Let’s get this party started

Opinion

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This article was published 04/10/2014 (4001 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Like a sweaty, middle-aged guy doing a clumsy shimmy under a dance floor’s klieg lights, the pre-season lost its lustre long before it ended.

It finally died a quiet and dignified death in Winnipeg Saturday night with the Jets and Calgary Flames doing their best to get timing and systems down while praying to avoid injury.

To say the pre-season sucks is a massive understatement. Sure, it’s nice to get a glimpse into the future by watching talented prospects, but it quickly rubs off.

So, enough already. It’s over. Bring on the three-point games and the angst-filled to-and-fro of a community desperate to see its team improve.

Here’s a few things to watch for as the regular season begins.

Big things from Blake

The Jets best player is Blake Wheeler and he got his game in gear Saturday night. For stretches it was a man against boys. Wheeler’s game now has a little of everything. He can use his speed, he can pass with elite vision and he’s become comfortable using his size to go to the net.

Can he be an 80-point man?

The Maurice effect

Paul Maurice had the Jets going pretty well toward the end of last season, until Mark Scheifele went down with a knee injury. Maurice has said it’s all about goals against. Can he find a way to get a young team with a thin blue line and sometimes shaky goaltending to keep the puck out of the net?

Bounce-back boys

A number of players need to rebound from sub-par seasons, and the two biggest names on this list are Ondrej Pavelec and Zach Bogosian.

Pavelec has a renewed focus and commitment. There’s been a few tweaks to his game and it looks like the coaching staff is trying to have him focus on being big, square and soft. Big to cover a lot of the net. Square to the shooter. Soft when pucks hit him, so they die at his feet.

All in all, so far so good.

Bogosian was given a seven-year deal worth $36 million and the Jets need him to be a pillar on the blue-line.

They need to see progression in his game. He’s playing a little above his level in the top pairing and is more suited to a second-pairing role, but until Jacob Trouba is ready to make another jump, Bogosian has to be steady.

Citizen Kane

That’s exactly what Evander Kane has been since getting to camp, a solid citizen. The news he’s going to start the season on a line with Scheifele and Wheeler seems to have given Kane a new lease on life in Winnipeg.

It’s pretty simple where Kane is concerned — when he’s scoring goals he’s happy. Maurice has put him on the club’s top line with the team’s major offensive force in Wheeler and a budding No. 1 centre in Scheifele. Maurice has put the self-described “The Natural” in a position to succeed and has removed any potential excuses. Now it’s up to Kane.

A fit for Buff

Dustin Byfuglien may be Winnipeg’s most talented player, but heading into the season where he fits remains a question mark. Can he keep pace for an entire season with Bryan Little and Andrew Ladd and log the heavy minutes?

Or is he more suited for a less taxing third-line role? That seems like a waste of his abilities and not much of a return on his salary.

Finally, with the depth this team appears to have at forward right now and the lack of depth in the rearguard corps, maybe Maurice will relent and return Buff to his favoured position on the blue-line.

Drive safe this winter and have a great season at the rink.

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca