The truth is, this edition of the Winnipeg Jets is still trying to figure out who they are and what they’re fully going to be.
The strengths on paper were obvious and have proven to be true, with quality goaltending and top-end forward talent remaining at the top of that list.
Secondary scoring has gone from question mark to strength, while improving the team defence remains a work in progress -- though it was fully on display in Saturday’s decisive 5-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Expectations from the outside world varied going into this compressed season, with some projecting the Jets would finish behind the Maple Leafs and many others pegging them to finish on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff line in the North Division.
At the midway point, the Jets have proven to be more than a bubble team.
With a record of 17-9-2, they’re tied for second place with the Edmonton Oilers with 36 points and are within four points of those first-place Maple Leafs while holding two games in hand.
But life near the top of the North can be precarious, with the Montreal Canadiens sitting just three points behind going into Wednesday’s rematch -- and the rejuvenated Calgary Flames now 3-0 under Darryl Sutter and still looming large in this playoff race.
So far, the Jets are probably the only team to avoid a full-on crisis, though they endured some wobbly moments and played more than half the season without Patrik Laine (one game before he was injured and subsequently traded) or Pierre-Luc Dubois (who is up to 12 games with his new team).
One of the ways the Jets have been able to do that is with a remarkable bounce-back ability, as they’re 7-0-1 this season following a loss. To put that in perspective, the Jets are one of only two teams remaining in the NHL that have yet to lose consecutive games in regulation time.
Nikolaj Ehlers has continued his impressive progression, using his speed and creativity to drive play, generate offence and draw penalties -- while racking up 14 goals in the process.
Kyle Connor has 14 goals of his own and would be on pace for a fourth consecutive campaign of 30-plus in an 82-game season - and still might get there with a strong finish.
Mark Scheifele is fifth in NHL scoring, while Neal Pionk is tied for sixth in the NHL among defencemen as he anchors the shutdown pairing.
There are youngsters blossoming and veterans doing their part to provide leadership, while still chipping in offensively.
Like everyone else in the North, the Jets have flaws but there have been some encouraging signs for head coach Paul Maurice and his coaching staff during the first half.
“They’re a smart group of guys. When they watch the games -- we’ve had a number of games that we’ve been down in games and came back, or we had a tough night and we were good the next night -- this group has a real good idea of what they’re seeing on the ice,” said Maurice. “They know by the time they get off the bench how they’ve played and what they need to do better. In games, down 2-1, there isn’t a panic on our bench. We know we have a bunch of guys that can score goals.
“There is a resilience to our team. I’m going to put it to, maybe, intelligence. They know what they’re seeing. I don’t really have to go in and tell them what’s missing or what we have to do next. They have a good understanding of that. At the very least, when you explain it to them, they go ‘okay that makes sense, let’s go in that direction.’
"I’ve felt that in games that we were not good, we knew it, and there haven’t been a whole lot. In periods of games we’ve struggled, they’ve been able to make an adjustment and get stronger, and we’ve come back and won a bunch of games, or won a bunch of games when we didn’t score the first goal or were trailing at a point in time. It’s not just we played harder, we played a little smarter, got a little more defined in our game, and we stayed patient throughout that game.”
The Jets are midway through a grueling month of March, which features 17 games in 31 days.
Once the calendar flips to April, one thing is already evident: it’s becoming increasingly difficult for anybody to create much separation from the pack and it’s going to be a wild sprint to the finish line.
Team Record: 17-9-2, (2nd in North Division)
Goals for: 3.21 per game (11th in NHL)
Goals against: 2.61 per game (rank in NHL)
Power play: 26.5 per cent (7th in NHL)
Penalty kill: 76.8 per cent (19th in NHL)
Best surprise: RW Mason Appleton
The signs were there and Appleton kicked down the door that opened when the Jets and Jack Roslovic couldn’t come together on a new contract going into training camp.
With an opening at right on the third line alongside Adam Lowry and Andrew Copp available, Appleton left no doubt as to who deserved the first crack at it.
Not only is Appleton flourishing in the role, establishing career-bests for goals (eight) and points (15) through 28 games, but it’s clear his days as a fourth line checker are behind him -- even though he remains a valuable member of the penalty kill.
Appleton, the 2017-18 American Hockey League rookie of the year after producing 22 goals and 66 points in 76 games, has great speed and has made a habit of using it to drive hard to the net -- where he’s shown great touch.
“You either accept that role because that’s probably where you’re going to make your living or you don’t, and he’s accepted it. Now he’s starting to excel at it,” said Maurice. “And we do think there’s some hands there and we do think there’s a certain kind of offence there.
"But it’s the kind that he’s delivering right now, driving the net, and getting in on the forecheck, making some plays close to the net.”
Honourable mention here to rookie blue-liner Logan Stanley, who took advantage of a somewhat expected opportunity early in the season and has shown an impressive progression during his third professional season.
Stanley, chosen 18th overall in 2016, has shown excellent poise and seems to be gaining confidence each time he steps onto the ice.
Previously known best for his towering stature (he’s nearly six-foot-eight), Stanley is using his size and stick effectively to defend, but has showcased improved mobility and an uncanny ability to get his shot through from the point.
“What’s unusual about Logan is, for a man of that size, he’s got really good hands for inside plays,” said Maurice. “The frequency that he gets it to the net...It’s a skill. Some guys have it, some guys don’t. He does. That skill also, he’ll make some pretty nifty plays that maybe don’t get noticed. But in traffic and through a guy, under a stick or over a stick, that talent you see at both ends of the ice.”
Biggest disappointment: D Josh Morrissey
Disappointment is probably too strong a word, but it’s been a challenging and uneven start for the Jets alternate captain, as he hasn’t been playing at the consistently high level he established earlier in his career.
It’s never a question of effort for Morrissey, who is highly committed to his craft and determined to get back to the high standard he has for himself.
Morrissey has played with four different partners in the first half and has been used on both the left and right side.
During the past five periods, Morrissey was reunited with Dylan DeMelo and while they had some issues on Monday, giving them some additional time together would probably help both players elevate their respective games.
The 13th overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft embraces the additional responsibility that has been thrown his way since the Jets overhauled their defence corps.
He’s graduated to the top power play and has one goal and 13 points in 28 games.
Although Morrissey’s frustration has occasionally been evident on the ice, he’s focusing on the positives and doing his best to work through it.
“There are a lot of things that are right there for me. There are a lot of things in my game that I’ve improved over last season,” Morrissey said recently. “A lot of them maybe aren’t as easy to quantify when watching the tape. There are always many things you can work on in your game, and that’s what I’m trying to do every day.
“I like that a lot of the things I’ve been working on have started to come to fruition. I think one of the things was I wanted to get stronger and play a little bit stronger in certain areas of the game, and I think that part’s been good for me when I’ve needed it. There’s a million things obviously we could go through and be here for a long time, but I’m happy with some of the progression in some of those things and I feel like I’m sort of on the cusp of taking a big step forward in my game.”
Biggest question for the second half: Will the Jets make a move to upgrade the defence?
Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff provided a state of the first half address on Monday and made it clear he was open for business and wouldn’t be deterred by the current climate, despite the fact there has yet to be a reduction on the 14-day quarantine for players entering from outside the country.
The Jets have a mostly unheralded group on the back end, one that could really be bolstered by the addition of a top-four defender.
Mattias Ekholm of the Nashville Predators looks like a primary target for the Jets and several other teams, including the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers - and perhaps the Maple Leafs and Canadiens as well.
David Savard of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Travis Hamonic of the Vancouver Canucks look like viable options on the right side, should the Jets prefer to pursue a pending unrestricted free agent.
Coupled with the emergence of Stanley, the Jets do have a couple of internal options getting big minutes with the Manitoba Moose in the American Hockey League with Ville Heinola and Dylan Samberg.
With the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft looming in July, that could factor into the decision as well but it won’t necessarily be a deterrent either.
“I think we’re always going to be active to the extent it makes sense,” said Cheveldayoff. “If we can find something that fits on both sides, we’re certainly looking at it. Game by game the needs change. So we’re always going to be looking to try to see if there’s a way of improvement. Sometimes the improvements are internal. Whether it’s a young player getting an opportunity to play with the Moose right now coming in and getting an opportunity to play with us and see what that does, those are things that are certainly in our minds.
“We’ve got some good young prospects that have shown, I think, that there are some things that they can add to our group. I like this group. I think that they’ve worked hard. I think they’ve shown a lot of different resilience throughout this pandemic. Certainly coming together as a team when you’re trying to stay six feet apart is a difficult challenge. But this group is a good group, they have a lot of fun playing the game, and if there’s an opportunity to make this group better I’m certainly going to take a look at it.”
