Ex-Jet Roslovic relishing new role with Rangers

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This article was published 22/03/2024 (563 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NEW YORK — Life moves quickly. And that can be especially true in the world of professional sports, where you can be here today, gone tomorrow.

Take the case of Jack Roslovic for example.

The 2015 first-round draft pick of the Winnipeg Jets, who was widely seen as the “throw in” to the 2021 Patrik Laine/Pierre-Luc Dubois blockbuster trade, had seemingly hit a wall while playing for his hometown Columbus Blue Jackets.

Injuries and inconsistency on one of the NHL’s worst teams had him suffering a crisis of confidence. That was crystal clear when we spoke with him in January as his Blue Jackets made their annual visit to Winnipeg.

If anything, Roslovic was experiencing a major case of FOMO — fear of missing out — as he watched several of his former Jets teammates flying high and preparing for the playoffs. The Blue Jackets, meanwhile, were already into next-year territory, just as they’d been for the previous three seasons Roslovic had been on the roster.

“It’s really cool to see,” Roslovic said at the time of Winnipeg’s success. “It’s almost sad to say that you could have… it’s easier said than done, but that you could have been a part of it.”

And then, everything changed. With just minutes to go before the March 8 trade deadline, the New York Rangers — who had missed out on a few other players on their radar and were looking for some forward depth — acquired Roslovic in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round draft pick.

No big deal, right? It sure was for Roslovic, who has immediately been thrust into a starring role with the Broadway blueshirts. There he was on Tuesday night, for example, facing the Jets at Madison Square Garden while skating on the top line with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. He had an assist in a 4-2 loss.

“I think Jack, for him to be successful, he needs to be reminded all the time of what he needs to do,” Columbus coach Pascal Vincent, who knows Roslovic as well as anyone, told the Free Press earlier this week.

“Not that he’s high maintenance, but he’s a guy that you need to talk to all the time. It’s not bad. Some guys are just wired that way.

Vincent coached Roslovic for two seasons with the Manitoba Moose, and the forward also had 83 points (28 goals, 55 assists) over 97 AHL games. Those numbers never really translated to the big club, as Roslovic had just 67 points (26 goals, 41 assists) in 180 games with the Jets.

During his first year in Columbus, he had 34 points (12 goals, 22 assists) in 48 games during the truncated COVID-19 season, and then posted 45- and 44-point campaigns in 2021-22 and ‘22-23, respectively.

He’s had a goal and three assists now in first eight games with the Rangers after posting six goals and 17 helpers in 40 games with the Blue Jackets. Now 27 and a pending unrestricted free agent this summer, he’d be wise to make the most of this chance.

“This gives me the opportunity to come in and be in the playoffs and be known as a winner,” he told the New York Post following the trade.

The skills have always been there, along with conditioning that is as good as any athlete in the league, says his now former coach.

“His ability to recover, his cardio is amazing,” said Vincent. “Him and Evander Kane are the two best I’ve seen. As far as going all out, coming back to the bench and in no time being good to go again.”

But consistency remains the key.

“It’s just a matter of connecting all those pieces together,” said Vincent.

“He was able to do it (in Columbus) one game, two games, three games, and then he’d disappear for a few games. I think he’s connecting those pieces right now. “

AROUND THE GLASS:

We’ve spent ample time discussing the playoff picture, but what about the race for top spot in the respective divisions?

The Central is the most hotly contested race of them all, with the Jets and Colorado Avalanche entering weekend action with identical record — though the Avalanche were facing the Blue Jackets as of press time.

But this is a three-race race, with the Dallas Stars also having 93 points in the piggy bank going into Friday’s game with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

It’s going to be tough to create any separation in this race, which means the head-to-head battles could play a major role in who finishes first.

The Jets face each of their closest competitors once more — two days apart at the end of the final road trip of the regular season.

The Stars and Avalanche meet for the final time on Apr. 7 at Ball Arena in Denver.

In the Pacific, the Vancouver Canucks still hold what appears to be a comfortable eight-point gap over the Edmonton Oilers, but that doesn’t take into account the three games in hand the Oilers will make up in the coming weeks.

There’s also one head-to-head meeting to come, on Apr. 13 in Edmonton.

The Eastern Conference races are also going down to the wire, with the Boston Bruins holding a three-point cushion in the Atlantic over the Florida Panthers, who hold two games in hand.

The Panthers, led by former Jets bench boss Paul Maurice, have dropped three consecutive games but they’re well positioned for another playoff run after their Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup final last spring.

The Bruins and Panthers battle in Sunrise, Fla., next Tuesday and then in Boston on Apr. 6 to close out the season series between clubs that met in the first round last April.

The final race, in the Metropolitan, also figures to go down to the wire, with the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes battling tooth and nail.

The Hurricanes had won five consecutive games going into Friday’s tilt with the Washington Capitals, while the Rangers are 6-3-1 in their past 10 outings.

The season series between the Rangers and Hurricanes has already concluded, with New York winning two of the three meetings.

Five of the final six games of the season for the Hurricanes come against teams currently below the playoff line (the Bruins are the lone exception), while the Rangers face teams currently below the playoff line in seven of the final nine games, so it should be interesting to see who comes out on top.

What about the Art Ross Trophy?

Nikita Kucherov of the Lightning and Nathan MacKinnon continue to duel for top spot when it comes to the NHL points lead.

Kucherov entered the weekend with a one-point lead, with MacKinnon closing quickly and holding the edge in goals (42 to 41).

Don’t look now, but Oilers captain Connor McDavid finds himself within striking distance at 112 points with 15 games left to go in the regular season for Edmonton.

McDavid has already won the Art Ross Trophy five times, including last season when he produced career-highs in goals (64), assists (89) and points (153) to cruise to the Hart Trophy as well.

McDavid leads Kucherov in assists (86-81), with MacKinnon rounding out the Top-3 (75)

That stretch of one assist in a five-game span coming out of the Heritage Classic seems like a long time ago and makes hitting the 100-point plateau for the seventh time in his career even more impressive.

Meanwhile, Auston Matthews has widened the gap in the chase for the Rocket Richard Trophy, up to 57 goals for the campaign and with a legitimate shot at finishing in the neighbourhood of 65 — a remarkable number.

Panthers forward Sam Reinhart and Oilers winger Zach Hyman are tied for second spot with 48 snipes.

Reinhart (31) and Hyman (36) have already smashed their respective career-high for goals with ample time to build on those numbers.

Reinhart, a pending unrestricted free agent, figures to be in line for a raise on the US$6.5 million he’s currently making.

Hyman has one of the best value contracts in the NHL, as he’s in Year 3 of a seven-year pact that carries a cap hit of US$5.5 million.

With just under four weeks left, it should be a fun sprint to the finish line.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca