News Article: NHL 30 in 30: Winnipeg Jets

[Mathmew Purrrr Oh]

Maurice is the single biggest reason the Jets made the playoffs.

not sure about single biggest reason but anyone who knows me and my opinions knows I'm a fan.

Jets went from bottom third of the league in GA/GP to top third (10th) under Maurice.
That is very meaningful.

I was being somewhat pendantic. My issue is with people using the term "defence" - I would say more of their success had to do with the manner in which they approached the game on "offence".

using quotes because the traditional view of offence vs defence being a binary relationship drives me bonkers.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

Alright. Who are these other teams that are bursting with young talent and how is it better than the Jets? Edmonton? Well when you have McDavid that does help you a bit.

Ehlers, Armia, Petan, Morrissey, and Copp all stand to make pushes onto the roster this year. Add Hellebuyck to that list, too. Plus we can hope for more improvements from Scheifele, Trouba, and Lowry. And there are no veterans that I can see taking significant steps backwards.

That story's (the CSN one) conclusions might have been correct but those 2 sentences I quoted kind of destroyed the credibility.

 

[StronGeer]

That story's (the CSN one) conclusions might have been correct but those 2 sentences I quoted kind of destroyed the credibility.

To be fair, none of these preseason predictions have any credibility. Reporters pontificating about who will end up where is a total crapshoot. We saw that last year. It's just that it's the only thing to talk about in the offseason.

I'm not worried.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

To be fair, none of these preseason predictions have any credibility. Reporters pontificating about who will end up where is a total crapshoot. We saw that last year. It's just that it's the only thing to talk about in the offseason.

I'm not worried.

Short term, worried only about goaltending. Longer term worried about Buff and Ladd. There are so many ways that can go wrong and less chance of it going right with the passage of time. No news is not good news.

 

[lomiller1]

the Jets are on the bible due to being in the strongest division in hockey.

So they are preying for a playoff spot?

 

[Board Bard]

So they are preying for a playoff spot?

I pray they make it.

 

[StronGeer]

I pray they make it.

Good thing we've got Christ Horburn.

 

[Boreal]

If we keep Ladd and Buff, I think we have a good shot to make the post-season. Without one (probably) or both (unlikely), I don't think we're in.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

I pray they make it.

No. He said prey not pray. Not sure what kind of prey they are preying on. What would be biblical prey?

 

[Mud Turtle]

Alright. Who are these other teams that are bursting with young talent and how is it better than the Jets? Edmonton? Well when you have McDavid that does help you a bit.

Ehlers, Armia, Petan, Morrissey, and Copp all stand to make pushes onto the roster this year. Add Hellebuyck to that list, too. Plus we can hope for more improvements from Scheifele, Trouba, and Lowry. And there are no veterans that I can see taking significant steps backwards.

AND, we still have one of the youngest teams in the league. With Slater gone and a few young guys coming in, maybe the youngest in the league this year.

 

[lomiller1]

No. He said prey not pray.

Lol

Not sure what kind of prey they are preying on. What would be biblical prey?

Predators? Tennessee is in the bible belt

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

If we keep Ladd and Buff, I think we have a good shot to make the post-season. Without one (probably) or both (unlikely), I don't think we're in.

That would depend on what return we got in trade, to some extent at least.

Without getting into an argument about how good Buff really is or is not I have a hard time assessing how much he would be missed if gone. Because of our depth on the right side it may not be that much. OTOH if we have a couple of D injuries (other than him I mean) he becomes more critical. When the ranks are thinned out a bit the remaining quality players are more important. If he was to be traded we might not miss him much when we are healthy but we would miss him a lot more if, say Enstrom and Myers were both out at the same time. Never mind the kind of thing we had last year.

 

[Jets4Life]

That's a pretty bizarre proclamation.


I think there's a better chance we don't make the playoffs than we do. However, I don't necessarily think that means we've taken a step back. Rather, I think last year we probably did a bit better than we should have. I think we're moving to a place where we have what it takes to be a consistent playoff team and we'll likely be close again this year but we're not quite there yet...

In order to be a consistent playoff team, we need to put a consistent goalie in net. Hutch and Pavelec are not consistant enough for this. Hellebuyck is the best goalie the Jets have, but Chevy is reluctant to give him the green light to play in the NHL.

 

[YWGinYYZ]

In order to be a consistent playoff team, we need to put a consistent goalie in net.

Yep.

Hutch and Pavelec are not consistant enough for this.

We don't really have a large enough sample size to say this about Hutch yet, IMHO.

Hellebuyck is the best goalie the Jets have, but Chevy is reluctant to give him the green light to play in the NHL.

Very, very likely, but regarding Chevy: how do you figure? He was moved pretty quickly from the NCAA to the AHL - there was no real reason (other than some spotty play by both Pav and Hutch) to bring him up. Given the pressure cooker atmosphere at the time, that may not have been a wise move. In the end, the duo of Pav-electric and Slipping-Clutch got us into the PO show.

Helly is very likely to be the future of the Jets goaltending, but I'm not sure I agree with your statements here.

 

[Guardian17]

Last season, I was convinced the Jets would be in the running for McDavid.

I even went to that home game against Calgary where they were awful.

Yet, despite their injuries and tough division, they made the playoffs.

 

[Channelcat]

If Hellebuyck plays over 20 games, the Jets are in the playoffs.

Also, there is virtually no chance Patrick Kane will play the whole year. If Kane is suspended for most of the season, the Jets will make the playoffs.

You mean like last year? I do, however, agree the Hawks will have issues replacing the talent they've lost.

In any case the Jets are a complete wildcard/darkhorse team to me this year. So many variables at play this year. Particularly the impact of the young talent, the goaltending, and whether Buff, Ladd remain part of this team.

 

[knorthern knight]

The Hawks aren't as good a team WITH Kane in the lineup as last year. If Kane is out of the lineup for an extended period of time (40 games), they will be in trouble to make the playoffs. We'll make the playoffs but not sure if we got out of the first round. We won't if we face the Ducks again.

Everybody's concentrating on Chicago, but what about Minnesota? Last season, Winnipeg and LA should've been fighting for the 2 wildcard spots. As of All-Star-Break, Minnesota had been written off by almost everybody. They were 3rd-last in the western conference, ahead of only Edmonton and Arizona. Then Devan Dubnyk caught fire. In 30 games from Jan 27 to March 28, Dubnyk accomplished...

• .943 SV%
• 1.69 GAA
• a record of 24-5-1

The Wild went from also-rans to the #1 wildcard slot, leaving Winnipeg and LA to battle for #2 wildcard. 2 seasons ago, Colorado had horrible advanced stats, but Varlamov's .927 SV% goaltending carried them to 1st seed in the Central division. Last season, Varlamov got "only" .921 SV%, and the Avalanche finished out of the playoffs. People are asking if Pavelec can repeat. Can Dubnyk repeat 2013-2014 this coming season? If not, that's good news for the Jets.

 

[Jets4Life]

You mean like last year? I do, however, agree the Hawks will have issues replacing the talent they've lost.

In any case the Jets are a complete wildcard/darkhorse team to me this year. So many variables at play this year. Particularly the impact of the young talent, the goaltending, and whether Buff, Ladd remain part of this team.

Last year Kane played 61 games. This year, I have no doubt in my mind that the NHL will suspend him for the season. 0 games played. This will knock the Blackhawks out of Stanley Cup contention, and combined with the loss of Saad, they will be lucky to make the playoffs.

Look no further to the Voynov incident with the Kings. Voynov was a key player for the team, and without Voynov, the team buckled. Kane is arguably the best player in the Hawks. Without him, the Jets will finish ahead of them.

 

[EpicGingy]

Kane hasn't even been charged with a crime yet and there's still no sign that he will. It's exceptionally premature to say that he won't play a single game this season.

 

[Jets4Life]

Kane hasn't even been charged with a crime yet and there's still no sign that he will. It's exceptionally premature to say that he won't play a single game this season.

I have a feeling charges could be just weeks away. Obviously I was not there, but when you combine the fact that the victim only went there to make sure her friend was not alone, physical evidence (bite marks, etc), and several people of the woman saying he is of good character, and would not make this up, I suspect charges will be laid.

Combine that with Kane's history (cabbie incident and the 2011 frat house party in Madison, WI), the NHL should do the right thing and suspend him.

The suspension of Voynov was imposed under Section 18-A.5 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which relates to commissioner discipline for off-ice conduct. The section grants fairly sweeping powers to Gary Bettman with regards to “conduct (whether during or outside the playing season) that is detrimental to or against the welfare of the League or the game of hockey.”

Specifically, subsection 5 states that the league may suspend a player “subject to a criminal investigation by any governmental authority, or in the event of an ongoing civil proceeding where the Player has been named as a defendant ... pending the League’s formal review and disposition of the matter where the failure to suspend the Player during this period would create a substantial risk of material harm to the legitimate interests and/or reputation of the League.”


http://www.si.com/nhl/2015/08/14/patrick-kane-rape-case-cba-morality-options-for-nhl-chicago-blackhawks

If the NHL does not suspend Kane for at least 1/2 the season, then it's no better than the NFL. At least Ben Roethlisberger was suspended in 2010, with no charges being pressed. Considering the NHL has traditionally come down harder for off-ice behavior that would be considered detrimental to the league, I expect a suspension.

 

[Jetfaninflorida]

I think that the loss of Frolik will be significant. I don't see Burmi filling that void. Goaltending will be key for us again to make the post season and I just can't see both Pav and Hutch having career best years again this year.

Looking back on the Fro thing, for the 2 or 3 hundred k per year difference (between what we offered vs what he signed for in Calgary) I feel like we should have just signed him. The way we threw money around at questionable 4th liners, oh yeah, and Budaj, it shows you that flushing a few hundred thousand away here and there can really mess you up when you have a quality asset like Frolik and it comes time to resign.

 

[CorgisPer60]

Everybody's concentrating on Chicago, but what about Minnesota? Last season, Winnipeg and LA should've been fighting for the 2 wildcard spots. As of All-Star-Break, Minnesota had been written off by almost everybody. They were 3rd-last in the western conference, ahead of only Edmonton and Arizona. Then Devan Dubnyk caught fire. In 30 games from Jan 27 to March 28, Dubnyk accomplished...

• .943 SV%
• 1.69 GAA
• a record of 24-5-1

The Wild went from also-rans to the #1 wildcard slot, leaving Winnipeg and LA to battle for #2 wildcard. 2 seasons ago, Colorado had horrible advanced stats, but Varlamov's .927 SV% goaltending carried them to 1st seed in the Central division. Last season, Varlamov got "only" .921 SV%, and the Avalanche finished out of the playoffs. People are asking if Pavelec can repeat. Can Dubnyk repeat 2013-2014 this coming season? If not, that's good news for the Jets.

Considering that Dubnyk played well above his average, as did Pavelec, and Dubnyk's average is better than Pav's, I'd put more money down on the Wild being a playoff team than the Jets. We're practically the same team, both functionally and structurally, but the nod goes to Dubnyk unless Hutchinson can become a league average starter and play at least 50 games. If he can do that, then I think Chevy will feel more comfortable with bringing up Helle as the back up and jettisoning Pavelec next off-season.

I think that the loss of Frolik will be significant. I don't see Burmi filling that void. Goaltending will be key for us again to make the post season and I just can't see both Pav and Hutch having career best years again this year.

Looking back on the Fro thing, for the 2 or 3 hundred k per year difference (between what we offered vs what he signed for in Calgary) I feel like we should have just signed him. The way we threw money around at questionable 4th liners, oh yeah, and Budaj, it shows you that flushing a few hundred thousand away here and there can really mess you up when you have a quality asset like Frolik and it comes time to resign.

All Burmi has to do is be at least as defensively responsible as Frolik was and drive the play forward with his possession game. Stick him with a finisher and he should do well. Stafford would fit the bill there.

Stafford - Scheifele - Burmi

Decent 2nd/3rd line. Also, Budaj had absolutely no bearing on this off-season, as he had only one year remaining on his contract and was brought in precisely to mentor Hellebuyck in his first year in the AHL. I would have rather we had Frolik back than Stafford, but with Burmi coming back, he's more or less at least 3/4 of a replacement level for Frolik.

 

[EpicGingy]

If the NHL does not suspend Kane for at least 1/2 the season, then it's no better than the NFL. At least Ben Roethlisberger was suspended in 2010, with no charges being pressed. Considering the NHL has traditionally come down harder for off-ice behavior that would be considered detrimental to the league, I expect a suspension.

Purely the sake of not turning this into a thread dissecting the nature of the charges against Kane I'm just going to address the final part and say that I personally don't think Kane should receive any supplementary discipline from the NHL unless he gets formally charged with a crime. I wouldn't support the average joe getting suspended without pay for being accused of a crime and I think the same courtesy should be extended to Kane.

I don't really pay attention to the NFL so I'm fully informed of the Roethisberger case but from a personal standpoint given what you have told me I don't think he should have been suspended without being charged. However if the NHL feels as though their image could be sufficently damaged, especially if any new details come out between now the start of the season that could make Kane look more guilty they could very well use that precedent to suspend Kane.

To get to the point of all this I don't think Kane should be removed from the equation until there is more concrete info or the league goes out and does that themselves. Purely from a hockey standpoint that would really help us though. While Anisimov and Dano are good editions (Blue Jackets fans were pretty high on Dano as I recall) losing Sharp and Kane on top of that would hurt. As for Oduya, I've never been really high on him and I don't believe his loss will really matter.

As an aside, I'm looking forward to a year with less teams going all out tank. Buffalo and Edmonton both have improved rosters and while it's very unlikely either of them make the playoffs the seperation from bottom to top will hopefully be smaller.

 

[Evil Little]

Another 30 in 30 linked in ICDave's Jets Headlines, from CSN Washington. Says some of the same but with a snarky tone. See the quotes below.

"Outlook: What's the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over again and expecting different results. That's what seems to be going on on Winnipeg after the team was swept in the first round of the playoffs and made no moves in the offseason to get better.

There are some teams out there bursting with young talent. Those teams don't have to do much in the offseason, they simply need to wait for their players to develop into young stars. That's not the case with the Jets."

http://www.csnwashington.com/hockey-washington-capitals/talk/season-preview-winnipeg-jets

Hilariously, in the middle of that article there's a 'related' link for another article headlined: "Caps have two of the 50 top NHL goalie prospects". But I'd argue that's not very newsworthy if three in the top 50 and two in the top four isn't exactly "bursting with young talent".

 

[YWGinYYZ]

No detailed discussion of the Kane case in here, please. Take it to the "Around the League" thread. You can discuss what Kane's potential absence from the line-up might mean, but discussion of the case itself is OT.