Jets players feeling the heat

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/02/2022 (1345 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DALLAS – If you were to ask any of the players on the Winnipeg Jets about the 2021-22 NHL season and their current pursuit of a playoff berth, they would all provide a similar outlook.

A 22-20-8 record through 50 games of an 82-game season that has the Jets sitting sixth place in the Central Division and seven points back of the Los Angeles Kings for the final Western Conference playoff spot, sees the club, while not exactly joyful, hardly about to throw in the towel. The Jets know they still control their own destiny; if they can carve out a consistent game and, more importantly, string together wins, the rest will take care of itself.

“We have 30-odd games left. I like to break it up into segments, instead of nitpicking at things (from one game),” defenceman Nate Schmidt said shortly after the Jets surrendered a game-clinching goal in the final minute of a heartbreaking 3-1 loss to the Calgary Flames Monday. “The way I look at it is this: the rest of the year, you’ve got to split your road games and win your home games. That’s the recipe, right?”

For argument’s sake, if Schmidt was to get his wish, the Jets would finish the season somewhere around 47-27-8, which, at 102 points, would certainly guarantee Winnipeg a playoff spot. But it’s hard to imagine that happening, considering the Jets haven’t split their road games (9-10-7) to this point, let alone come close to running the board on home ice (13-10-1).

Regardless of how they plan to get there, what’s clear is the players are committed to the long-haul approach when it comes to pushing for the postseason, using every last game on the schedule to accomplish their goal. While it’s only natural for players to focus on the task directly in front of them, they’re also acutely aware of how much rope they have left to pull on before it runs out. With 32 games remaining, there’s enough there to keep grabbing.

Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, though, doesn’t have the same luxury to think to the end of April.

While the Jets still have three months of hockey to play and are mathematically, at least for now, capable of making the playoffs, there’s the looming NHL trade deadline next month, on Mar. 21, that also needs to be considered. For those counting, that’s less than a month away.

Cheveldayoff will have to make some tough decisions between now and then, which will likely be affected by how his team performs in the coming weeks. The Jets find themselves in a position where a sizeable winning streak would not only tighten the gap between them and the playoff line, but it could also very well catapult them right into the conversation. More losses, however, and that hole will only get bigger and more difficult to climb out of.

If the season continues to trend downwards, what might be the future for the Jets’ unrestricted free agents?

Forwards Andrew Copp and Paul Stastny are both in need of a contract next season. Copp (US$3.64 million) will warrant a raise, even if just slightly, and Stastny (US$3.75M) won’t be cheap to re-sign either. If Stastny does take a pay cut, would he want to do it in Winnipeg?

And what about the money needed to sign centre Pierre-Luc Dubois to a multi-year deal? How might that affect giving Copp the term and dollars he deserves?

Another thing to consider: if the Jets do find themselves in a playoff spot by the trade deadline, Cheveldayoff will need to ask himself whether he believes he has the team to make a deep run. That, of course, was his original thought this summer, when he spent to the salary cap addressing serious holes in the lineup. That included trading for defencemen Brendon Dillon and Nate Schmidt, both of whom still have years remaining on their contracts.

If Cheveldayoff isn’t convinced the Jets can do damage in the playoffs, would he be willing to mortgage some of the future by trading draft picks for rental players? If he doesn’t, a better option might be to trade Copp or Stastny, but what message, if the Jets do find themselves in a playoff spot by early next month, would that send the locker room?

Jets interim head coach Dave Lowry was asked prior to the Jets current four-game road trip how the looming trade deadline might affect the players, depending on where they are in the standings come mid-March.

“There’s pressure to win every night, regardless of what date is coming up,” Lowry said. “We all know that the trade deadline can be unsettling for individuals, and it’s on every team. For us, that’s way too far in the future. We have to keep a singular focus and we just have to prepare, number one, for this trip.”

Cheveldayoff might just get its answer sooner than later. The Jets are in Dallas to play the Stars tonight, and with the Stars four points up on the Jets and a game in hand, it’s about as must-win for Winnipeg as there’s been this season. Playing the Colorado Avalanche, who have the NHL’s best record at 36-10-4, immediately after Dallas just shows how relentless the task is in front of them, especially when you have little margin for error.

“We need wins right now. We’re seven points out of the playoffs,” Dubois said. “They’re good teams (ahead of us). They don’t lose many games. It’s a playoff race right now.”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton