What a great year. But with the end, comes sifting through the wreckage of an "early exit" and what is required to get over the next hump, next year.
1) Capable backup goaltender: IMO, I believe Helle started to show cracks in his game simply due to fatigue. This was an odd year in terms of the influx of injuries to our backups that saw us have to play Helle an additional 5-10 games more than what he likely should have.
Comrie is not ready, nor will he likely be ready ever... His stock seemed to drop significantly. Mason's injury woes seemed to rear it's head and Hutchinson dumped gasoline on the bridge and burned that sucker down. Phillips and Berdin are obviously not going to be big-league contributers.
Could we look at Mason's injury problem as an outlier or a trend that will continue? That's a big thing that needs to be addressed. Not sure if they pull a Pavelec and send him down to the minors if required... but that will be an interesting scenario to monitor.
2) LHD: You could see often that teams were targeting our LHD when doing zone entries.
Morrissey is fantastic, but it was a pretty large drop off after him.
Enstrom started showing his age in the playoffs simply not getting his game to where it was before injury...His injuries are a big problem and would find it hard to see him come back next season. I expect him to retire. If he does return, I would expect a 1 year extension with a 1M cap hit.
Chiarot, though playing his best hockey he ever had leading up to playoffs, is still Ben Chiarot and is nothing more than a somewhat-reliable 7th/8th.
Kulikov I thought stabilized the bottom pairing with Myers, but has a higher cap hit and could prove problematic in the next couple years. Also, his long term health could be questionable since his back injury seemed to pop up again. Some concerns for sure.
Niku after a big off season in the gym should get a crack at being a full time NHLer paired with Buff. He's proven everything he's needed to at the AHL and looked pretty good this year.
Morrow I thought equipped himself quite well. Now, most players play well when paired with Buff.... but seems like they played well together. Speaking he has RFA status, he could be cheap and a valuable guy if Niku doesn't make the transition as anticipated.
3) Centre Depth:
I may grab some heat, but I'm not confident in running a tandem of Scheifele/Little as a top 2. Now, some may say that it was an off year and that Little will rebound. However, there was statistical analysis prior to Little signing his extension that his play was showing regression. We saw that this year. He essentially ghosted in the playoffs and putting Little between Ehlers and Laine again next year will likely see the same results.
I'm not running out and saying that Jets should resign Stats because we should be leary regarding aging vets that aren't fleet of foot...but something needs to be done to address a 2C to play between Laine and Ehlers. Internal options outside of Scheifele don't seem to be adequate. One could look at Roslovic, but that line would be a disaster defensively and I don't see it there yet.
Appleton and Petan also likely aren't options. Interesting to see what happens with this. Cap complications may make this tough to manage.
4) The three headed monster of Buff, Trouba and Myers. In my opinion, you cannot have all three from a Cap perspective. I believe Poolman showed enough that given the reigns, he could be an adequate bottom pairing D.
Buff with reduced minutes played the best of his career, and hoping we can see the same thing next season.
Myers scares the "Bleep" out of me a lot of times with his play, but he came through with some pretty clutch goals in the playoffs. I think this could be a "Sell High" moment for the team. Could be used towards a 2C, perhaps?
It'll be interesting to see if the Trouba extension actually happens. I could see a scenario that "We wanted to stay, but couldn't make the money work" in the Trouba discussions. It could be a gamesmanship move that they leaked that "he wants to stay" so it could take the villainy out of the Trouba camp if deep down, they still want to move. Keeping my eye on this one.
Love to know thoughts/responses to this.
I've highlighted the issues I have with your thoughts
1) Goaltending
-Bucky's the real deal. No goaltender played more than him this year. Led the NHL with 67 regular season starts. Led the NHL in regular season TOI. Led the NHL in playoffs games. After tonight Holtby will take the lead, but regular seasons and playoffs combined Connor led the pack
-Hutch has burned his bridges, although major media never picked up the story. All the noise comes from his interview in the Athletic. If it wasn't for waivers he'd have returned to the Moose. The Jets may still have plans for him. Whether or not he accepts them is another story entirely. I've had the opportunity to interact with him. He believes he's a starting goalie & every chance he's been give he's proven capable. He's self admittedly a horrible backup. If he's not playing a heavy workload his performance falls apart. With Bucky the #1, Hutch needs to find work elsewhere or learn how to deal with a light workload.
-Comrie isn't a large man. His style is all about agility. Next years Moose won't be as good as this years version. He's gonna get a heavy workload next year
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Berdin. I disagree 100% with your assessment, so much so I don't think you gave this statement much thought. What about a career .928+ goalie don't you like? He's extremely young and still playing junior hockey. As of today an argument could be made he's our best prospect in net.
2) LHD
-Morrissey may be a future Norris contender. Outstanding
-Chiarot beginning to progress. He's a solid press box player & could prove to be a dependable 3rd pairing defender. Certainly not there yet, but I certainly think he showed marked improvement this season.
-Enstrom. I defended him a lot. More so than I should have. He'd still be a fine 3rd pairing defensemen, but chances are he returns to play pro hockey in Europe, particular with the emergence of Niku
-Niku. Outstanding AHL season offensively. Do we rush him into the NHL or allow his defensive game to progress with the Moose
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Kulikov. I've no worries about him. Spends summers working out in Florida with Stamkos & Scheifele. He's gonna be fine.
I'd agree that it's been apparent that the opposition picks on the Jets left side. Nothing new though, This has been going on since Hainsey & Oduya left.Became more apparent once the injuries began to pile up.
3) RHD
-Buff, best season in years. Far too much ice time however. Men his size shouldn't be playing 30 minutes in the playoffs. His gaffes have always been due to him trying too hard. His season improved the moment he concentrated on playing his position.
-Myers. Played the full season & all the playoffs. He's back and one game away from winning my bet with
@Bastage 82+5+7+5=99. Your bet jinxed the Jets!! One more game for 100!!
-Trouba. Despite the occasional gaffe, he's been a dominant defender. Would like his offensive game to jump 10-15 points considering the cash we're about to pay him.
-Poolman. Would be the 3rd pairing defensemen on many teams. Should have played the season in the AHL. One of the only management mistakes I feel I have to vocalize. Sitting as much as he did, did him no good.
Jets moving a RD is a topic done to death. I'm of the position one right defensemen is dealt. Buff's full no movement now gone, Myers value is back to where it was, Trouba proved his worth. Buff 7.5+ Myers 5.5+ Trouba 6+ is 20 million on 3 players. Upcoming season is the last season the Jets can afford this luxury. We should have won the cup with these three.
4) Centre
-Scheifele for MVP? What a playoff run!
-I've no issues with Little at 2C. I think he was banged up. Little had to be forced to admit he was "kinda injured", so perhaps he has a rebound season.
-Lowry...love him!
-Roslovic. If being groomed as a centre, he should have been playing there on the Moose. My only other management complaint. Perhaps this usage hints at him playing RW & thus a free agent centre is coming. See below...
-Stastny. Looks like he belongs. Anyone else think it telling he was included with Scheifele & Wheeler in the exit interviews? Sign him & give him an A
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Petan. Great season in the AHL. Not sure what else is expected out of him. He'll be waiver eligible. He'll be traded otherwise makes the team and creates cap space.
I expect at least one more trade. Our roster looks to be 25 men strong. Two have to go. Most will say Dano & Petan.
You didn't get into wingers, but ours are the best in hockey.
Next season is our year. Go Jets go!