Contract up in air, but Jets’ Appleton ready to roll

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This article was published 20/09/2024 (379 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mason Appleton is well aware of his contract status, but isn’t expending much energy wondering what the future is going to bring.

While there’s been plenty of speculation over what could be on the horizon for fellow pending unrestricted free agents such as forwards Nikolaj Ehlers and Alex Iafallo or blue-liner Neal Pionk, the Winnipeg Jets right-winger simply reported to training camp and is ready to hit the ground running.

“For me, I’m just going to let my play and our team’s play to take care of itself and from that point, you’re going to get what you get in the offseason,” Appleton said during a one-on-one chat on Friday afternoon after the second day of on-ice sessions of Jets training camp. “I’m not thinking about that really at all. I’ll let the chips fall where they fall.”

Appleton was exposed to the business side of the game early in his career, as he was chosen in the NHL expansion draft by the Seattle Kraken.

But the sixth round pick (168th overall) of the Jets back in the 2015 NHL Draft doesn’t think there are many parallels to potentially becoming a UFA for the first time.

“To me, it’s two different things,” said Appleton, who carries an AAV of $2.167 million this season. “In free agency, you can control a lot more than you could in an expansion draft. I can’t really compare those two (things).”

There’s no doubt that Appleton would like to remain with the Jets beyond this season.

“In my perfect world, I’d love to work something out with them,” he said. “Obviously, you don’t want to rob them and you don’t want them to rob you. You just want a fair deal that both sides can leave super happy with. If that happens, whenever that is, that would be awesome.”

Appleton, 28, certainly helped his negotiating cause last season, when he recorded career bests in goals (14), assists (22) and points (36) while appearing in all 82 games for the first time in his professional career.

But the early exit in the opening round series with the Colorado Avalanche prevented Appleton from fully soaking in the fruits of his labour.

“Individually, it was a solid year but at the end of the day, you can’t get how the season ended out of your mind,” he said. “That trumps everything for me. Having that sour taste motivated me to get better. The consensus in our room was that we were all going to push ourselves and push each other to get a little better and get over that hump.”

To start training camp, Appleton has been skating alongside Adam Lowry and Nino Niederreiter on a unit that enjoyed plenty of success last season – both in terms of playing a shutdown role and chipping in some complementary offence.

“It seems as though that’s the way it’s going to go. Those are two guys that I love playing with,” said Appleton. “We all had really good years last year and we’re hungry to get back at it again and prove ourselves to be one of the best third lines in the league. We pride ourselves on doing the little hard things every single night that go unnoticed and shutting down some of the opposition’s best. From there, trying to find ways to create offence and score goals. We can do a little bit of everything, so that’s who we are as a line and what we’ll continue to be.”

As for what he zoned in on during the offseason, Appleton followed a familiar formula.

“For me, it’s a lot of the same. Getting better at some little things,” he said. “At this point of my career, you know what you are as a player but you’re trying to get stronger on pucks, better in tight spaces with pucks, be quick out of the corners when taking pucks to the net, staying over the puck. Things that allow me to be a little more efficient down low with the puck, because that’s the bread and butter of our line, with the way we can possess the puck and stay on it and keep it away from the opposition.

“Obviously, I’m still trying to work on my strength and speed because you’ve got to keep pushing those things, making them better and fine-tuning that aspect. You’re not reinventing yourself. Your weaknesses, you’re trying to improve and your strengths, you’re trying to make them even stronger. You’re just trying to evolve a little bit.”

Along with trying to build on his increase in offence, Appleton will be tasked with trying to help the Jets’ penalty kill show marked improvement.

Jets head coach Scott Arniel appreciates the consistency Appleton brings to the rink.

“We know what we’re getting out of Apple,” said Arniel. “He’s embraced that role with (Lowry). Everybody has kind of got a role to play throughout the season and he recognizes that.”

Appleton’s intensity is constantly on display.

“He’s a very competitive guy. It even shows in practice, he doesn’t like making mistakes,” said Niederreiter. “He’s sometimes very hard on himself. He wants to be successful, which is something that’s great to have on the team and great to have on a line because we push each other to be better and better every day. That speaks for him as a person and as a player.”

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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