Red Wings take trip down memory lane

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/12/2023 (658 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The last time a Winnipeg Jets team was as deep as the current edition, Andrew Copp and Ben Chiarot were on the roster. That magical 2017-18 season — in which the club finished second-overall in the regular-season standings, then made it to the Western Conference Final — remains the high-water mark around here.

Go figure, then, that the return of Copp and Chiarot to Canada Life Centre on Wednesday brought back a flood of memories.

“Benny and I were just talking about that this morning,” Copp said following the Wings’ morning skate at the downtown rink. “That team was just loaded.”

Copp was part of an incredible forward group that year which included current stars Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers and Adam Lowry plus the likes of Patrik Laine, Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little, Paul Stastny, Brandon Tanev, Jack Roslovic and Joel Armia. On the blue-line, Josh Morrissey is the only one left, while Chiarot, Dustin Byfuglien, Jacob Trouba, Toby Enstrom, Tyler Myers and Dmitry Kulikov are gone, but definitely not forgotten.

“You look at just the D alone, all the guys on that team that ended up leaving and going somewhere else to play,” said Chiarot. “It was a special group. A really good team. I think a lot of us learned the right way to do things there.”

Naturally, the question was asked: Might the Jets club that faced Copp and Chiarot’s Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night be similarly stacked?

“This Jets team is very good, but I don’t know if they’re loaded to that extent,” said Copp. “But it seems like they’re playing the way they know they need to play. That’s maybe more important.”

With 39 points through the first 30 games this year, the Jets are exactly on pace with the 2017-18 edition that ultimately finished with a franchise-record 114 points.

“We had a hot start and we just kind of rode it the whole year,” Copp recalled, adding they ultimately “ran out of gas” when facing the Vegas Golden Knights with a trip to the Stanley Cup Final on the line.

Winnipeg’s strengths so far this year have been great goaltending from Connor Hellebuyck and Laurent Brossoit, dominant five-on-five play, strong overall team defence and plenty of secondary scoring with numerous forwards who can play up and down the lineup. In other words, somewhat of a blast from the past.

Consider this: The Jets averaged 3.33 goals-per-game in 2017-18, and currently sit at a near identical 3.30 this year. They gave up 2.63 per game in 2017-18, while this year they’re at 2.60.

“They haven’t given up more than three goals in God knows how long (2o games entering play on Wednesday),” said Copp. “Obviously Helly and LB are huge parts of that. But it seems like they have their team defence down right now, which is huge. They kinda got a little bit of a groove going right now, and even with a guy like KC (Kyle Connor) out of the lineup it’s impressive.”

One notable exception is special teams, which have been a sore spot this season. The power play (16.7 per cent) currently ranks 24th, while the penalty kill (73.9 per cent) is 27th. Six years ago, the PP (23.4 per cent) finished fifth, the PK (81.8 per cent) seventh.

“I think the teams are maybe differently constructed,” Copp said of then versus now. “Any time you have Buff, Troubs, Myers, Chiarot, Morrissey, Kulikov, Enstrom on your back-end you’re going to be pretty good. That’s a big heavy back end. Up front that was Wheels’ prime, Ehlers and Laine, Litts, we added Paul Stastny that year, Tanev, Armia…I mean the list kind of goes on. That’s a loaded roster. “

Copp and Chiarot were also together on the 2018-19 Jets which started strong with an even better 40 points through 30 games, only to have the bottom fall out as the season progressed. They barely hung on to make the playoffs, were quickly eliminated in the first round by the St. Louis Blues and that was the beginning of significant change.

Chiarot, 32, would ultimately sign a free agent deal in Montreal, with the Jets seemingly cash-strapped (until Chiarot’s longtime blue-line partner, Byfuglien, stunned them prior to training camp by announcing his retirement). He was traded to Florida at the deadline in 2022 and is now in his second year with Detroit.

“We had a great captain in Blake. I especially learned from him what it looks like every day to be a pro, be a leader, never taking your foot off the gas pedal. That’s something I learned from him and that group, said Chiarot. “It’s too bad we couldn’t keep it together longer, but that’s the way it works with the salary cap. Fond memories.”

Copp, 29, stuck around for two-and-a-half more years in Winnipeg before the pending UFA was shipped to the New York Rangers at the deadline in 2022, then signed with his hometown Red Wings where he’s also spent the past two years. He had 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in 31 games prior to facing the Jets.

“I feel like I’ve been playing good lately, been producing. It hasn’t been perfect, but never is,” said Copp, who skated Wednesday on the second line between Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat.

Copp and Chiarot are now part of the leadership group in Detroit, as they rotate as alternates during the season. They caught up with some former teammates for dinner Tuesday and took a trip down memory lane.

“Benny Chiarot, I can’t say how much he did for me in my career, even going back to St. John’s when I was there as an 18-year-old kid for three months after my junior year (during the Calder Cup playoffs),” Morrissey said Wednesday.

“I don’t know what pro hockey is about, I’m living on an island out in the middle of the ocean and (Chiarot) just took me under his wing, right through when we both made it into the NHL. He was a great mentor and a great friend to me. We’re still really close. And Copper, same thing. He’s just a professional type of guy, everyone saw that every day here. He comes to work and plays just a great 200-foot game. Offensively, defensively he’s very responsible and he’s just kind of a natural leader in the locker room. I’m not surprised to see those guys wearing letters and certainly doing great for themselves over in Detroit.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg