Race to the bottom promises prime pick in talent-rich draft for Jets

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This article was published 21/03/2016 (3489 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Go ahead and fix your eyes on those NHL races that will make the sprint to the top of the Central, Pacific and Atlantic Divisions so riveting.

Aside from the Washington Capitals — who have a juicy lead atop the Metropolitan Division — those fights should all be photo-finishes. Just as mesmerizing, as always, will be the jockeying for those coveted wild-card spots in both the Eastern and Western Conferences.

All of this is why the last few weeks leading up to the post-season can be as dramatic as the Stanley Cup playoffs themselves.

In Winnipeg we’ve been fixated on a different race, if that’s even the right term. It’s the Turtle Derby at the back of the pack, that free fall for the bottom and the April 30 Draft Lottery that includes three potential franchise-changing prizes in Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujarvi.

In fact, it’s a derby that has captured the attention of six of the seven Canadian franchises, with only the Ottawa Senators still in the playoff race.

The Jets and Vancouver Canucks, who meet tonight at the MTS Centre, are just a combined 6-12-2 in their last 20 games. The Canucks have dropped four straight, the Jets are 0-2-1 in their last three.

It’s made for some particularly gruesome growing pains here and in Vancouver, as the two organizations — both playoff teams last year — have started a roster makeover that has seen an injection of youth.

After Monday’s practice, Jets coach Paul Maurice was asked what he has learned about his group this year. Instead, he said he’s discovered more about individual players than a certain team characteristic. That’s an answer he’s given before, but speaks of the ongoing evaluation of the young lineup the Jets have iced, both in the present and as it pertains to what this club could look like next fall and what roles players may be asked to play.

“We’ve had quite a bit of change from July to this year at this point,” he said. “We’ve had younger players come in that I didn’t really know anything about, how they fit, where you project them, how they fit with the older players.

“I had a lot of unknowns coming into the year about how these guys would develop over the course of time. And then a (Joel) Armia comes in as a new player… and now we have a bunch of young players. I’ve learned more about the individuals than I did at the start and how they are going to fit.

“We’re not learning as fast as we’d like to right now because of the people that are out of the lineup,” added Maurice. “But we have a far better idea of some of these young players and what they should be able to do and what roles we should be able to put them in and what our expectations are for next year.”

Of course, both Maurice and Willie Desjardins — his counterpart with the Canucks — would kill to add a Matthews, Laine or Puljujarvi into their forward lines as key components in a rebuild.

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The revolving door at the Winnipeg Jets infirmary continues to spin furiously.

Maurice confirmed after Monday’s optional skate forward Mathieu Perreault has a concussion and is out indefinitely. Meanwhile, Nikolaj Ehlers and Armia could get the thumbs-up by Thursday’s home game against the Los Angeles Kings.

There were just 13 skaters and goaltenders Ondrej Pavelec and Michael Hutchinson on the ice Monday as the Jets prepare for tonight’s home date versus the Canucks. That crew included defenceman Mark Stuart, who is still wearing a non-contact jersey.

Marko Dano, who missed Sunday’s game with the flu and was replaced by Chase De Leo, was also back on the ice Monday.

What stands between NHL’s worst and top draft picks

 

WINNIPEG JETS

Currently: 29th overall

Record: 29-37-6

Games remaining: 10; Home: 5: Road: 5

Remaining opponents’ combined record: 369-264-48

NHL lottery odds for first-overall pick: 11.5%

 

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

Currently: 30th overall

Record: 25-35-11

Games remaining: 11; Home: 6; Road: 5

Remaining opponents’ combined record: 394-304-84

NHL lottery odds for first-overall pick: 20%

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

Currently: 27th overall

Record: 29-35-8

Games remaining: 10; Home: 4; Road: 6

Remaining opponents’ combined record: 357-264-87

NHL lottery odds for first-overall pick: 9.5%

 

BUFFALO SABRES

Currently: 25th overall

Record: 29-34-10

Games remaining: 9; Home: 3; Road: 6

Remaining opponents’ combined record: 303-261-82

NHL lottery odds for first-overall pick: 6.5%

EDMONTON OILERS

Currently: 28th overall

Record: 29-39-7

Games remaining: 7; Home: 3; Road: 4

Remaining opponents’ combined record: 241-202-42

NHL lottery odds for first-overall pick: 13.5%

 

VANCOUVER CANUCKS

Currently: 26th overall

Record: 27-32-12

Games remaining: 11; Home: 4; Road: 7

Remaining opponents’ combined record: 404-313-67

NHL lottery odds for first-overall pick: 9.5%

 

CALGARY FLAMES

Currently: 24th overall

Record: 31-35-6

Games remaining: 10; Home: 3; Road: 7

Remaining opponents’ combined record: 350-286-70

NHL lottery odds for the first-overall pick: 7.5%

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait