Jets Drop To Thirteenth In Draft Lottery

The Winnipeg Jets didn't do as well as last year at the NHL Draft Lottery, when they moved up four spots from sixth to second and selected Patrik Laine.

Well, the hockey gods (or simply odds) didn't shine on the Jets this time around, as they wound up selecting thirteenth, while the New Jersey Devils walked away with the greatest prize this year.  Following the Devils will be the Philadelphia Flyers, moving up from thirteenth, at second and the Dallas Stars who will select third, moving up from their original spot at number eight.

In reality, the Jets only dropped one spot from their original points-based position from all the non-playoff teams, but it still stings a bit, especially after all the hype and hope from last year's surprising move up the ladder.

The top selections for June, according to the Hockey News, will be Nolan Patrick from the Western Hockey League's (WHL) Brandon Wheat Kings; Nico Hischier from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's (QMJHL) Halifax Mooseheads; Miro Heiskanen from the Finland junior league, HIFK U20; Gabriel Vilardi from the Ontario Hockey League's (OHL) Windsor Spitfires and Cody Glass of the WHL's Portland Winter Hawks round out the projected top five.

There already have been multiple mock drafts, now that the non-playoff teams and their draft positions have been established and the majority of them have the Jets picking Kristian Vesalainen of the Swedish champion (and Europe's 2017 Champions Hockey League winners) Frolunda Indians.

Of course, trades can change everything.  Do the Jets trade away their first-round pick to say the Los Angeles Kings and perhaps Connor Hellebuyck for Ben Bishop?  Or do the Jets continue their plan of draft and develop?  They will most certainly do the latter, but if a deal can be made, I'm sure the Kings wouldn't exactly mind having the 11th and 13th picks in the first round.

Either way, Patrik Laine was not the God-send many Jets fans (including myself) thought he was.  At least not yet.  He is only 18 after all; but that didn't stop me and many others from putting him in the savior category, unfairly or not.

I don't think a pick at thirteen will do anything for the Jets short-term anyway, barring a "jewel-in-the-rough" find a la, Pavel Datsuk or Patrick Roy, who were, astonishingly, late-round finds.  Datsuk was an all together late-rounder; being selected 26th in the 6th round by the Detroit Red Wings.  Yes.  Pavel Datsuk, Mr. Puck On A String himself, was drafted by the Red Wings 171st overall in 1998.  Roy in the third round, 51st overall.
So, it can and does happen.

It's just that it happens every six or seven years, so don't get your hopes up.  Even the players, and the lucky teams that drafted them were taking a chance.  But, that's what the whole draft process is, so...

So, will the Jets keep their 13th, first-round pick, or trade it away?  They can trade down in the first round or trade up in the successive rounds?

Chevy seems to know what he's doing, so I'll leave it to him.  Who else are we going to hinge our hopes on?  He doesn't seem to worried about the season-ending, seven-game winning streak that did the exact opposite from last year when somehow winning the last four games actually improved their chances and the result was Laine.

Laine Named Calder Finalist

Well, here's some anti-climatic news.  The Winnipeg Jets Patrik Laine has been named a finalist for the NHL's Calder Trophy for the league's best rookie.

This is merely a formality, unfortunately, as the Toronto Maple Leafs' Austen Matthews will go home with the silver this year.

Damn.  I wish it weren't so.

Extensions Expected For Maurice And Cheveldayoff

Despite missing the playoffs for the fifth time in six years, True North Sports and Entertainment are expected to grant extensions to Winnipeg Jets General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff and Head Coach Paul Maurice.

Maurice And Cheveldayoff Year-End Interviews

Year End Interviews

The Winnipeg Jets players, coachimng staff and management were at the MTS Centre this morning for one final time this season, recieving the final talk from Paul Maurice and Kevin Cheveveldayoff; as well as cleaning out there respective lockers.

Jets Wrap Up Season With Win Over Predators

In a rough and close-checking game, the Winnipeg Jets wrapped up their 2016-2017 season with their franchise-record, seventh consecutive victory in a 2-1 win over the Nashville Predators last night at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg.

The Jets won 11 out of their last 12 games.  The penalty-kill unit went 6-0.

Before the game, General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff was on hand to hand out the Jets team year-end awards.

Nashville opened the scoring 11 and half minutes into the second period, when Ryan Ellis scored short-handed.  After that, the Jets turned it on and scored three unanswered into the third including the winner by Blake Wheeler, his 26th, with just 45 seconds remaining.
Before that, it appeared that the Predators had scored shortly after their shorty, but it was called back when a review showed goaltender interference on Connor Hellebuyck.

Call-up, future phenom, Kyle Connor returned to the line-up since being reassigned to the American Hockey League's Manitoba Moose near the start of the season.
Connor scored on a partial breakaway on a nice feed from Nikolaj Ehlers, It was his second NHL goal.

Mark Scheifele recorded his 50th assist last night, giving him, along with his 32 goals, a career-high 82 points and the Jets scoring title.
Wheeler finished with 26 goals and 48 assists for 74 points.
Patrik Laine finished the season with 36 goals and 28 assists for 64 points in 73 games played.
Nikolaj Ehlers bounced back a bit late in the season and scored a very respectable 25 goals with 39 helpers for 64 points as well.
Dustin Byfuglien ended the season with an assist last night, giving him 39 to go along with his 13 goals for 52 points.
Unsung hero, Bryan Little missed 23 games from the start of the year with a neck injury, but returned to score 21 goals and 26 assists for 47 points.
Adam Lowry, the Jets bruising third-line center, scored a respectable and career-high 15 goals and 14 assists for a career-high 29 points.

Connor Hellebuyck finished with a 26-19-4 record in 56 games played, with a 2.89 GAA and a 0.907 save % with four shutouts.
Micheal Hutchinson, in 28 games played, had a record of 9-12-3, a 2.92 GAA and a 0.903 save % with one shutout.
Ondrej Pavelec made it up back to the big club briefly when the Jets were out of ideas concerning their goal-tending problem, playing in eight games.  Pavelec won some games when the Jets needed them the most, and collected a record of 4-4-0, but also garnered a (perhaps predictable?) 3.07 GAA, a dreadful 0.888 save % with no shutouts.

You won't be seeing Ondrej Pavelec in Winnipeg anymore, as his contract runs out in June, and the Jets will not be offering him an extension.

Before the game, General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff was on hand to hand out the Jets team year-end awards.

Winner of the 3 Stars Award (for Most "Stars of the Game"):  Patrik Laine
Winner of the Community Service Award (for dedication to hockey and the Winnipeg community): Joshua Morrissey
Winner of the Dan Snyder Memorial Award (for recognition of dedication, preserverence and hard work without reward or recognition):  Bryan Little


       

Speaking of awards, Austen Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs will win the NHL Calder Trophy for Rookie of the Year.  *SIGH*  Patrik Laine will not.
 Matthews notched his 40th goal of the season tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins to help the Toronto Maple Leafs clinch a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
 Laine did not.  Matthew's team is going to the post-season, Laine's is not.  Actually, pretty simple as
that, as much as I hate it.

But! The 2016-2017 season of the Winnipeg Jets ends on a positive note.  I'm glad they hit at least 40 wins.  We have a couple of superstars in the making, just ready to explode with talent and believe the Jets time will come.
The Pittsburgh Penguins went through the building process before they maintained a level of competitiveness and built a winning culture in that city.
Same with the Chicago Blackhawks.  Same with the Detroit Red Wings.
Soon.

Now, lets see Chevy go to work again.  He's due for another good deal that will somehow improve the Winnipeg Jets.

Whoever we lose to the expansion draft, will come back to us in either a player-for-player deal in the off-season, or through a prospect call-up already in our possession.
Dare I say another lucky day at the lottery draw?

Apparently, the entry-draft field falls, well, pretty much right after projected first overall center Nolan Patrick of the Western Hockey League's Brandon Wheat Kings.
Another center, Gabriel Vilardi of the Ontario Hockey League's Windsor Spitfires and winger Owen Tipett of the OHL's Mississauga Ice Dogs, projected to go #2 and #3 respectively, deserve a look as well I suppose.

The Jets really need to fix their goal-tending conundrum and stay out of the box and score on the power-play more, but overall, they're really not in bad shape.
Chevy knows what he's doing.  Remember, he's been involved crews that have built championship hockey teams.  I'm not worried about that.

I'm worried about signing players that will complete the puzzle.  You know what I mean.  You can draft and develop all you want, and that's a very good thing and has been working very well for the Jets organization.  But, there are those players that everybody wants, they just don't fit with every team.  Another veteran and a good goalie is what the Jets need.  I think that's it.  That's all they need. They have the talent.  I still believe they have the coach.
They just need to come together.


                      I expect pretty good things out of this guy in the very near future.

          

         

         

Jets Sign Forward Jansen Harkins To Three Year ELC

The Winnipeg Jets have signed 19 year-old forward and former Prince George Cougar, Jansen Harkins to a three-year entry-level contract worth $925, 000 annually.

NHL Should Allow Winnipeg To Have Their History Back

I've been saying it for years.

Ever since Winnipeg got an NHL team again in 2011, I've been theorizing and pretty much protesting to anyone who will listen, the Winnipeg Jets should be allowed to get their history back.

An article in the Hockey News by Jared Clinton seems to agree with me.

Forget the Atlanta Thrashers for a second and that "the Jets are in Phoenix now." The franchise's "other history" is still apart of this, but I'm going to plead my case that the NHL could easily amalgamate the histories of the Winnipeg Jets 2.0 (2011-present), the Atlanta Thrashers (1999-2011) and Winnipeg Jets 1.0 (1979-1996)

Just simply evoke a provision by where the Jets 1.0 history (but only from entering the NHL originally in 1979-1996) the Jets 2.0 history (2011-present) and the Atlanta Thrashers history (1999-2011) is amalgamated together.

Example:  In Arizona, Shane Doan is the Arizona Coyotes (formally Jets 1.0) franchise all-time leader in points scored, recently surpassing Dale Hawerchuck who played with the original Jets from 1981-1990.  If you remove the Coyotes from the records entirely, you have Hawerchuck as the "Jets" all-time leader once again, in both goals and points, while still maintaining Doan's achievement with the Coyotes between 1996 and today.  He would still be the Coyotes all-time leader.  Nothing would change about that.  Ilya Kovalchuck's current franchise record notwithstanding.
Hawerchuck would still be the current leader over Kovalchuck anyway.
With the same adjustment, Thomas Steen would also re-claim the spot as the all-time assists leader.

Moreover, Shane Doan, being as he briefly played with the Jets 1.0 in his rookie campaign of 1995-1996, would also be in the adjusted Winnipeg Jets history, although way down on the list.  His stats of his single year in a Jets uniform would then not carry over to his career totals as a Coyote.

Adjustments would, of course, have to be made.  The players that played in Phoenix/Arizona and not at all with Winnipeg would move up in the rankings with Arizona; just as players that haven't played long in a Jets uniform would drop down on the list of all-time Winnipeg Jets scoring leaders.

In the cases of players that played with both the Jets and Coyotes, you simply omit their numbers between 1996 till whenever they left the team.  For example, Teppo Numminen who played defense with the Jets between 1988 and 1996 and the Coyotes from 1996-2003, his numbers with the Coyotes would be voided.  The points Teppo accumulated between 96-03 would still be with the Coyotes.  His numbers he accumulated between 1988-96 would be with the newly amalgamated Winnipeg Jets history.

The same goes for Kieth Tkachuck, Nikolai Khabibulan, Dallas Drake,etc.

This, of course, doesn't mean the players would lose career totals.  Those totals would obviously stay intact as far as their league career totals are concerned, just not with a "team" that they never really played for.

As for former Thrashers?  Simple.  You mix in their numbers with the current 2.0 Jets.  Some of them are still on the squad like Bryan Little, Dustin Byfuglien, Blake Wheeler, Toby Enstrom and Mark Stuart.  Those numbers, as well as players from the Jets 80s and 90s days, such as Hawerchuck, Thomas Steen, Laurie Boschman, Paul MaClean, Scott Arniel, etc, are all mixed together with numbers from players such as Ilya Kovalchuck, Dany Heatley and Marion Hossa.

Awards and memorials of deceased players would still be honored as well; such as for Dan Snyder and Rick Rypien.

It could also work for players that played on both the Coyotes and the new Jets, such as Al Montoya and Lee Stempniak.  Montoya played net for, the then, Phoenix Coyotes in the 2008-2009 season and with the Jets from 2012-2014.  Stempniak played with the Yotes from 2009-2011 before being traded to Winnipeg from the New York Rangers in 2014-2015.

It would affect records that were broken this year.  As it turns out, Patrik Laine broke the Jets/Thrashers rookie goal-scoring record of 29, formerly held by Kovalchuck, this season.  A re-mixing of records would, unfortunately, take away that honor from Laine; as Teemu Selanne's NHL record of 76 goals would once again be the Jets franchise topper for goals both by a rookie and a Jets player overall.
Consequently, the Coyotes rookie goal-scoring record for goals in one season would then default from Selanne to whoever has had the most goals in one season as a rookie since 1996-1997.  Try as I might, I can't seem to locate that information.

In the case of former Jets 1.0 going back to the franchise in Arizona in an opportunity to extend their previous stats with their former team, such as was the case with former Jets goaltender, Bob Essensa, who signed with the Coyotes after stints with the Detroit Red Wings and Edmonton Oilers; their totals would be added to the Coyotes ranks only.  Not the new Jets totals.

Does the Jets/Coyotes career scoring list debacle even matter?  Should it?  With the NHL poking around Seattle and the heavy rumor being-a rumor not without merit-that the Coyotes are Seattle-bound (especially with the Coyotes reducing seating capacity at Jobing.com Arena) why would the NHL care anyway.  Wouldn't it make even less sense to have both the Jets 1.0 and Coyotes history residing in Seattle?
Me thinks Carolina also will ultimately re-locate to Quebec City, and just like the Jets, the Nordiques will be re-born.

If anyone cares to remember, by the way, it wasn't that long ago in the sports world where this has, more or less, already happened, multiple times.  It has already happened in the NHL specifically, when the NHL allowed the Quebec Nordiques to keep their intellectual property and history when the team moved to Denver in 1995.

It happened with the Browns (NFL), the Montreal Alouettes (CFL), the Seattle Sonics (NBA), the Charlotte Hornets (NBA) and the San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)
Why can't it happen with the Jets?

It can.  There's no real reason why not.

And yes, this theory can be, and should be applied to other teams that re-locate or expand to cities that have had a prior team in that league.

This can be applied to the Minnesota Wild/North Stars (who themselves merged with another team, the Cleveland Barons in 1978-although maintaining all of the North Stars records and history with those of the Barons under the North Stars umbrella), the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes, should they once again get a team, the Colorado Avalanche/Rockies and that same Quebec Nordiques team from which Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg played on before moving to Denver in 1995 and winning the Stanley Cup one year later as the Avs.

That heartbreak has to be worse than the Boston Red Sox coming so close to winning it all all those years.

This idea should also apply to the Montreal Expos when they eventually return to Major League Baseball.

This can and should be done.  I'd wager that you wouldn't find too many that would complain.  Save for some hardcore Devils fans that has shared the history of the Kansas City Scouts (1974-1976) and the Colorado Rockies (1976-1982) and other "purists" who think think this is anything but tripe.

Scheifele Commits To '17 World Championship

Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele, who coming off of a career year with goals and points scored (so far 31G, 49A, 80P) has committed himself to the 2017 IIHF World Championship.

Scheifele, who played for Canada at the Worlds in both 2014 and 2016; winning a gold medal at the latter, is surely still hungry to play after a terrific season, scoring a (again, so far) career-high 80 points.

Scheifs is going to get 40 to 45 goals in a single season in the next few years.

But an overall disappointing season for the Jets must be leaving Scheifele with a sense of unfinished business.  Either that or he just wants to keep playing past April; be it with the Jets or Team Canada.

The tournament begins May 5th in Cologne, Germany.

Jets Hold Off Blue Jackets For Sixth Straight Win

The Winnipeg Jets rectified losing a 2-goal lead to the Columbus Blue Jackets, to win their sixth consecutive victory, 5-4.

The streak ties a franchise record.

In this, the Jets 81st and second last game of their 2016-2017 season, management decided to give some of their AHL youngsters a look, including goaltender Eric Comrie.
Comrie who sports a 3.09 goals against average and a 0.906 save percentage in 48 games played with the Manitoba Moose this year, turned away 35 shots for his first NHL win.

Jack Rosolvic also played in his first NHL game and it was in his hometown of Columbus.
Forward Kyle Connor was also re-called from the Moose, but he won't play until Saturday against Nashville.

Jacob Trouba scored twice for his seventh and eighth, while Mark Scheifele notched his 32nd.
Mathieu Perreault also had a good night as he produced a goal and two assists.
Bryan Little had a four-point night with a goal and three assists, but the star of the game was Comrie, who was composed all night long, even after allowing the Blue Jackets to tie the game up 3-3 in the second period.

Patrik Laine was held pointless, which pretty much ends my hope of him getting 40 goals on the season and perhaps tying Toronto's Austen Matthews, who most certainly will reach the milestone.  I figured Laine could get two tonight and three the last game.  I know, very high expectations, but being so close, knowing his drive for success and the fact that if anyone could do it, it would be Laine.

He still can get close with a couple against Nashville, when the Jets wrap up their season at home versus the Predators at the MTS Centre.


           

           

From the first time I saw him in the press scrum when he was drafted in 2013, I always thought he gave concise, professional answers to the media.

Jets Go 5-0 Against Blues For The Season

First off, sorry for the lack of posting the last week, including the two games before tonight.

The Jets won them both against the Anaheim Ducks, 4-3 in overtime and they beat the Ottawa Senators 4-2.

Patrik Laine scored twice tonight for his 35th and 36th.  Mark Scheifele scored his career-high 31st.

The Blues opened the scoring 35 seconds into the game, before the Jets took a 3-1 lead and never looked back in a 5-2 win.  This victory sealed a season sweep for the Jets over the Blues, five games to zero.  Yeah.  I can't believe it either.

           

With this victory, the Jets have won their season high fifth straight game.  In fact it's a two-season-high, since the best the Jets managed to win consecutively last year was four.  The last four.  Doesn't it figure though?  When the points they needed the last few weeks come now?  The Jets have won eight out of their last 10, including the aforementioned five straight.  Ten points that could have been oh so valuable when they trailed St. Louis by the exact same for the second wild card spot weeks ago. D'OH!

Some people haven't seemed to learn.  Some fans wanted the Jets to tank to improve their pick in this summer's entry draft.  Apparently they've forgotten already that the four wins at the end of last season enabled the draft lottery balls to fall their their way and the result was moving up four spots (which actually made the Jets the real winners of the draft) which resulted in their pick of Patrik Laine.  So, always do your best.  You never know what the results will bring you.

So, two games remain on the schedule this season.  Next up for the Jets is figuring out who to protect and who to expose to the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft this June.
I would have said Drew Stafford before he was shipped to Boston, but now it looks like either Mathieu Perreault or Tyler Myers.