s been starting to get it. Armia is earning the most ice time and shorthanded ice time of his career and has a positive effect on shot rates with a 50.88 SF% at even strength. He won’t have immense offensive upside, but he’s the kind of bottom-six forward the Jets could use more of right now.
Nic Petan, C
To be fair, Petan hasn’t been bad — the Jets get more shots than they allow when he’s on the ice. After missing October, Petan had a pretty good November, posting seven points in 13 games and earning a fair amount of minutes. But he went down to injury, missed most of December and hasn’t yet recovered, scoring just four points in 14 games in minor minutes. Will get a better indication of where his game is at in the second half.
Shawn Matthias, C
He has strong possession numbers, with the Jets getting 57.3 per cent of all shots on net at 5-on-5 when he’s on the ice, and while his eight points in 23 games don’t jump off the page, the pace is one of the better ones in his career. The problem is he missed nearly two months of the season and while he’s scored four goals and five points since returning, his shooting percentage is wholly unsustainable.
Andrew Copp, D-plus
A 22-year-old in his second full season, Copp has seen an increase in minutes both at 5-on-5 and on the penalty kill. But his offensive game is pretty much non-existent and on Wednesday he scored his first goal and point in more than a month. Perhaps he develops into a defensively responsible bottom-sixer, but for now his lack of a two-way game is a microcosm of what the problem is with Winnipeg’s depth players.
Chris Thorburn, D
Look, no one should be surprised at what the 33-year-old Thorburn is — a physical presence who doesn’t score many points or really get much special teams time. But his hit rates are dropping and his shot generation rate is one of the worst on the team. He’s in the last year of a contract that pays him $1.2 million this season. It’s hard to believe the team hasn’t found anyone more capable of a depth role than Thorburn over the decade they’ve had him.
Drew Stafford, F
Remember when Stafford, now 31, scored 31 goals and 52 points in a season for Buffalo? After returning to 20-goal-man status last season, Stafford has struggled badly with just four goals in 33 games and the lowest average time on ice of his career. All while making $4.35 million against the cap!
DEFENCE
Dustin Byfuglien, A
The most dynamic and important defenceman on the Jets’ roster, Byfuglien logs an average of 27:10 of ice time per game, third-most in the NHL. His point totals are on pace to drop a little this season, but he’s still the top scorer from Winnipeg’s blueline and top 10 at the position league wide. The Jets are both more likely to score when he’s on the ice, and give up a goal but the good far outweighs the bad. Still, with the massive responsibility on him, Byfuglien is a key contributor.
Jacob Trouba, A
Since returning to the Jets’ lineup in November after a contract stalemate, Trouba has been logging major minutes and become the most important blueliner on the penalty kill. Tyler Myers‘ injury certainly put Trouba in this position, as he’s settled in nicely on the right side with Tobias Enstrom — his preferred position. Despite missing the first month of the season, Trouba could still take a run at a career-high season in offensive numbers. Does this set him up for the trade he’s been after, or make it harder for the Jets to part with him?
Josh Morrissey, B
Drafted 13th overall in 2013, Morrissey was a big offensive generator in junior, scoring 73 points in 59 games in his last season with the Prince Albert Raiders. That part of his game has yet to shine in his rookie season, but on a pair with Byfuglien, it’s been more important for Morrissey and the Jets that he play a responsible defensive game. To his credit, the 21-year-old has been a pleasant surprise and consistent addition to the Jets’ back end.
Tobias Enstrom, B-minus
The long-time Thrashers-Jets defender is certainly in decline at 32 years old, and long gone are the days when he could post 10 goals and 50 points in a season. On special teams, Enstrom’s penalty kill minutes are way up, although that’s not a preferred situation. His possession numbers are still decent, though in decline, and may even be helped by having Trouba as his partner. Strangely, he’s already approaching the total number of PIMs he got all of last season and seems likely to set a career high there this season. He’s still a serviceable defenceman, but paying him $5.75 million against the cap this season and next is too high a price for what he brings these days.
Paul Postma, C
It would be unfair to give Postma a bad grade here, considering he averages the least amount of minutes on the Jets’ blue line (11:18) and is never used on the power play, where his terrific shot may be of benefit. Postma is rightly used as a third-pair defender, but that means he’s paired with players who are a drag on possession and not particularly effective on defence.
Ben Chiarot, D
The 25-year-old has the worst shots for/against metrics on the Winnipeg blue line and isn’t a strong enough skater to hang with most NHL lines. The Jets have a few issues with the roster, including depth on the blue line — and Chiarot is an example of a player they need to upgrade from.
Mark Stuart, D-minus
Not handing out an F because he’s only played 14 games, but it’s not good when a $2.65 million player is a preferred scratch.
Tyler Myers, N/A
No doubt a big part of the roster, Myers has been limited to just 11 games with injury so it’s hard to grade him. When he’s back in the lineup, it will create an interesting dynamic, as Myers would usually play in the spot Trouba is currently excelling in.
GOALIES
Connor Hellebuyck, C-minus
Maybe it was unfair to put No. 1 duties on a 23-year-old with 26 games of NHL experience, but Hellebuyck had such a strong showing last season that he was expected to at least be good enough to give the Jets a chance. Instead, he’s played poorly enough that the team was forced to bring Ondrej Pavelec back up from the AHL. Hellebuyck, of course, may still be fine in the long run, but his disappointing .907 save percentage has muddied the optimistic outlook in Winnipeg’s net.
Michael Hutchinson, C-minus
The 25-year-old Hutchinson wasn’t ever going to be the team’s No. 1, but he was supposed to be a serviceable second option who could spell Hellebuyck with some quality backup starts and even push him through bad stretches. But with an .894 save percentage, Hutchinson is bottom-five in the NHL among goalies with at least 10 games played.
Head coach
Paul Maurice, C-plus: The Jets have definitely underperformed, but a lot of that has to do with their goalies which is hard to pin on the coach. But have enough adjustments been made here? The penalty kill remains among the league’s worst and the bottom-six forwards have been close to a disaster. Much of this has to do with the roster Maurice has been given to work with, but the defensive structure has been a problem at times. The front office sounds committed to him, but we need to improvement in the team’s execution before Maurice gets a “good” grade.
