Jets up against the clock

Time has often been on the side of the Winnipeg Jets, with Cole Perfetti’s famous “Manitoba Miracle” buzzer-beater serving as Exhibit A.

But that won’t necessarily be the case this coming season, when the clock threatens to become a stubborn and, at times, confusing opponent.

Premier Wab Kinew’s decision to adopt permanent daylight time will have a significant impact on the hockey club, both as hosts and visitors, head coach Scott Arniel told the Free Press on Sunday.

Athletes are creatures of habit, and their regular routines are going to be challenged during the period from Nov. 1 to March 14, which covers the majority of the 84-game campaign.

“It kind of throws things off for us in the NHL,” said Arniel.

“In the Central Division, all of the teams that we play will now have a one hour difference. When we used to travel home from the east, we would gain an hour. Now we’re essentially on eastern time, so we’re not gaining anything. Going out west, we’ll be on eastern time. I think we’re now on about the 12th draft of our (travel) schedule.”

The Jets were “tipped off” ahead of time that the decision was likely coming, said Arniel. But the provincial government didn’t ask for their input on whether to fall back as usual or stand pat.

“It’s going to mess up guys’ biological clocks a bit, unfortunately,” said a team source.

How is this specifically impacting the group?

First off, the start times of 12 games at Canada Life Centre had to be pushed back an hour last week as a result of the announcement. The majority are nationally televised affairs, either on Saturday or Monday Night Hockey on Sportsnet or Wednesday night games on Prime, requiring the Jets to adjust to the league’s broadcast windows.

That means plenty of 6 and 6:30 p.m. affairs in Winnipeg will now happen at 7 and 7:30 p.m. There were also a couple of weekend matinees switched for similar reasons.

On the positive side, the Jets now won’t lose an hour when they head out on road trips starting in the eastern time zone, and they will gain an hour when they head out on road trips within the central time zone.

A prime example comes on Boxing Day, when the team is forced to fly the morning of the game because of league holiday rules. They’ll leave Winnipeg at 8 a.m. and touch down in Minneapolis-St. Paul at 8:20 a.m., instead of the usual 9:20 a.m.

That allows them to have a full morning skate, check into a hotel for the afternoon to get in a pre-game nap and then be ready for puck drop at 6 p.m. local time, which will now be 7 p.m. back home.

“It’s tough, but it’ll be for everybody in the league. It really is. It changes a lot.”

On the flip side, coming home that night after the game, with the Jets hosting San Jose on Dec. 28, means arriving an hour later than usual, around 12:30 a.m. instead of 11:30 p.m.

On the subject of return flights, how about Dec. 15? The Jets also wrap up a road trip in St. Louis on Dec. 15 with a game at 7 p.m. central time. Rather than land at approximately 1:15 a.m. in Winnipeg, they’ll now touch down at 2:15 a.m.

And here’s why that could really matter.

Let’s say Arniel wanted to give his group a day off on Dec. 16 to recover. Under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, it would no longer count since any team activity beyond 2 a.m. carries over. Players are guaranteed one day off per week, so the Jets would have to find another date in that scenario.

There are a handful of other similar examples to be found. Even returning from the eastern time zone means no longer gaining the hour the Jets are accustomed to.

There have been times in the past when the Jets have debated whether to fly home at the end of a road trip that ends in either the mountain or Pacific time zones. There will be zero doubt now. They’re staying put, since a one-hour loss coming back from mountain time or a two-hour loss from Pacific time will now become two hours or three hours, respectively.

“It’s really just now about kind of finding out when we’re staying, when we’re going. Trying to do the best we can that way,” said Arniel.

“It’s tough, but it’ll be for everybody in the league. It really is. It changes a lot.”

Indeed, the Jets aren’t the only ones having to deal with a rather unique time zone around here. Every opponent coming into Winnipeg will, too.

For example, the Chicago Blackhawks are set to play in Winnipeg on Dec. 10. They are coming from Pittsburgh, and the original plan was to fly immediately after their game on Dec. 8. Normally, that wouldn’t be an issue, since they’d gain the hour coming west.

Now, they will not, and that may force them to stay in Pittsburgh instead and fly here Dec. 9.

Not only might that mean scrapping either a scheduled practice or day off in Winnipeg in order to travel, the Blackhawks may now be on the hook for hotels in both Winnipeg, which would have been booked months ago, and Pittsburgh, which may now have to be booked.

You can go up and down the schedule and find other cases where teams will potentially have to change course, which could also prove to be a costly decision.

Chris Kreviazuk, the director of team operations for Winnipeg, has been burning up the phone lines in recent days, speaking to his colleagues around the league as they try to help each other as best they can.

“This is something every team talks about. Whether you have somebody on your staff that’s a sleepologist — I’m making up a word — but we all do. We talk to our staff, our medical staff about that, and talk to the players, too,” said Arniel.

“There are certain times you will want to come home, like maybe if you have a couple days (between games) and you can have a rest day. I know we take a lot of input from our players.”

“This is something every team talks about… We talk to our staff, our medical staff about that, and talk to the players, too.”

The players are likely to hear from family and friends about it, too. Jets defenceman Dylan Samberg, a native of Minnesota, said his loved ones back home are probably going to need some adjustment to their viewing habits since there will now be a one-hour time difference with Manitoba.

Who’s likely to have the toughest time?

“Probably my dad,” he said with a laugh.

Morgan Barron’s family will likely love the changes, considering the majority live in Nova Scotia. Now, a Jets game that normally started at 7 p.m. Central time, or 9 p.m. in Halifax, will begin at a more reasonable 8 p.m.

One thing everyone can agree on is that this year’s NHL schedule is not nearly the grind of last year’s, despite increasing from 82 to 84 games. That’s because the pre-season was drastically shortened, from three weeks to two and from six games to four, with an earlier-than-usual Sept. 29 start to the regular season.

Throw in the fact that there’s no three-week Olympic break this year, and the schedule is much more spread out than usual.

“We’re going to have a lot more opportunity to (practise),” said Arniel. “Last year, there were a lot of games where teams were tired. Playing three in four, four in six, things like that. It was a grind.”

The hope is that this leads to better overall health, something the Jets wrestled with last year.

On the subject of time, the Jets will have some on their hands this coming weekend. After hosting pre-season games Monday and Tuesday night at Canada Life Centre, the team will finish up Friday night in Denver, a full week before the regular season begins Oct. 2 by hosting Boston.

As a result, the Jets are going to spend Saturday, Sunday and Monday in Colorado Springs doing some team building and team bonding.

“I think it’s going to be huge,” said Samberg.

“It’s a good chance to get to know the guys, be in a different environment. Especially in training camp with these two different groups, there’s guys I feel like I haven’t seen. I’m really looking forward to it. I haven’t seen the itinerary so don’t know quite what’s happening, but we’ll just go down there and have a good time and get ready for the year.”

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