Jets primed for second-half success

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This article was published 06/01/2025 (273 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Jets arrived at the midway point of the NHL season and are in prime position to take a run at the Presidents’ Trophy.

After spending the bulk of the first 41 games first overall in the NHL standings, the Jets find themselves just behind the Vegas Golden Knights as they prepare to face the Nashville Predators to start the second half on Tuesday at Canada Life Centre.

Although the Jets have banked only one of a possible six points during the past three games, they’ve already checked off a number of important boxes on the arduous journey that is the regular season.

The Jets remain atop the Central Division, but even with the benefit of the best start in NHL history (15-1), there isn’t a great deal of separation from the likes of the Minnesota Wild, Dallas Stars or the Colorado Avalanche.

That’s not a bad thing either, as continuing to improve their structure and build their overall team game is essential for the Jets as they prepare to tackle a few playoff demons in April.

Jets head coach Scott Arniel has done an excellent job in his second crack as an NHL bench boss, pushing almost all of the right buttons to date.

There will be more tension on the horizon, but the Jets seem better equipped to handle it, as they’ve built a foundation they can lean on.

Many of the questions surrounding the Jets going into the campaign have been answered, so let’s review some of the storylines that were identified in this space as the exhibition season came to a close and look ahead to what is on the horizon.

IDENTITY IMPORTANCE

After capturing the Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals in the NHL last season, the Jets remain one of the top teams in this department again, going into Monday’s action third in the NHL in goals against per game (2.54), behind only the Los Angeles Kings and Dallas Stars (who are tied for the lead at 2.50).

When the Jets are fully committed to their structure of being an aggressive team in all three zones, they’ve proven to be incredibly difficult to beat.

There have been some hiccups along the way, but team defence remains an area of strength for this group — even with Dylan Samberg, Haydn Fleury, Logan Stanley and Ville Heinola all missing considerable time due to injury during the first half.

Getting Samberg back in the near future should make the Jets tougher to score against.

Josh Morrissey has once again been a minute muncher for the Jets and remains very much in the thick of the conversation for the Norris Trophy.

Offensively, the Jets are finding the net with regularity, sitting third overall in goals per game (3.59), behind the Washington Capitals (3.72) and Tampa Bay Lightning (3.70).

The top line of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Gabe Vilardi has been exceptional and carried a good chunk of the load, while Nikolaj Ehlers got off to the best start of his career before suffering a lower-body injury but remains a point-per-game player.

The complementary scoring has been there as well, as the Jets already have six players into double digits for goals, with several others on the verge of hitting that mark.

HELLEBUYCK’S WORKLOAD

Connor Hellebuyck has basically done the unthinkable during the first half, finding a way to get even better after winning his second Vezina Trophy last season.

He’s been a workhorse throughout his career and that’s continued this season, as he’s made 32 starts at the midway point.

That number might be slightly ahead of the projected target and the wrinkle for the second half is Hellebuyck is expected to be the starter for the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off next month.

So finding a way to get backup Eric Comrie to — or even slightly north of 20 starts — figures to be a priority.

Comrie won the backup job in training camp and has done his part to keep the Jets in every game he’s started, though a lack of offensive support has contributed to him being on a personal six-game losing streak after winning his first three starts.

Comrie’s .904 save percentage is roughly .004 ahead of the league average, though he’d like to lower his goals-against average of 3.05 during the second half.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Arniel identified improvement of the power play and the penalty kill as being high on his to-do list when he was unveiled as head coach and those tasks were given to Davis Payne and Dean Chynoweth respectively during the search to round out the coaching staff.

Payne gets top marks for his ability to incorporate Ehlers on the top unit in the pop position, which is part of the reason the Jets currently have the top-ranked power play in the NHL. That the Jets are operating at 31.5 per cent efficiency after finishing in the bottom third in the category last season is a massive development and it’s one of the reasons the Jets have been as successful as they’ve been to date.

There were times when the power play kept them in games and others when it actually won them games. Having two units contributing has also been important.

As for the penalty kill, it’s been a bit of a roller-coaster.

Prior to Samberg’s injury, there was a time when the Jets were near the top of the league, but the gradual dip has led to them back into the bottom third, (22nd going into Monday’s action at 77.6 per cent).

This is an area that needs to get better during the second half.

CONTRACT YEARS

Motivation comes in many forms and it’s always interesting to see how players perform when they’re pending unrestricted free agents.

Going into last season, the Jets inked Hellebuyck and Scheifele to matching seven-year extensions, erasing the doubt about their futures and Nino Niederreiter inked a three-year extension in December.

Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff hasn’t got any of his pending UFAs to put pen to paper yet, but the bulk of them got off to a strong start and don’t seem to be bothered about the future.

Ehlers is the best example, producing 11 goals and 32 points in 31 games.

Neal Pionk has delivered an impressive bounce-back season so far, chipping in five goals and 27 points while playing better defensively on the second pairing.

Before he was sidelined with an injury, Mason Appleton was doing a solid job on one of the best third lines in hockey, while Alex Iafallo continues to be a versatile forward who can move up and down the lineup while contributing to both special teams units.

Vladislav Namestnikov has handled the second-line centre role effectively and while his production has dipped lately as he deals with a nagging issue that’s prevented him from taking draws, he’s one of the players on the verge of reaching 10 goals and could challenge his career high in that category (20) with a strong second half.

Whether it means sticking around with the Jets or hitting the open market, a strong second half and playoffs will only mean raising their value on the open market, while likely helping the team in the process.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @WiebesWorld