Stanley's miscues in latest Jets loss begs questions about Heinola's usage

Ville Heinola and Logan Stanley have become intertwined. 

The two are frequently compared. 

While the Winnipeg Jets drafted both players in the first round, their development paths have stood in stark juxtaposition.

Stanley — a hulking six-foot-seven defenceman — has been given ample opportunity since becoming an NHL regular four years ago.

Heinola — a six-foot puck-moving defenceman — was over-ripened in the minors for years despite turning heads when he suited up for eight NHL games as an 18-year-old.

There’s a narrative, fair or not, that the Jets’ loyalty to Stanley is rooted in an organization stubbornly holding out hope that they weren’t wrong in reaching to draft him. Many believe Heinola’s development has been hindered as a result. 

So, when news trickled out ahead of Winnipeg’s 3-1 loss to the Dallas Stars that Heinola would be a scratch for a second straight game, all eyes turned to Stanley. 

And the towering defender had a game to forget on Sunday, taking three ill-advised penalties. 

At the 12:27 mark of the first period, he slashed Evgeni Dadonov.

With 1:10 left in the first frame, he cross-checked Roope Hintz from behind in the neutral zone. 

And then, at the 6:58 mark of the second period, Stanley took a hooking penalty, on the penalty kill, when he was caught out of position defending Jason Robertson off the rush. It gave the Stars an extended 5-on-3 power play. 

What we saw from Stanley against Dallas was not a one-off. He’s taken the most minor penalties per 60 minutes (2.18) of any defencemen that’s played at least 150 minutes this season, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.

When speaking to reporters post-game, Jets coach Scott Arniel didn’t shy away from the fact that Stanley had to be more disciplined. However, he also provided a vote of confidence in the 26-year-old blue-liner. 

“He needs to be in our Top-6,” Arniel said. “He’s a big-bodied guy, he’s got size, he’s got experience in this league. He expects more from himself, but at the same time, he’s no good (to the Jets) sitting in the press box and trying to get better. He’s got to be in these types of games. Hopefully, he’ll continue to grow.”

You can bet a lot of Jets fans flipped their keyboards reading that. 

The reality is, the Jets giving Stanley such a long leash boils down to what most coaches believe is a necessity for an effective backend — size. And while there’s merit to that ideology, leaving Heinola on the outside looking in — especially while Dylan Samberg remains on the shelf — is problematic. 

Over the last decade, the average height of the top three defencemen on a Stanley Cup-winning team is six feet and 2.13 inches. To anybody who watches the playoffs, that shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Jets' top three defencemen — Josh Morrissey, Dylan DeMelo and Neal Pionk — are currently the second smallest in the league (six feet and 0.27 inches). It makes sense that the Jets, ideally, would like to have some meat on their bottom pairing. But that shouldn’t mean Heinola should be a press box regular right now. Even if there’s not a world in which Heinola plays meaningful minutes for this team come playoff time — that should encourage, not dissuade, Winnipeg to give him more runway in the short term. They need to boost his trade value. 

For years, Heinola was a coveted prospect that teams inquired about. Now? It’s hard to envision any team giving up much for him. Not if he can’t put together more reps at the NHL level. 

Small sample sizes be damned, what we’ve seen from Heinola this year — when he suited up against the Minnesota Wild and Los Angeles Kings — speaks volumes to his ability to help the Jets win games, and it’s a testament to his overall growth as a prospect. He was sturdy defensively — out-muscling players much bigger than him in front of the net — all the while demonstrating poise with the puck. 

Now, mind you, Arniel has made it known that he’s a fan of Heinola’s game. And perhaps we’re reading too much into his recent vote of confidence in Stanley. But after years and years of Heinola getting a limited opportunity and on the heels of a healthy scratch despite a positive effort in the previous game, it’s fair to question if we’ll actually see the 23-year-old Fin get an extended trial run. 

It’d be a shame if the Jets didn’t let him run with it, especially after Stanley’s last performance.