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As roster cuts loom, boys on the bubble make case to crack Jets lineup

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When you spend enough time on the edges of a roster, a certain mentality is required.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/10/2024 (369 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When you spend enough time on the edges of a roster, a certain mentality is required.

On one hand, you need to be confident in your abilities, even though there’s always a handful of other players in the organization trying to take the job from you.

There’s an awareness that comes with the territory, but you also can’t waste much time concerning yourself about those who find themselves in a similar situation — especially when they might be your linemates on any certain day.

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES
                                Winnipeg Jets’ Josh Morrisssey (44) and David Gustafsson (19) on the first day of training camp in September. Gustafsson said he’s trying not to overthink things at this point in the preseason.

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES

Winnipeg Jets’ Josh Morrisssey (44) and David Gustafsson (19) on the first day of training camp in September. Gustafsson said he’s trying not to overthink things at this point in the preseason.

After the Winnipeg Jets cut down to 36 players on Sunday, the boys on the bubble recognize the opportunities to make their respective cases are dwindling, at least when it comes to the opening-day roster.

The latest chance comes on Wednesday as the Jets host the Calgary Flames in the fifth of six preseason games.

“I’m trying not to overthink all of the stuff happening every day,” said Jets forward David Gustafsson. “There are going to be cuts, there are going to be times when you’re not playing on the line that you thought you would be playing on. It’s easier said than done, but it’s a big thing that I’m working on right now.”

The other advantage for players like Gustafsson is that they know what their strengths are and what they need to work on.

“I know exactly what my role will be if I get in the lineup and I know exactly what I’ve got to do to stay in the lineup,” said Gustafsson, who played 39 games primarily as a fourth-line centre last season with the Jets. “It’s a matter of being able to do it every single day.”

After Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff declared on July 1 that there would be more opportunity for younger players to win jobs, some observers wondered how much roster turnover could be on the horizon.

Operating under the premise 11 of the maximum of 14 forward jobs available belonged to players who hit double digits for the Jets in goals last season — Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Gabe Vilardi, Nikolaj Ehlers, Vladislav Namestnikov, Cole Perfetti, Nino Niederreiter, Adam Lowry, Mason Appleton, Alex Iafallo and Morgan Barron — that essentially leaves three spots up front.

Gustafsson and Rasmus Kupari both spent time on the Jets’ fourth line last season and appear to be in the driver’s seat to be on the team.

“We have a lot of good guys, good depth. Some guys are battling for the same spots, so that pushes us to perform better and give everything we have.”–Rasmus Kupari

“We have a lot of good guys, good depth. Some guys are battling for the same spots, so that pushes us to perform better and give everything we have,” said Kupari. “The most important thing is to be solid all over those small details. Be that guy that the coach can trust.”

Then it’s likely down to Brad Lambert and newcomer Jared Anderson-Dolan.

Of the remaining forwards in camp, Brad Lambert looks like the best bet to break camp, though he’s still not a lock. On Tuesday, Lambert was skating on a line with Niederreiter and Iafallo, a group that could see action against the Flames.

As much as coach Scott Arniel emphasizes the importance of not reading too much into the daily training camp groupings, the second set of skaters on Tuesday included forwards Dominic Toninato, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, Mason Shaw and Nikita Chibrikov and defencemen Simon Lundmark, Tyrel Bauer and Dmitry Kuzmin and goalie Thomas Milic.

Chibrikov has shown well, but is probably destined to open the season in the American Hockey League with the Manitoba Moose — though he’s going to be in the mix as a call-up.

Lambert and Chibrikov are the only two forwards that don’t require waivers, so that could be a consideration for the opening 23-man roster, which is due on Sunday.

Anderson-Dolan, who has 127 NHL games on his resume with the Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators, is expected to play with Adam Lowry and Gustafsson on Wednesday.

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES
Brad Lambert looks like the best bet to break camp.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES

Brad Lambert looks like the best bet to break camp.

Anderson-Dolan has been singled out by Arniel during camp for his high compete level and would bring a bit more of a physical element to the fourth line if he sticks around.

“When you come to a new organization, you’ve got to show what your identity is,” said Anderson-Dolan. “For me, that’s a guy that works hard every day. Be hard on the forecheck, try to win puck battles, try to be physical and be on the body.”

There was always going to be a little bit more turnover with the defence corps after the departures of Brenden Dillon and Nate Schmidt in free agency, but the picture got a bit more cloudy after the injuries to Ville Heinola and Logan Stanley.

That’s opened the door a tad for Elias Salomonsson to contend for a job.

Salomonsson, the top defence prospect in the organization, was paired with Colin Miller on Tuesday and should skate alongside him against the Flames in what will be his fourth preseason game.

The expectation was that Salomonsson would require some seasoning with the Moose before he was ready to make the jump, but his combination of mobility, puck-moving and willingness to engage physically has kept him in the battle with Haydn Fleury and Dylan Coghlan for the sixth and seventh spots on the depth chart.

Asked for his message to the players on the periphery going into the final two preseason outings, Arniel made it clear a heartfelt speech wasn’t going to be required.

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES
Elias Salomonsson, the top defence prospect in the organization, was paired with Colin Miller on Tuesday.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES

Elias Salomonsson, the top defence prospect in the organization, was paired with Colin Miller on Tuesday.

“I have no message for them. They know. I talked to them at the very beginning of camp,” he said. “These guys, they know what jobs they’re fighting for and they know what they have to do to try and make our hockey team. They don’t need me coming to tell them anything more.”

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld

Ken Wiebe

Ken Wiebe
Reporter

Ken Wiebe is a sports reporter for the Free Press, with an emphasis on the Winnipeg Jets. He has covered hockey and provided analysis in this market since 2000 for the Winnipeg Sun, The Athletic, Sportsnet.ca and TSN. Ken was a summer intern at the Free Press in 1999 and returned to the Free Press in a full-time capacity in September of 2023. Read more about Ken.

Every piece of reporting Ken produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.

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