Jets Shutout Hawks

A tight, hard-fought, aggressive, one-goal game turned into a blowout quick in favour of the Winnipeg Jets over the Chicago Blackhawks last night as Nic Petan scored his first goal of the season 11 seconds after Patrik Laine gobbled up his 12th of the campaign at 8:46 of the third period to make it 4-0.  That keeps Laine as the NHL's top goal scorer for a few more games. 
That's the way in ended to give Connor Hellebyck his first shutout of the season and third of his NHL career.  He made 27 saves.

Josh Morrissey opened the scoring with the first goal of the his NHL career, that turned out to be the eventual winner for his first game-winning goal also.  Chris Thorburn made it 2-0 in the third also with his first goal of the season.  A few personal goose eggs were broken tonight.  I glad to see Morrisey get the monkey off his back.  I've been watching and waiting for him to develope since the Jets drafted him 13th overall at the 2013 NHL draft.  He's having a really good year.


The game was substantial for three reasons.  One, it keeps the Jets on the heels of the Central division-leading Blackhawks for first place in the division, as the Jets gain two points on the Hawks and maintain second place in the Central division with 20 points.  The Blackhawks sit atop the division with 24 points.  Two, it snapped the Blackhawks 11-game undefeated streak in regulation time.  It also extended the Jets game point-streak to five.

The Jets goal differential now sits in the positive for only the second time this year after the season-opener against Carolina.  Coming into this game they were at 50 goals for and 50 scored against.

The Jets are now 6-0 when leading after two periods.  They went 2-5 on the power-play.  And amazingly enough they are now 5-0 when killing off a 5-3 disadvantage.  The Hawks had the two-man advantage in the third before the Jets decided to light up the scoreboard with the momentum off of killing it.

Mark Scheifele slid the puck across to Morrissey for game-winner which helps him to maintain at least a share of the NHL point-leaders board with 21 points (10 goals 11 assists) along with the Dallas Stars' Tyler Seguin.

Jacob Trouba had to leave the game momentarily after blocking a shot in the neck.  Yeah, in the neck.  He slid across to block a shot by Blackhawks defenceman Duncan Keith, but apparently it caught him just enough to miss a shift. 
Trouba had a heck of a game.  Some nice blocked shots and hustle. 

Good game by the Jets.  If they can maintain this high-level of play and get some healthy bodies back it could almost make one think they could actually challenge for a division title.

Silly that one.

Shootout Win Over Kings Puts Jets Into Second In Central

  It doesn't and probably won't happen too often, but with this afternoon's win against the Los Angeles Kings in a shootout at the MTS Centre, the Winnipeg Jets are now in second place in the central division.

  The Jets have accumulated 18 points in this young NHL season so far.  That puts them only four points behind the Chicago Blackhawks for first place. They should actually be tied in points (plus or minus the ROW in the standings) but due to losses against the Avalanche and Sabres (again, two teams the Jets should have beaten) those four points are gone.  The only reason I state this is because until the Jets move forward in their mission to become an eventual Stanley Cup contender, the next couple of days will probably be the only time the Winnipeg Jets are in the top three of the central.
I'm just enjoying it while I can.

I mean, seriously; I usually have to read the sports pages upside-down to see the Jets near the top of the division.

  A good win by the Jets today. A couple of defensive breakdowns that led to the Kings tying goal in the third period, but overall the back-checking was solid.  Connor Hellebyck, getting his fourth straight start, was again very solid. He covered his angles well and challenged shooters when necessary.

   After surviving a Kings power-play resulting from a bogus tripping call against Patrik Laine in overtime, the Jets put their best young snipers on the ice for the shootout.  Other than captain Blake Wheeler (who is awesome) the Jets showed the league why they have one of, if not the best, collection of talented prospects and rookies.  Patrik Laine and Mark Scheifele came up big in the shootout, scoring once each; including the winner by Scheifele.
Laine's goal after the Kings Dwight King barely got one past Hellebyck, was a beauty as he slowed up on Kings goalie Peter Budaj and slipped one past the five-hole.

 I was hoping Nikolai Ehlers would have had the game-winner. Paul Maurice didn't even put him the ice for the shoot-out. I'm sure if it had gone past the first round he would have.  It would have been nice for him to completely wash away the embarrassment of the Colorado OT fiasco on Friday night.
Ah, well. I'm sure he's just as happy with the two points.

A Steal And A Giveaway

The last two contests by the Winnipeg Jets were pretty much an exorcise in how not to play a road game. The latter, against a divisional opponent that had lost four out of the last five.

On Thursday the Jets travelled to Glendale, Arizona to battle a weakened Coyotes squad that was without their starting goaltender Mike Smith.
The Jets did well.  But they struggled against a team that was one of those teams below you in the standings that you should beat.  The Jets did that.  Handing the desert dogs a hard-fought 3-2 defeat.



 By the way, the Coyotes, who do have their own history after 20 years in the Arizona desert, are still trying to pretend the Jets 1.0 history has any meaning to them whatsoever.  Yes, we all know the "franchise history" of the 1971-1996 Jets resides with the present-day 'Yotes.  Just like we all know the Atlanta Thrashers "history" is with the Jets 2.0.  That doesn't mean we have to like it.

But as I said, these are teams you're supposed to beat.  The exact same can be said for the Colorado Avalanche.  As of before the puck-drop last night, the Jets led the Avs by five points in the standings. Although the one could be forgiven for not being prepared  for the work of Avs rookie Mikko Rantanen, who potted an nice individual effort against Connor Hellebyck.  But with a supposed all-star in the making in Jacob Trouba returning for his first game of the season since signing a two-year bridge deal with the Jets last week to end his sit-out, this wasn't supposed to happen.
He played over seven minutes of ice-time and although did o.k and didn't look too rusty, Trouba did not contribute to the scoreboard as many thought or hoped he would.  Coach Paul Maurice was in the latter crowd, I'm sure.  The Jets lost 3-2 in overtime by a miscue by Nikolai Ehlers 1:23 in.


The Jets tried yet again to honor the new moniker of "come-back kids" as they tied it up at 16:00 of the third period after falling behind 2-0.  Mark Scheifele tied the game with a beautiful wrister from the slot. Blake Wheeler scored his second in as many games after going dry in the scoring department for the last 10.

The Jets are going to have to do better.  Although they did manage to secure three out of four points on a two-game road trip, they really should have had four.  Again, these are teams the Jets should have and could have beat.  Missed opportunities such these may seem like only one or two points here or there, but these lost points add up.  Let's hope at the end of the season if the Jets miss out on the post-season, they aren't looking back at these missed opportunities of gold.  There will be other nights of points missed and still even other nights of points stolen of which they had no business doing.



Ehlers' explanation:

Jets Blowout Stars

Good gracious.  That was fun to watch.

The Winnipeg Jets, at least for one night, stopped the hemorrhaging that is their goals against last night against the Dallas Stars as the Jets handed out their own puck spanking, embarrassing Tyler Seguin and the gang 8-2.

In terms of offense, it was an avalanche for the young Jets, especially the line of Mark Scheifele, Nikolai Ehlers and Patrik Laine, who accounted for 10 points.  Laine scored his second hat-trick of the young season while adding an assist.  Scheifele scored two while adding two helpers, and Ehlers added two assists to his point total.  Call up Nic Petan had a heck of a game as he had two assists as well.

The most amazing part of all this is, at least for the time being, the Winnipeg Jets now have the NHL's leading point-getter in Scheifele who now leads the league with 18 points.
Laine leads not only all rookies in goals, but for now, the entire league with 11.  Scheifele is right behind him with nine.  It's nice to have a Jet atop the NHL elite for as long as that lasts.

It's always good to have your team blow out someone once in a while.  It's not so cool to be on the other end and that will most asuredly happen.  The Jets are going to get destroyed in a few games this year, but if they can hand out their own punishment once in a while, that's o.k.  As long as they can at least grab a wild card, because honestly, that's all that the Jets can really hope for these days in the tough central division, that's all that matters.

Trouba Signs

So defenceman Jacob Trouba has decided to end his holdout and sign a two-year bridge deal with the Winnipeg Jets.

Not that this means very much as he'll probably be traded by the end of December anyway, but it does put Trouba into the line-up for the short-term.  Dustin Byfuglien has been playing an average of 30 minutes a game and with Tyler Myers injured, Trouba will get what he asked for; more ice time.  He may even get that right side that he claims to want if Buff's numbers drop a little to accommodate him.

As of this writing, Kevin Cheveldayoff still hasn't found a deal that he feels would benefit his team by trading Trouba.  He wanted a young defenceman with the same skill-set as Trouba.  He said he wouldn't take anything less.  He was willing to make Trouba sit the whole season and that almost happened as the deadline for Trouba to sign with any team was going to expire on Dec 1.  Twenty-four days from now Trouba would have had to hang up his skates until July 1 of next year.  Cheveldayoff said it and he meant it.

A precedent has been set.  The Jets players both present and future know they're not going to have their way with Cheveldayoff.  They know now that no player is going to blackmail Winnipeg management.  Welcome to the world of NHL contracts kid.

Still, Trouba is not going to be a Winnipeg Jet come October 2018.  Again, before December 31, Trouba is gone.  Where he goes is still anyone's guess.  Personally, I say either Detroit or Boston.

We'll see.

UPDATE 11/08/16:

Trouba has officially rescinded his trade request.

In signing his 2-year, six million dollar extension, Trouba says he just wants to play hockey.  So, he is now committed to the Jets for the next two years.
That seems a little fishy to me.  Probably because I highly doubt it.

U-G-L-Y

Well, in typical Jets fashion for the last few seasons, Winnipeg showed guts and glory in a decisive hard-fought battle that earned them a victory one night (in this case last night against Detroit) only to embarrass themselves yet again (and again floundering in the second period) by allowing another 4-plus-goal game to the opponent.  This time it was at the hands of the New York Rangers.

The only upside to this is that Patrik Laine and Mark Scheifele added to their goal totals for the season. Laine now has eight, while Scheifele potted his seventh.

Apparently, the Jets have decided to forgo defence this season.  The goals against hemorrhaging has to stop if the Jets wish to have any success this year.

Tanev Delights in Win Over Red Wings

Brandon Tanev scored two including the game winner Friday.

A little late in posting, since it is two days later and it's game-day against the New York Rangers-hey, you want deadlines?  Go get the paper in the morning (or read the sports articles after the game online) but this post is about the 60-minute performance the Jets left on the ice against a tough Detroit Red Wings squad.

Brandon Tanev couldn't wait to pot his first National Hockey League goal.  Little did he and his teammates know that he would get two, including the game-winner with 7:36 remaining in the third period.  Not bad for an undrafted player in his 15th NHL game.

In a game that twice had to goal to video review (one each favoring each club) and would have gone to a third until the "War Room" in Toronto goal horn sounded amid late third period action to signify that Tanev's second marker that he roofed over the shoulder of Wings goalie Petr Mrazek was indeed a good goal.

Laine scored to earn his seventh goal to lead all rookies.  Ehlers got his third into an empty net and Mark Scheifele got his sixth goal and sixth assist to garner him 12 points on the year so far.  Wheeler is under his annual projection, as he has only three goals thus far.  Look for Wheeler to pad those stats tonight against the Rangers, although the Blueshirts are very dominant at MSG this season.

The Jets are starting to earn the moniker of "the comeback kids."  While that may sound inspirational, it does, in fact, mean that the Jets have to come from behind...a lot.  Being resilient and having a never-say-die attitude is great.  It makes things exciting to know your team never gives up and is tenacious.  This can be especially rewarding in the playoffs.  But it also means you're chasing the game more often than not.  The fact that the Jets have four starting rookies, including a goaltender seeing regular duties, may give the Jets a little latitude in their won-loss record; especially only 12 games in.  But when the schedule passes 20 games or more, you have a pretty good indication of where your team is and where they're heading in regards to the season standings.  Playing catch-up in the NHL in December is quite the assignment.  Compound that with the Jets being in the toughest division in the league and you have a recipe for mediocrity at best.  The Jets have had to play catch-up in at least five games already.  Four of them thankfully turned out to be victories, save for the overtime loss on November 3 against the Washington Capitals.

Still, hope abounds.  Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor, Nikolai Ehlers, Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler will excite Jets fans and they will light the lamp on some nights while others will be chalked up to growing pains of a young team.  The question is, how much patience will the Jets fan base (not to mention the Jets brass) have?  This is the same fan base that didn't pay much attention to the win-loss record in the Jets first season back in Winnipeg.  As you may well have heard, the fans in Winnipeg were just ecstatic to have their team back.  But five years on, results are now expected.  Personally, the mess the management in Atlanta made me think at least six or seven years (with good drafting, which the Jets have accomplished) before any real progress could be made.

They're on their way.  But this year seems to be an experiment to try and gel all their top prospects together in an attempt to create a team bond.  A culture of winning.  When these very young and very talented group of Jets players hit their peak potential together, the talk of the NHL media (outside of Toronto and New York presumably) will turn to Winnipeg and their terrific group of superstars.  Yeah, yeah.  Edmonton too. Yecch.

The Jets So Far

What's the jets problem(s) so far?  What are their strengths?

So far in this 2016-2017 campaign, the Winnipeg Jets are probably right where they are supposed to be.  every expert had them out of the playoffs in every season preview.  With four rookies in the line-up, the Jets are obviously going with the youth movement.  Second overall pick Patrik Laine has already proven his worth and is living up to expectations.

 Kyle Connor is probably underachieving just a little bit, but in his first professional year out of college, the Jets brass are going to be patient with him.  Personally, I'm surprised he didn't start the year in the AHL with the Manitoba Moose.

On defence, Josh Morrisey is showing why he made the team.  He's been more than adequate paired alongside Dustin Byfuglien and is already being touted as a bonefide NHLer.

The powerplay has slightly improved this season thus far.  That's not saying much however, as the Jets have only improved from being 30th on the PP to 25th.  They are taking less dumb penalties this year however.

The real problem lies in the young goaltending tandem plan head coach Paul Maurice has instituted.  Although right now Micheal Hutchinson gets the nod to actually become the number one guy, Connor Hellebyuck has let in some soft goals thst cost the Jets a game or two.  I mean, really, it's the overall defence, but Helly can stand to use some better luck or tighten up those soft spots.

Why is Laine on the second powerplay unit when four of his six goals thus far have come with the man-advantage?

Tom Wyman (not my favourite sports writer) has a decent piece in the Winnipeg Sun about this. What the Jets have and what they don't.

Here is another good stats-laden article by an unknown author found on link from a Facebook group, entitled Jets Game Our City Our Team Our Year.

Heartbreaker

With hardworking goals in the third period by Mark Scheifele and Adam Lowry, this is a game the Jets let slip through their fingers and should have won.  Although the Jets trailed 2-0 going into the third period, they kept pace with the vastly more experienced and powerful Capitals; winning the battles in the corners and held the edge in possession numbers.  They were able to rally back and get the crowd back into it, as well as the momentum, until the clock had 30 seconds remaining in regulation and the Capitals Jay Beagle worked one in behind Connor Hellebuyck to secure the victory and send the Winnipeg Jets faithful home deflated.

Both the Jets Patrik Laine and the Caps Alex Ovechkin failed to register a point

Laine & Matthews: More Comparisons

Just a quick post about another comparison between the Jets' Patrik Laine and the Maple Leafs Austen Matthews and how they're doing so far from NHL.com.

Lowly Sabres Defeat Jets

This was a game the Jets should have won.  And not just on paper.  The Jets have a bunch of skill, yet no defensive acumen it seems.  With Jack Eichel and Evander Kane out and ith Patrik Laine on a points run, this should have had a different outcome.

With two goals by Buffalo's Kyle Okposo and hard forechecking by the Sabres, along with some frustrating give-a-ways by the Jets, the Sabres outhustled the Jets for a 3-1 win.
This one was painful to watch.  The Jets went a disgusting 0-8 on the powerplay that has continued to be a real and growing concern.

Laine was kept in check.  Wheeler continues to fight his present goal-scoring drought, and while the goals against situation has midly receded, the strong goaltending the Jets were hoping for in their two young rookies has come to fruition as the Jets brass-and Jets fans-might have hoped.  With a fresh, new lower-body injury to Tyler Myers, the Jets defence was to be tested.  It was, and it failed.

Is this the beginning of another season where the Jets simply cannot put together a three or more game-winning streak?  They didn't all last season except for the last four games when they already were out of the playoff picture, then won all four.  Of course, that little stretch of success got the Jets the lottery balls they needed to jump from picking #6 in the draft to #2 of which, of course, they used to select Patrik Laine.

The point is, you're supposed to beat the teams that have less points than you or that you are, at least on paper, better than.  This was one of those games.

They better get it together.  Ovechkin and the Capitals are next.

Ovechkin Praises Laine

Washington Capitals star and future Hall of Famer, Alexander Ovechkin recently praised Winnipeg Jets rookie Patrik Laine on his skill set and says the young forward can potentially, with his shot and hockey sense, "score 50 or 60 goals."

Coming from a player of Ovi's obvious and proven talent, this is a heavy endorsement.

Trouba U.S. Bound?

In the ongoing soap opera that is the Jacob Trouba trade request from the Winnipeg Jets, it seems not only that his original "positioning" and "usage" complaint that every Jets fan, hockey insider and commentator know is a farce (since the team you're playing for determines your "usage" for one) but now, according to TSN and The Hockey News Jim McKenzie, Trouba apparently doesn't want to play in Canada.

If a guy who doesn't want to play for a team that guarantees him as a top two pairing defenceman, about 18-20 minutes of ice time and powerplay time, meanwhile complaining about not being used right; he can sit home and rot.  Now he allegedly doesn't even want to play for a Canadian team? See ya.

If you've been following the Trouba debacle, as every Jets fan (and obviously every NHL general manager) has, you'll know that the Jets are looking for a player in similar age and ability, and have been ever since Trouba's agent made the trade request on behalf of his client back in May.  Hence, the drawn out shenanigans and media circus that has followed.  Obviously, Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff is taking his time in getting what he needs for Trouba.  Talks with Detroit, Boston, Toronto, Arizona, Philadelphia and others have apparently fallen through, for now, so it looks like if Trouba doesn't decide to take a bridge deal by December 1st, he will sit the rest of the season.  He may still be able to play in Europe, but with the Jets retaining his rights and not wanting Trouba to possibly injure himself while overseas, thereby losing any upper hand in a potential deal, that probably will not come to fruition.

The Jets hold all the cards and Trouba and his agent know it.  So do all the other NHL GMs.  He isn't going anywhere until Cheveldayoff says so.  Trouba is a seemingly irreplaceable player that is supposed to develop into a top six or even top four defenceman, even though his ice time increased but his production has declined in the last two seasons.

The best Trouba can hope for, and what will probably end up happening is he will re-sign with the Jets for a one-year deal, then be traded either after the new year, before the trade deadline, or during the off-season. Much like what happened  to another client of Trouba's agent, Kurt Overhardt's recently:

In 2011, Brandon Dubinsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets held out from the Phoenix Coyotes only to later sign a deal worth $3.7 million, and then get traded to Columbus.  All within a few weeks of re-signing.

Trouba will be traded.  It may not (but probably) be this year, but he will no longer be a member of the Winnipeg Jets come July 1, 2017.  Let's just hope Chevy can swing a deal like he did with Buffalo that brought the Jets Myers, Stafford and Brendon Lemieux.  Whatever deal he can swing, let's hope he doesn't give in and whatever deal he can partner into, let's hope it benefits the Jets for years to come.

Interest In Pavelec?

It looks like some western conference teams have been "kicking the tires" in an apparent interest in acquiring Moose goaltender Ondrej Pavelec.

The Los Angeles Kings, who lost all-star Jonathan Quick to a serious groin injury that may require surgery, have said to have had an interest in Pavelec but have salary-cap issues that could create a roadblock.
L.A. has about $US1.5 million in cap space available, and Pavelec, who was reassigned by the Jets to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose prior to the regular season, has a cap hit of US$3.9 million in the final year of his current contract.

A possible solution could involve putting Quick on long-term injured reserve (which could provide some cap relief) or structuring a possible deal would be one in which the Jets would retain some of Pavelec’s salary.

The Kings simply didn't claim Pavelec on waivers when the Jets demoted him to the Moose because of Pavelec's US$4.5 million salary in this, his last year under contract with the Jets.
But it's clearly not just his contract that are scaring any suitors away.  His numbers ranked somewhere around 60th overall?  Not among starting goaltenders mind you, but among all NHL goalies.  Jets fans all love Pavy.  Well, a lot of Jets fans love Pavy.  We all know he has been consistently inconsistent his whole NHL career.  But we also all know he can steal games.  He did just as much in the last 8-10 games of the 2014-2015 season that launched the Jets into the playoffs.  He made some amazing saves against the Ducks in losing effort in four games in the first round sweep to Anaheim.

Could Pavelec help the Kings?  Can he help anyone in this point in his career?  Tim Thomas did.  He came back late in his career to help the Boston Bruins win the Stanley Cups.  No Pavelec is no Thomas.  Just putting the thought out there that Pavelec isn't totally done in the NHL.  Yeah.  He probably is.  But who knows?

Jets Blank Avs

The first winning streak of the season for the Winnipeg Jets has begun.  With tonight's 1-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche, it represents the first shutout for a Winnipeg goaltender for 2016-2017, the first back-to-back win and the first winning streak at, well, two.
Hey, it's a start.

Micheal Hutchinson recorded the goose egg for the Jets, while Shawn Matthias netted the game's only goal on assists from Joel Armia and Joshua Morrisey. It was Hutchinson's first shutout since January 15, 2015 against Columbus.

Patrik Laine was held scorless while garnering only two shots on net.  This doesn't include a shot from just over the Jets side of center that went of the side of the net while the Avalanche had pulled Semyon Varlamov late in the third.

Jets Return To Win Column With Win Over Stars

In a much stronger effort than under the sun of the Heritage Classic, the Winnipeg Jets handled one of the central division's big dogs with relative ease in a 4-1 defeat of Tyler Seguin and the Dallas Stars.

Patrik Laine added his fifth and sixth goals both on the powerplay.  Kyle Connor netted his first NHL goal.

Oilers Spoil Party

In a game that was supposed to have a Jets victory to complete a wonderful Heritage Classic weekend in Winnipeg, the Edmonton Oilers had different plans and spoiled the celebration weekend with a 3-0 victory on Sunday.

The Jets simply couldn't get anything going and to say the ice didn't tilt their way, is not without litteral contemplation.  It didn't seem to bother the Oilers, but it seems to me there was a whole lot of bouncing pucks out there.  How many times did the puck jump over Jets sticks at the most inopportune moments?

The Oilers just seemed more hungry, more disciplined and their stars outshone our stars.  Patrik Laine was held pointless in a game that he should have been able to display his skills to the world.  Not that he didn't already do that in the comeback game against the Maple Leafs, but this was supposed to be Winnipeg's weekend showcase (as indeed it was the actual Heritage Classic game notwithstanding) in general and Laine's in particular.

Not that it was Laine's fault.  He can't win every game by himself.  The Jets do have some skill in their arsenal as well.  Names like Wheeler, Byfuglien, Scheifele, Ehlers and Connor.  The goal lamp shouldn't have gone cold behind Oilers goalie Cam Talbot.  But none of the boys on this night could solve Talbot.  Again, the erant passes and so many giveaways is what really did the Jets in, but to have so many little chances, not shots on goal, but chances with the skill on the ice is something I am still scratching my head over.

Jets Alumni Do City Proud

What a sweet shot.  Laurie Boschman and Teemu Selanne - Forever a Jet.

Ah.  Sweet revenge.  It matters not that it came 16 years or so later and that most of the rosters on both sides are grandfathers.  The Winnipeg Jets 1.0 boys of my childhood finally took out the 1980's Wayne Gretzky-led Edmonton Oilers in front of all the world to see.

After a three-goal lead collapsed in the second period-just as I thought the Jets were going to get a taste of their own medicine-Teemu Selanne, the hero of he 1.0 90's Jets, was tripped by Craig Simpson (in a Homer-like move) to give the Finnish Flash a penalty shot to win it very late in the third.  Of all people to give a game-winning breakaway opportunity to, you give it to Teemu Selanne (well, either him or Hawerchuck)  O.k.  I'll take that.  Selanne pops one under Curtis Joseph's glove, wins it 5-4 with his second goal and in a game that really means nothing, except it kinda does, Selanne finishes a script (?) that would have been forever lore if this had any modern day significance.


It was just cool to see, even if the clock didn't stop and any penalty was awarded as a penalty shot. 

Dave Ellet (#2) and Teemu Selanne (#13)

It was nice to see my adolescent-age hockey heroes back together for what will surely be the last time these guys play together on a stage such as this ever again.  Laurie Boschman, Dougie Smail, Thomas Steen, Dave Babych, Dave Ellet and Bob Essensa along with Hawerchuck and Selanne, who I finally got to see play on the same line together.  Even my favourite #12, Morris Lukowich looked like he didn't think it was a just a meaningless exhibition game, as he was racing down his old hunting ground on the left wing creating chances often.  Even original Jet, and the man John Ferguson gave up to originally acquire Boschman, Willy Lidstrom, had a funny on-air moment with commentator Scott Oake.  As Oake was asking Lidstrom about being traded to the Oilers and going on to win multiple Stanley Cups, Lidstrom's line was hitting the ice and he simply said, "I gotta go play."

Even the practice jerseys are a beauty.

Overall, I enjoyed it.  It was nice to see Winnipeg on the radar if only for two days by the NHL.  Other than the obvious and inevitable attention going to be paid to Patrik Laine, the Jets (and most western teams to be fair) don't get paid all that much attention by the league, but to the Jets in particular.  This game between the stars of the past and tomorrow afternoon's game between the stars of the present looks good on Winnipeg and True North Sports & Entertainment.  It indeed has a rich hockey heritage and championships to prove it including Stanley Cups, Memorial Cups, Allan Cups, world championships and an Olympic gold medal.

Not bad, eh? 





 

Check out Richard Brignall's Forgotten Heroes:  Winnipeg's Hockey Heritage.  It is the premier history of amateur and professional hockey in Winnipeg.  Then you can see how this celebration weekend in Winnipeg is a modern, living compendium to that history.

Now let's see if our present-day heroes can make it much more sweeter by taking down the still hated Edmonton Oilers tomorrow afternoon.

Go Jets Go.

Selanne: Winnipeg Is A Very Special Place For Me

Teemu Selanne, the 1993 NHL rookie of the year and National Hockey League record-holder of 76 goals for an NHL freshman and forever a Jet, is back in Winnipeg for the Heritage Classic and caught up with TSN's Darren Dreger to give his feelings on the alumni game, Patrik Laine and what the city of Winnipeg still means to him.

The link to the interview can be found here:  http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/selanne-on-winnipeg-it-s-a-very-special-place-for-me%7E977760

Laine Wins First Battle

Although both players down-played the importance of their first head-to-head meeting, Austen Matthews and Patrik Laine, the apparent future hall of famers that went one-two in this past July's NHL Entry Draft, put on a show at the MTS Centre last night that went from bad to worse or from rags to riches, depending on which team had you laughing by the end of the second period, or by the end of the third.

Although this was a game that the Jets had absolutely no business winning, they managed to pull together their second come-from-behind overtime win.  They were sloppy for half the game.  They left Hutchinson out to dry twice and for the fourth straight game they gave up four goals.  If it weren't for Laine, the Toronto fan base and media would be securing the parade route. 

As for the "competition" between the boys wonder?  Matthews ended up getting only one point last night  An assist on a nice feed to William Nylander on the power-play for Toronto's third goal.



Laine on the other hand?  Well he kind of got the first of many hat tricks of his career.  The third goal being the overtime winner.  Again, it wasn't four goals, but it has been four goals in four games, including a game-tying goal and a game winner and an assist on a game-tying goal.  So four goals and an assist each for Matthews and Laine thus far.  Five points a piece.  However Laine has a game-winning goal and has been more of a key player in his teams victories.  On that tie-breaker alone, I give the edge to Laine and by his team beating Matthew's, I say Laine wins the first battle.

Laine vs Matthews: The Comparison

It's not as if this hasn't been done before, but for this post, I want to defer to an article on NHL.com comparing Winnipeg's Patrik Laine and Toronto's Austen Matthews after their debuts.  I suppose every hockey reporter will be doing the same around mid-season.  But alas...

My own thing is this:  Different players. Different style of play.  Laine is a pure goal scorer, while Matthews is probably the more all-around player.  Not necessarily the better player, but I think he gets the nod for his back-checking.  Laine, however, is no slouch on the defensive side of the game either.  After only three games, it's impossible and presumptuous to predict who is the "better" player.  Certainly one of these guys-barring injury-will claim the Calder trophy.  I say Laine, my bias notwithstanding.  Both are probably already headed to the Hall of Fame (presuming?) and they will probably always be linked to each other like Gretzky and Lemieux or Crosby and Ovechkin.

Austin has his four-goal debut in a losing cause.  Laine has his first NHL goal plus an assist in a winning cause.  Wednesday, they meet head-to-head for the first time at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg.  Let's see who leads his team to victory more convincingly.

Alumnis Excited To Be Back

Already in and around the city of Winnipeg ahead of the scheduled October 22nd NHL Heritage Classic Alumni Game, members of the Winnipeg Jets "classics," are heavily anticipating the reunion game between themselves and their old nemesis of the 80s (and for some older members of the Jets alumni; even the 70s of the WHA) the Edmonton Oilers.

Doing different appearances around southern Manitoba for some of the many True North-led charities (with Mick E. Moose in tow) such past Winnipeg Jets players such as Morris Lukowich, Laurie Boschman, Jim Kyte and Kris King, as well as team captain Dale Hawerchuck, have been in town for over a week to take in some early festivities, re-acquaint themselves with their old teammates as well as the city.

Some 75 invitations went out to former Jets players, coaches and other dignitaries.  50 were accepted.  So you can be sure the Jets of old are hankering to get at those Oilers one last time.  Some may even forget it's an exhibition.

Lukowich himself says he's thrilled for he opportunity.

I'm really looking forward to both games.  The "real" game on Sunday will be instense and exciting.  But the nostalgic promises of the alumni game on Saturday has some real emotional bearing for a lot of people.  For the Jets 1.0 classics to emerge victorious, Selanne's the key.  You see he's a little younger than most of the Oilers.  Maybe he can use that dominant speed to tap in a couple and be our ace-in-the-hole.

Little Injured, Out Indefinately

Winnipeg Jets forward Brian Little, who missed the last 25 games of last season with a compressed vertebrae on a dirty hit from the Tampa Bay Lightning's  Anton Stralman (a hit that was not called and ultimately resulted in coach Paul Maurice's ejection, by the way) will be out of the Jets lineup indefinitely with a lower-body injury suffered in the first period in the home opener against the Carolina Hurricanes.



Alexander Burmistrov is figured to be slated into the lineup Monday against Boston.

Laine Scores In Debut; Jets Come From Behind, Beat Canes in OT

Well it wasn't four goals on five shots to start a career, but it was a big goal and an assist for Patrik Laine to help the Winnipeg Jets come back from three goals down in the third period to win their NHL season-opener 5-4 in extra time over the Carolina Hurricanes.

It took the young Finn a while to get going, but in the third period, when his team needed him, he unloaded a wicked wrist-shot on the power-play to help the Jets reduce the Hurricanes lead to 4-3 about 30 seconds after captain Blake wheeler scored a short-handed goal to make it 4-2.  A couple of minutes later and Matthew Perrault scored with just over a minute remaining in the third period, with an assist from Laine, to tie the game and allow Blake wheeler to feed Mark Scheifele the cross-crease pass for the win in overtime.

Starting Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was weak in net.  There was two goals he should have had and even Ondrej Pavelec would have made those saves.  I'm afraid without the comeback by the Jets and timely goals by Laine, Perrault and Wheeler, this would have been an embarrassing loss.

But as it is, Patrik Laine has his first NHL goal out of the way with many more to come, I'm sure.  The more he gets comfortable with his new teammates and his role, the Alexander Ovechkin comparisons may continue.

Pavelec Among Seven Sent Down To The Moose

Pending waivers, long-time starting Winnipeg Jets goaltender Ondrej Pavelec has been sent down to the Manitoba Moose along with seven skaters.  Forwards Nic Petan, Andrew Copp, Anthony Peluso, Chase DeLeo and Marko Dano.  Defencemen Brian Strait and Julian Melchiori have also been cut from the opening-night roster.

This has been something Jets fans have been clamouring for for some time now.  With the youth movement in full swing in Winnipeg, compounded by Pavelec's dwindling save percentage and increase in his goals against average, not to mention his $4 million cap hit; the Jets finally demoted their long-time go-to guy in net.

This will not be a permenent stay for Pavelec.  Although he is being a total professional and is carrying himself as the team player he always has been, Pavelec will be called back when one of the young bucks taking his place falters.  And it will happen.  Micheal Hutchinson may stay in the show with the big club for the long haul, but Connor Hellebyuck will need some seasoning and isn't quite the saviour in goal everyone seems to be making him out to be.  At least not in this early phase of the new season.

The wins should go up for the Manitoba Moose now that Pavelec is there.  He surely is meant to be a mentor to Eric Comrie, the real goalie of the Jets future.  Pavelec is not there to gain experience or to get himself back into game-shape.  He's there because he's just not good enough to help the Winnipeg Jets achieve their goals.  Pavelec may be draft fodder for the new, and as yet unnamed Las Vegas team.  Come next June, don't expect Ondrej Pavelec to be employed in any way, shape or form by the Winnipeg Jets.  His contract is up at the end of this season and with his $4 million and change salary, no other team wanted to claim him off waivers.  If he doesn't go to Las Vegas, the next time you hear the name Ondrej Pavelec (if at all) it may be in the KHL, or the Czech elite league.

Another Nine Re-Assigned From Jets Training Camp Roster

Quinton Howden, Eric Comrie, J.C. Lipon, Jack Roslovic and Logan Stanley highlight the names of nine Jets prospects that have been re-assigned to the Manitoba Moose or sent back to their junior teams.

Value For Trouba

So now that Winnipeg Jets defenceman Jacob Trouba has made a public request for a trade, what would be the value of a 22-year-old right-handed shooter that is projected to be a top-four defender?

Mind you, Trouba can still sign with the Jets and this all goes away.  However since he has made his feelings known to the Jets brass since May, I doubt this will turn out right for Jets fans.  Unless of course Kevin Cheveldayoff can make the right deal that would have a similar player coming back to the Jets.
What would a deal that would benefit the Jets look like?

Lets see...

Teams that come up in the scenario so far (at least theoretically) are:

Edmonton Oilers - Does Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli have an interest in Trouba?  Well, judging by the fact Oilers coach Todd McLellan who was the bench boss for Team North America for the World Cup of Hockey tournament and he didn't insert Trouba into the line-up until Aaron Eckblad went down with a neck injury says a lot about how he feels about Trouba's talents.  if they were to do a deal with the Jets, Darnell Nurse or or Oscar Klefbom would have to be in the discussion.  However, in a few years when the Oilers re-sign Connor McDavid and other up-and-comers such as Leon Draisaitl, Trouba's salary could be the deal breaker here.

Philadelphia Flyers - The Flyers do have a couple of left-handed defencemen in their system.  Russian junior Ivan Provorov and another Manitoba native, Elkhorn-born Travis Sanheim.
Provorov is a Western Hockey League defenceman of the year with the Brandon Wheat Kings, so the Flyers would probably balk at him being part of any trade anyway.  However Flyers GM Ron Hextall must have watched the World Cup of Hockey and had visions of sugar plums in his head at the thought of pairing up Trouba with Calder trophy finalist Shayne Gostisbehere.  The down side to this deal is that the Flyers are already hard up against the cap, so the Jets would have to take a substantial salary in return.

Colorado Avalanche - Back in the summer, there were rumblings of a possible straight-up player-for-player trade of Trouba for Matt Duchene.  That may be still in the works, as long as Cheveldayoff doesn't show all his cards and try to deal Trouba too quickly, as I suspect he won't as time is on the Jets side right now.  Duchene is under contract to the Avs for three more seasons at $6 million annually.  No team really wants to trade within their own division, especially if the player going the other way may come back to bite you in the behind in a tight divisional race.  But if this is the right deal for the Jets, Cheveldayoff won't hesitate in pulling the trigger.

Boston Bruins - The Bruins pretty much started this whole thing when rumors started circulating that the Bruins were considering an offer sheet for Trouba that would have had the Bears give up their next four first-round picks in the Entry Draft until 2021.  That would have been the very best case scenario for the Jets and not much of a decision for Kevin Cheveldayoff.  I mean, who wouldn't take that deal?  Bruins GM Don Sweeney would have to be the first in line, kicking the tires, sort of speak, wouldn't he?  One would think Torey Krug would have to be part of this deal that would have to include a draft pick or prospect.  The Bruins however, would have to consider the salary cap as due to past deals in the last two seasons, they don't have much leeway in that department.

Arizona Coyotes - Mike Stone might be an interesting trade for the Jets as well as the Coyotes.  Stone is a native-Winnipegger which True North always finds appealing, and he is entering his final year in his current contract with Arizona as he will become a unrestricted free agent come July 2017.  The Coyotes also have a number of prospects, but not many left-handed defencemen the Jets would fit into their needs right now. Perhaps a trade package with a pick and a prospect might interest Cheveldayoff, but this seems to be a player-for-player now situation.

Detroit Red Wings - This one makes the most sense geographically speaking for Trouba.  Not that he has much control in where he gets traded, but being from Michigan, this could be the best projected destination for the young blue-liner.  Trouba would certainly be paired with and work well with Mike Green.  How about a package involving Danny DeKeyser?  The Jets have an obvious interest in DeKeyser as they tried to sign him as a free agent out of college.  His cap hit is $5 million per for the next six years.

Toronto Maple Leafs - The Leafs have more than a few prospects in their cupboard, in fact judging from the list of "experts" that rank the NHL's best prospect pools, the Leafs are in the top three most times.  One name that stands out is Jake Gardiner.  Throw him in a package for Trouba and Lou Lamoriello may just bite.

The Rangers and Canucks are also said to be interested in making a deal with Winnipeg for Trouba, but they have issues with cap space as well.

An article by Lyle Richardson over at The Hockey News has more.

Jets Cut 17 From Training Camp Roster

The Winnipeg Jets have cut their roster down from approximately 60 invitees to 43 after re-assigning 17 players to the American Hockey League's Manitoba Moose or back to their respective junior teams.

Trouba Requests Trade

Jacob Trouba has requested a trade out of Winnipeg.  As it stands right now, Trouba is unhappy with his minutes and his position on the right side.  Apparently the Jets 2012 first-round pick wants more of an opportunity to play on the left side.  At least that's what he claims through his agent.

This isn't a complete shocker as Trouba has been without a contract since July and with no real progress in that area, the rumors have been in full swing since then.  Apparently, Trouba and his agent have made their feelings clear about his position on the ice since May.

Trouba's agent, Kurt Overhardt said in a statement:

“Our client, Jacob Trouba, will not be attending the Winnipeg Jets NHL training camp. Since May, we have been working with the Jets management in an effort to facilitate a trade of Jacob’s rights. Both parties continue to work on this matter.

There has been no negotiation regarding the terms of a contract between our client and the Jets over the course of the last several months. The situation is not about money; it is solely about our client having the opportunity to realize his potential as a right shot NHL defenseman.

To the Jets credit, the club has two outstanding right shot veteran defensemen and our client simply wants the opportunity to have a greater role. As a consequence of the Jets depth on the right side, we believe it is in both parties’ best interest to facilitate a mutually advantageous trade.

Our client has nothing but respect for the people and City of Winnipeg, the Winnipeg Jets, its fans, management and ownership – our desire to get him moved has everything to do with opportunity. We will continue to work with the Jets in good faith to achieve this end.”

More to come as the story unfolds...

Training Camp Opens

Well joy of all joys, hockey season is upon us again.  How do we know?  You mean other than the fact that the World Cup of Hockey is almost concluded, it's October, and members of the most awesome hockey team have flooded back into town?  Yep.  Those are sure signs alright.

The Winnipeg Jets have officially opened their training camp for the 2016-2017 NHL season and once again, due to this past summers entry draft and signings of Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor (not to mention the upping of Mark Scheifele's eight-year, $6.125 million contract) expectations are high in River City.

Of course I suppose all fans say that about their team upon the dawning of a new season.  New players, new opportunities, new dreams.  Not that too much stock is put into this, but The Hockey News did in fact name the Winnipeg Jets the 2019 Stanley Cup champions.  Hey, a guy can dream can't he?  So what if that article was meant to salivate Jets fans in two seasons, the dreaming starts now!

But as for the present, will the Jets measure up this season to what expectations were for 2015-2016?  If so, who will lead the way and bring the excitement of the NHL playoffs back to the Manitoba capital?  The core players will obviously carry the mantle as expected.  So for now, we'll ignore players like new captain Blake Wheeler, Dustin Byfuglien, Brian Little and Ondrej Pavelec.

What Jets fans really want to know is how many goals will Patrik Laine score?  Will he challenge the Maple Leafs Austin Matthews for the Calder trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year?  Will he seize the brass ring as another Teemu Selanne or will he *GULP* be a bust?

With all eyes on Laine, will college stand-out Kyle Connor slip in under the radar and turn some heads as I believe he will, or will he be a regular scorer with the Manitoba Moose?  Will Josh Morrisey finally make the big club?  Will he be able to let Jets fans exhale a collective sigh of relief and ask Jacob who?  Who will win the back-up position to Pavelec, who is in the final year of his five-year deal?  Or will it be Pavelec fighting to retain his starter job?  Will Micheal Hutchinson continue his wonderful play from last year or will newcomer Conner Hellebyck outplay them both and start the season between the pipes for the Jets?  Will Nikolai Ehlers continue his break-out that he began last season?

Hull To Pass On Hall Of Fame Ceremony

Bobby Hull, one of the most dominant and respected players ever to don a Winnipeg Jets jersey, who was to be honoured by True North Sports & Entertainment and the Winnipeg Jets along with "Hot Line" line mates Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg; has decided to pass on being present to accept the induction.

Why?  It's simple really.  With all the controversy surrounding his induction, due to many Winnipeggers not at all thrilled about honouring a man who had allegedly beat his wife during their marriage of 20 years; Hull has decided to take himself out of the equation.  He's still going into the Hall, he just won't be there in person to accept.  I'm sure having to field personal questions that I'm sure he has had to answer numerous times before isn't the funnest thing he can think of doing.  But also, taking the rightful spotlight off of his former line mates isn't something he's very much interested in either.  Call it what you will.  Avoiding the elephant in the room or whatever.  He's doing the right thing by by-passing the sure-to-be media circus of matters time past.

Not to minimize domestic violence, and I totally understand why people would not support anyone of that caliber of character, but is this induction about his accomplishment on the ice, or what he did in his private life?  It certainly is about the accomplishments of his teammates, Nilsson and Hedberg.  No one is going to be asking them about their personal life.  Don't think they won't have to attempt to answer questions about Hull either.  That shouldn't be put on them, but it will be.

Kroppy Passes at 98

Len Kropioski, otherwise known to Winnipeg Jets fans as "Kroppy," has died.  He was 98.  Kropioski was a World War II veteran and a life-long Jets fan.  Well as long as the Winnipeg Jets existed, both now and between 1972 and 1996.  He had been a season-ticket holder since the inaugural 1972 World Hockey Association season and again since 2011, when the Atlanta Thrashers were re-located to Winnipeg.  He was also a Manitoba Moose season-ticket holder since 1997.

He was first introduced to the Winnipeg public back in 2011 at the Jets first game back against the Montreal Canadiens on March 9th.  The cameras caught him saluting and singing his heart out to O Canada.  Since then he became a game-day tradition with his image on the scoreboard every night at the conclusion of the national anthem.  He was an advertising gold mine for the Jets as Kroppy showed (and the Jets brass hope he showed) what a die-hard Winnipeg Jets fan was made of.  Kroppy epitomized what it was (and is) to be a Winnipeg Jets fan.  Being there for your team through thick and thin.  Showing up and cheering your heart out when you know that the team may not be very good and may disappoint you every season; only to show up the next year for a guaranteed 42 more games.

With the Jets donning their WHA-style jerseys of the 1970s for the Winter Classic as well as a couple of other regular-season games, plus the White-Out that returned to Winnipeg for the 2014-2015 playoffs, perhaps another long-standing, but slightly different tradition may be introduced.  Why not replace the old portrait of Queen Elizabeth II that hung at the south end of the old Winnipeg Arena with the same such honour for Kroppy?  I don't think one Winnipeg Jets fan would complain.  If they did, simply rescind their season's tickets.