Enstrom out, lineup in flux again

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/11/2016 (3271 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NASHVILLE — The Winnipeg Jets have shuffled and reshuffled their lineup in 2016-17.

On Wednesday, the Jets learned they will have to do it again after news broke veteran defenceman Toby Enstrom had returned to his native Sweden to attend to an unspecified “family situation.”

Head coach Paul Maurice said Enstrom went home “with the full and complete support of the Winnipeg Jets organization. And we’re hopeful that he comes back and it’s a positive result and we’ll get him back real soon. But I don’t know when he’s going to be able to return.”

With Enstrom away, the Jets had three fresh defence pairings at Wednesday’s practice. Rookie blue-liner Josh Morrissey, who has played most of the time with Dustin Byfuglien, was teamed with Jacob Trouba while Ben Chiarot went into Morrissey’s old spot.

A third pairing will consist of Mark Stuart and Paul Postma and the Jets will make a decision about recalling another defenceman from the AHL’s Manitoba Moose when they have a better understanding of Enstrom’s status.

Maurice said he likes the mix of experience and youth.

“We really like what Josh has done here and we know that Dustin and Ben Chiarot have a lot of history there together,” said Maurice. “We like the way Jake played (and) we think that’ll be a good match. Josh has proven himself beyond needing to play with a veteran player to play well. And he can stand on his own game.”

Playing a 21-year-old and a 22-year-old together isn’t an issue for Morrissey.

“Whenever you’re playing with a new partner it’s communication, talking and reading off the other guy,” said Morrissey. “Both guys talk in different situations. That’s what it’s all about in the D-zone.”

So far, Morrissey appears to have answered the doubts about whether he would be able to endure the physical rigours of an NHL regular season. The critique is old news.

“That was a question I was asked a lot when I was a kid, in junior and then into the NHL Draft and the combine — they always asked those questions,” said Morrissey. “Can you handle it? I’ve always felt I’ve been able to. I guess you don’t know until you get to the next level and do it yourself.”

Morrissey draws inspiration from Enstrom’s play.

“You watch a guy like Toby and how he defends,” he said. “I’ve watched him a lot. I’ve watched other, smaller defencemen who have been around the league and how they defend and with the new rules the way they are, if you have a good stick and good body position, they can’t get through you.”

The Jets, losers of four consecutive games, want to snap that skid tonight against one of the NHL’s hottest teams. The Nashville Predators are 7-1-2 this month.

“I think we’ve shown we can win with this group we have in here,” said Trouba. “You just gotta believe in the way you play. We played good games and sometimes you lose by a goal and you just have to shake it off and move on.”

Notes: Centre Bryan Little (lower body) practised again in a non-contact jersey but is closer to returning to the lineup. He was injured in the first game of the regular season… Rookie winger Kyle Connor (upper body) could get clearance to play against the Preds. 

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14