Younger, but further from playoffs

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/02/2016 (3498 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

We interrupt the slaps on the back and high fives for all the work the Winnipeg Jets have done in the last few weeks — namely shipping out captain Andrew Ladd and signing Dustin Byfuglien to a spiffy new deal — with a size-large reality check.

Yes, the Jets are younger today. Yes, the consensus is GM Kevin Cheveldayoff did well for the haul he landed in the Ladd deal Thursday night and for getting Byfuglien back on board — the top items on his to-do list. But a quick glance at the standings — look down, look waaaay down — and the won-lost numbers suggest the Jets still have a ton to do, again, before they are to be considered a playoff squad.

Some of that work may still come in advance of Monday’s NHL trade deadline (2 p.m.), although much of the roster change has already occurred throughout the season and dating back to last summer. It’s here we should rewind a bit before proceeding with a look ahead…

It was less than a year ago — a couple of days after the Jets had been swept out of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs by the Anaheim Ducks — when Cheveldayoff made one of his rare visits with the local media. Amidst the obvious disappointment following the sweep there was an overwhelming sense of hope; that a sturdy foundation had been built and a real contender was being pieced together.

Said Cheveldayoff April 24:

“Talking to the group as a whole and individually (during exit meetings), the guys enjoy what we have going on here. They enjoy the dressing room. They enjoy playing for Paul (Maurice). They enjoy the fact that we have a capacity to get better. We’re not a team that is in its cycle that’s on the down. We’re a team that’s in its cycle that’s on its way up.”

And yet the Jets are 26-30-4 today, dead last in the Central Division. As well, to match last year’s franchise record of 99 points, the Jets would have to go 21-0-1 in their final 22 games. They were 12 points out of a playoff spot heading into Friday’s action and closer to landing a coveted Top 3 pick in the draft lottery.

So there’s no other way to frame all this other than a massive step backwards.

Now the Ladd and Byfuglien issues have been resolved, the Jets are no longer under the NHL spotlight as the trade deadline nears. The roster has already undergone a massive makeover since last spring — gone from the lineup of the Game 4 loss to the Ducks are Ladd, Jim Slater, Lee Stempniak, Michael Frolik and Jiri Tlusty. Their replacements — Joel Armia (22), Andrew Copp (21), Nikolaj Ehlers (20), Alex Burmistrov (24) and now Marko Dano (21) — are all considerably younger.

Will Cheveldayoff & Co. still be busy before Monday? Good question. So here are a few Jets-related items to debate among yourselves over the weekend…

1. YOUNGER AND CHEAPER… STILL?

Let’s analyze where the Jets are with their draft-and-develop philosophy — the heart of their blueprint: the team’s young core of Mark Scheifele, Jacob Trouba, Nikolaj Ehlers, etc. gives the organization a potentially bright future, even if many fans were hoping they’d be enjoying some of that now, in Year 5 since relocation.

But the draft and develop model has been all over the map this season. Nic Petan opened the year with the big club, but is now with the Manitoba Moose. Armia started the season with the Moose, but has benefitted from big-league minutes. Copp, it could be argued, should have been ripening in the AHL. It says here the two best netminders in the organization, Connor Hellebuyck and Eric Comrie, are also with the Moose.

So if the plan is to continue growing that young core and surround them with “good pros” such as Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little and Mark Stuart, then the Jets might be done in advance of the deadline. But if Cheveldayoff wants to dynamite this thing further, he does have some veteran pieces that could be in play before Monday.

Is Toby Enstrom, now 31, worth the $5.75 million he’ll earn over the next two years, or would a contender take on those dollars? Ditto for Stuart, who is the veteran depth piece teams might consider. And with the likes of Brendan Lemieux, JC Lipon, Chase DeLeo or Kyle Connor all expected to make some noise at next fall’s training camp, where does that leave some of the placeholders on the team’s bottom six? Our answer: very vulnerable before Monday and before next September.

2. WANTED…

What would the Jets be seeking in the last couple of days before the deadline? We’re tempted to begin with the need for a consistent veteran scoring winger who is durable and brings leadership… but they just shipped that piece to Chicago. At an organizational level, the Jets do need left-handed shooting defencemen — among their prospects only Josh Morrissey, Sami Niku and Julian Melchiori (who is 24 and likely a career AHLer) shoot from that side.

There is goaltending depth in Hellebuyck, Comrie and Jamie Phillips, who is having another solid season at Michigan Tech; lots of skilled forwards in the NCAA and CHL and intriguing D-men prospects Morrissey and Jan Kostalek (Moose), Tucker Poolman (North Dakota), Niku (playing in Finland) and Nelson Nogier (Red Deer).

The Jets moved Matt Fraser and Jay Harrison in the Ladd deal, might they be tempted to ship out a prospect for a more pro-ready piece?

3. PROTECTING THE ‘TANK’

Let’s agree the Jets earned kudos for their work in Thursday’s win over Dallas, especially with the Ladd deal becoming official not long before puck drop.

But, big picture, the Jets are better off staying near the bottom of the overall standings than inching up into the pack closer to the wild-card spot without the playoff payoff.

Heading into Friday’s action, they had just a 1.5 per cent chance to making the playoffs, but an 8.5 per cent shot at the first overall pick — hello, Auston Matthews — and a 26.5 per cent chance to select in the Top 3, which would allow them to grab either Jesse Puljujarvi or Patrik Laine, the two fabulous Finns.

Not only did the Jets trade Ladd and lose Bryan Little for the season Thursday with a neck injury, they also have their future No. 1 netminder — Hellebuyck — lighting it up with the Moose and not with the big club. Michael Hutchinson has a .918 save percentage in his last five appearances and will start today in Pittsburgh, but Ondrej Pavelec is 0-2-1 in his last three. All of this is to say that while it might be painful to watch the team spin its wheels in the final 22 games, letting this thing play out with a status quo lineup to land one of those top three selections only helps the franchise gain traction.

4. FINALLY, WOULD YOU…

Travis Hamonic’s name has been linked to the Jets since last fall when the New York Islanders defenceman and St. Malo, Man., product went public with his request to be traded to a team closer to home. His agent said this week it’s unlikely he would get moved prior to the deadline.

Slide into your armchair GM chair and, once again, discuss the upside/downside of giving up Trouba or Tyler Myers for Hamonic. Trouba becomes a restricted free agent this summer and could command huge dollars if he doesn’t agree to a bridge deal. Myers, meanwhile, has a cap-friendly contract that could be tasty for Isles’ GM Garth Snow.

Also, just spit-balling here, but would anyone out there consider moving the Jets’ first first-rounder — they have a late first-rounder after the Ladd deal — for holdout Tampa Lightning forward Jonathan Drouin, a prolific scorer and one-time teammate of Ehlers with the Halifax Mooseheads?

My take: no bleepin’ way, because the chance to land Matthews, Laine or Puljujarvi is just too tempting. And Drouin’s decision to skidaddle home rather than play in the AHL means he has more red flags than a Moscow May Day parade.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait