Connor: Jets committment to winning awesome to see

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This article was published 08/03/2024 (577 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SEATTLE — Kevin Cheveldayoff left no room for interpretation when it comes to how he feels about his hockey club.

The Jets general manager wasn’t ready to take a victory lap once the bell rang on another NHL trade deadline day, but it’s clear with his actions Cheveldayoff wasn’t about to let an opportunity like this one pass without trying to improve his roster.

“We as an organization have been all-in. We are going to continue to be all-in. It’s all about winning,” Cheveldayoff told reporters in Winnipeg. “It has been since the very first day when Mark (Chipman) sat here when the franchise first relocated. Every decision we make, it has a purpose in mind to ultimately try and win. When you have different opportunities and different things that might become available, and you feel it’s going to make your team better, you have to try and act.”

Act is precisely what Cheveldayoff did, augmenting his earlier addition of centre Sean Monahan with a winger with championship pedigree in Tyler Toffoli and a depth defenceman with ample playoff experience — including a run to the Stanley Cup final with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018 — in Colin Miller.

Those are the types of moves that get the attention of a core group that has consistently seen their general manager step up for them.

“It’s great. It sends a message that the GM believes in us. He has faith in this group,” Jets left-winger Kyle Connor said after the optional morning skate. “We have belief in ourselves, belief in each other and it started earlier in the year with the re-signing of those two guys who could have been UFA’s, in Connor (Hellebuyck) and Mark (Scheifele). It’s that commitment to winning that Winnipeg ownership and everyone here is committed to. It’s awesome to see.”

The ability to get Scheifele and Hellebuyck signed to matching seven-year contract extensions in October laid the groundwork for augmenting the roster, there’s no doubt about that.

Signing Nino Niederreiter to an extension was another step to expanding the core with someone who made an immediate impact upon his arrival prior to the 2023 NHL trade deadline.

With the Jets in a battle for top spot in the Central Division and Western Conference, Cheveldayoff took a measured approach to addressing several positions of need — and he did so without sacrificing any top prospects while limiting the damage to his draft pick capital.

Sure, the Jets surrendered a 2024 first-rounder in the deal for Monahan that got the ball rolling, but they held onto the second rounder that previously belonged to the Montreal Canadiens and figures to be somewhere in the mid-to-late 30s this June.

That’s strong assset management.

When it comes down to crunch time, Toffoli is the type of player who has shown he’s comfortable on the big stage.

“He’s got a little clutch factor in him,” said Jets centre Mark Scheifele. “He scores big goals. He knows the areas to go to score. He’s got a knack for that. He’s got an unbelievable shot, a guy that battles, a guy that goes to all of the right areas, chips the puck out, does all of the right things that you need on a winning team. To bring in a guy that’s won and had success in this league, is huge.”

Adding someone with that pedigree should prove to be important if the Jets are to get to where they want to go.

“Just a good calmness and a presence in the room,” said Connor. “I don’t know the guy, but I’m sure he has that sense of going to the playoffs, the ups and downs, because there’s so much emotion in the game. It’s such a long road. To have a guy that’s been through it and knows what it takes and knows the emotional roller coaster that it is definitely helps out for the younger guys as well.”

Connor was quick to point out that now it’s up to the players to do their part and go on an extended run.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got to go out and play. You can assemble all of these guys and it can look great, but we’ve got to go out and prove it every single day,” said Connor. “We’ve got to work on our game and from now on out, it’s only going to get tougher. Hopefully we can close out the (Central) Division, get some home ice here and at the end of the day, we have to go out and play. No matter what we have.”

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Cheveldayoff offered a similar sentiment.

“Well it’s going to take every tool in that toolbox to get us to what we want to get accomplished,” said Cheveldayoff. “You see over the course of time, teams that are fortunate enough to go long and deep into the playoffs, sometimes it’s a battle of attrition. You need those guys.

“We’ve got a good group here. Today’s a day. It’s about the games, and it’s about the hard work. And it’s going to be about the sacrifice, and about having to play the right way for us to be successful.”

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld

Ken Wiebe
Reporter

Ken Wiebe is a sports reporter for the Free Press, with an emphasis on the Winnipeg Jets. He has covered hockey and provided analysis in this market since 2000 for the Winnipeg Sun, The Athletic, Sportsnet.ca and TSN. Ken was a summer intern at the Free Press in 1999 and returned to the Free Press in a full-time capacity in September of 2023. Read more about Ken.

Every piece of reporting Ken produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.