Maurice likes look of former team

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This article was published 14/10/2023 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Paul Maurice loves what the Winnipeg Jets have done with the place.

Specifically, naming Adam Lowry as new captain and signing Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck to long-term contract extensions.

“It’s very fitting for the entire culture that’s built here,” the former Jets bench boss told the Free Press on Friday afternoon.

Maurice may be gone, now in his second year at the helm of the Florida Panthers, but the connection and relationships he built around here run deep. Getting to see so many familiar faces and participate in another Jets home-opener, albeit it from the visiting bench, had him feeling nostalgic.

“This is a special place, Winnipeg is,” said Maurice, who spent parts of nine seasons here.

“It’s not like any other market in the league. It’s a small-market that lost their team. And the people that come here fall in love with the place, and the fans embrace the players. And the players embrace the fans, which is what you’re seeing here with the Adam Lowry’s, Mark and Connor. It’s a great thing for the franchise.”

Of course, Maurice and company hope to spoil Saturday’s party by grabbing their first win of the year after suffering a 2-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night. Florida would love to re-capture some of last spring’s magic where they just made the playoffs, then went to the Stanley Cup Final before ultimately falling to the Vegas Golden Knights.

“A good decision in the playoffs is still a good decision now. That’s really what our goal is, to play a game that we can replicate,” said Maurice.

“It was an incredible run, an incredible grind, so they learned in that process. We had big turnover here. We’ve got a lot of new faces in our lineup, some of it is injury-based, so getting the new guys on board to a style of game is made easier (by what was accomplished last year). “

AROUND THE GLASS

Spencer Knight rolled into Winnipeg last Dec. 6 as the starting goaltender of the Panthers. He got the early hook in an eventual 5-2 loss to the Jets — and it’s safe to say life hasn’t been the same since.

Knight, the 13th-overall pick from 2019, has only appeared in six NHL games since (two more in December, two in January, two in February). In a recent interview with the Hockey News, Knight detailed how the plane ride out of Winnipeg that night was a turning point in a secret battle he was fighting with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

A fever, chills and incessant thoughts of contracting diseases and getting sick overwhelmed him to the point he began seeking help, eventually putting his professional pursuits on hold to enter NHL/NHL Players’ Association player assistance program.

Although he missed his club’s run to the Stanley Cup Final, Knight, 22, is in a much better place now as he tries to get his career back on track. He’s been loaned to the Panthers’ AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, to build up his game and his confidence with the idea of eventually returning to Florida to team with current No. 1, Sergei Bobrovsky.

“He’s made great progress in his program. He feels good. He looked fantastic in training camp. But we need to put him in kind of a No. 1 position, a No. 1 role and then run his program and work on what he’s working on,” Maurice recently told reporters.

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Stick taps the Golden Knights organization for the way they handled the Stanley Cup banner raising on Tuesday night. The slot machine idea was fantastic and the entire production showed ingenuity.

While it’s important to remember that it’s early, any thought of a lingering hangover after the first championship in franchise history have been put on the back burner with a 2-0 start after decisive victories over the Seattle Kraken and San Jose Sharks. Winnipegger Mark Stone chipped in a pair of assists in the season opener, while Oakbank product Brett Howden received a two-game suspension for a check to the head of Kraken winger (and former Jets forward) Brandon Tanev.

Vegas visits Winnipeg next Thursday and it will be interesting to see if Jets goalie Laurent Brossoit gets his first start of the season against his former team – or if he’s between the pipes on Tuesday when the Jets host P-L Dubois and the Los Angeles Kings.

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They grow up so fast, don’t they?

Our good friends over at CapFriendly crunched the numbers earlier this week based on the opening-night rosters submitted by all 32 NHL clubs.

Turns out the Jets are not a young team. But they’re not an old one, either.

With an average age of 27.8, Winnipeg is tied with the Boston Bruins for 15th-overall in terms of average birthday candles on the cake.

The baby-faced Buffalo Sabres are the youngest guns at 25.5 (followed closely by the Montreal Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets), while the grizzled Pittsburgh Penguins are telling everyone to turn down the music and get off their lawn at 30.8 (the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders are right behind them).

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Massive news in the Central Division on Friday as the Colorado Avalanche inked defenceman Devon Toews to a seven-year extension that includes an AAV of US $7.25 million.

Toews, 29, plays on the top pairing with Cale Makar and is the latest core piece to sign on the dotted line for the long term, joining Nathan MacKinnon, Valeri Nichushkin, Artturi Lehkonen and captain Gabe Landeskog, who is expected to miss a second consecutive season with a knee injury.

Toews was scheduled to become a UFA on July 1, but this takes away any uncertainty about his future. Top-line winger Mikko Rantanen is going to need a new deal before his contract expires at the end of the 2024-25 season, but this latest move leaves the Avalanche well positioned to be a force in the Western Conference for years to come.

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The Connor Bedard era is off to a promising start.

The first-overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft notched his first NHL point with an assist in his victorious debut against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins, then recorded his first NHL goal in his second game in a loss against the Boston Bruins.

The sample size is small, but Bedard is averaging 21:37 of ice time per game and has already registered 11 shots on goal and 18 shot attempts. Bedard’s shot is one of his biggest weapons and he’s clearly found a way to use it in the early going.

The hype machine has been in full effect this week (just look at the size of the scrum surrounding Bedard followiwng the morning skate) and for good reason: the former Regina Pats star is incredibly talented and is handling the spotlight with incredible maturity. The projections of Bedard potentially being the next generational player brings with it some additional pressure, but he’s clearly a guy who is going to be fun to watch in the Central Division.

Bedard’s first NHL visit to Winnipeg will come on Dec. 2.

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It’s been a big week for former Winnipeg Ice forward Zach Benson, who not only made the Buffalo Sabres opening-day roster but also made his NHL debut on Thursday against the New York Rangers.

The 13th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft took 17 shifts for 14:27 of ice time in his first game with the Sabres, finishing with two shots on goal. There were plenty of scouts who thought Benson could have been chosen in the Top-10 and after an excellent training camp, it’s now up to the skilled winger to show whether or not he’s ready to stick with the Sabres beyond nine games, which would trigger the first year of his entry-level contract.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

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ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: WiebesWorld