Giving Dillon his due

Brenden Dillon doesn’t sound like someone who is holding a grudge.

That didn’t prevent the former Winnipeg Jets defenceman from reiterating he was interested in sticking around before ultimately departing after he became an unrestricted free agent last July 1.

The New Jersey Devils blue-liner spoke fondly of his time with the Jets during an interview with the Free Press earlier this month.

He went so far as to compliment Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff for getting one of his pending UFAs inked to a contract extension last month.

“I stressed my disappointment — Dylan DeMelo did too — with no offer during the regular season,” said Dillon, whose Devils make their lone regular season visit to Winnipeg next Friday. “So, I’m happy to see guys like Vladdy (Namestnikov) have signed an extension this year.”

That Dillon is outwardly happy for a former teammate comes as little surprise. The 34-year-old was a team-first guy during his three seasons with the Jets organization and has stayed in touch with a number of players over the course of the campaign.

To be clear, he’s not the least bit surprised to see the Jets atop the Western Conference standings, now at 48-18-4 as they get set to open a four-game homestand starting Sunday afternoon against the Buffalo Sabres.

Dillon also took time to applaud the job that head coach Scott Arniel is doing with a Jets team that is competing with the Washington Capitals for the Presidents’ Trophy (both clubs are tied with 100 points. The Capitals — who make their annual visit to Winnipeg on Tuesday — have one game in hand).

“The head coach, I got to know really well, in Washington and in Winnipeg. Scottie Arniel is as detailed a coach as you can find,” said Dillon. “He has a great pulse on that room.”

One of Dillon’s few regrets from his time in Winnipeg was that the team had consecutive disappointing early exits from the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2023 and 2024.

Compounding things last spring was that he watched the final two games of the series against the Colorado Avalanche because of a gash he suffered to his hand after an opponent accidentally stepped on him during a skirmish at the end of Game 3.

“That’s one of the biggest things for me is the frustration of having such an unbelievable year with how it went and then for the playoffs, just the disappointment of it,” said Dillon. “I just felt like we didn’t play anywhere near what we did for the five games (against Colorado). And then getting hurt at the end, which was frustrating to not be able to be out there helping.”

Dillon cherishes his time with the Jets, but also appreciates the interest he was able to generate on the open market as he was an unrestricted free agent for the first time last summer.

“I was very fortunate to have the amount of teams (interested). I don’t remember, but it was nine or 10 teams that I ended up talking to pretty seriously there and then you kind of weigh in with where the team is at in the cycle,” said Dillon, who has 166 hits and 94 blocked shots this season.

“What is your role going to be on the team? How are you valued? The biggest things for me were just that. Where’s the team at when it comes to contending? And then what would my role be? It was kind of a crazy time. Looking back at it now, I’ve been super happy and really fortunate with how things have gone, for the team and for me. I’m also really happy that the Jets are doing as well as they are.”

Dillon has settled in nicely with his new team and while his offensive production (he had two goals and 11 points in 69 games going into Friday’s action) is down slightly, he’s provided precisely what Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald expected of him when he signed the popular veteran to a three-year, US$12 million deal on July 1.

“On the ice, you see how much of a competitor he is. He does whatever it takes to win,” said Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe.

“He’s there for his teammates. A tremendous leader as well. Just coming in, for myself as a new coach, having a guy like him coming in as a culture carrier, you know that helps support the message from the coaching staff and the organization and then supporting his teammates. He’s a tremendous guy to have (around). He knows exactly who he is at this point in his career.”

Dillon has often been paired with Dougie Hamilton this season and he’s averaging roughly 18:30 of ice time per game. The Devils have battled plenty of adversity and they’ll be without star centre Jack Hughes for the remainder of the season after he suffered a shoulder injury, but they remain in third place in the Metropolitan Division.

“The coaching staff is new this year too, so we’ll all find out new stuff (together),” said Dillon.

“All in all, the way that the season started, up until Christmas, I would say we were one of the top five teams in the league. After that. (goalie Jacob Markstrom) went down for four to five weeks, (forward) Nico (Hischier) went down for a bit and we had to switch a few (things). We weren’t the same team.

“Obviously we’re facing some adversity now. We’ll be battling.”

 

Around the glass

Former Jets defenceman Johnathan Kovacevic recently earned a contract extension with the Devils after coming over in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens last summer.

Kovacevic inked a five-year deal worth US$20 million (US$4 million AAV), which is even more impressive when you consider he was claimed off waivers by the Canadiens from the Jets in October of 2022.

“He’s a tremendous guy, good teammate, he works extremely hard and he’s very coachable,” said Keefe. “The size and reach and stuff that he has. It’s great to see his growth. To your point (about) waivers, sometimes it’s just time. Everybody has got a different path to their career.

“Some guys need time, some guys need a change of scenery. Sometimes it takes two, three teams, whether it’s a message to settle in or to really find your footing or your true identity in the league and try to clear your head. For every player, it’s different but for Kovy, it seems to have worked really well here.”

Kovacevic, who was chosen in the third round (74th overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft by the Jets, is a prime example of the way waivers are supposed to work.

The right-shooting blue-liner was limited to four games with the Jets during the 2021-22 season and when he could not earn a spot among the eight D-men on the opening-day roster the next fall, he was scooped up by the Canadiens.

After spending two full seasons with the Canadiens rounding out his reps with a non-playoff team, Kovacevic was moved to a contender and has taken full advantage of his opportunity to shine — and he’s since been rewarded for it with a lucrative contract that kicks in next season.

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Speaking of former Jets defencemen, we caught up with another old friend this past week in Tyler Myers. The 35-year-old, who came to Winnipeg as part of the blockbuster Evander Kane trade and spent parts of five years with the organization, is now in his sixth campaign with the Vancouver Canucks.

He’ll be back in town next Sunday as the Jets close out the homestand in what could potentially be a first-round playoff preview should Jets claim top seed in the conference and the Canucks outlast the likes of St. Louis, Calgary and Utah to claim the final wild-card spot.

Myers was part of that magical march to the Western Conference Final in 2018.

“That was a lot of fun. It’s why a bunch of us are still really close,” Myers reminisced. “It doesn’t change the way we treat each other now in the corners, but we’re still good friends.”

Myers marvelled at the growth some of his former teammates — from Adam Lowry, Kyle Connor and Connor Hellebuyck, to Nikolaj Ehlers, Mark Scheifele and Josh Morrissey, who was just getting his feet wet at the NHL level with Myers as a bit of a mentor.

On Lowry, now in his second year as captain and on pace for a career offensive season: “Even as a young kid, when I was there, he displayed a lot of leadership qualities. To see him take his game to another level in terms of the plays he’s making… we all see it when we were there.”

On Connor, who leads the club with 37 goals and is on track to eclipse 100 points and set a new franchise record: “KC’s extremely quick, he knows how to find the open ice and you really have to make sure you know when you’re on the ice with him because in a split-second he can be behind you. You almost have to play a little bit differently when you’re out there. He’s a great player, very elusive.”

Myers likes what he sees from the current Jets, despite the fact his Canucks beat them 6-2 on Tuesday night inside Rogers Arena. He wouldn’t be surprised to see them go on another long run this spring.

“I know what type of players they are,” he said.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @WiebesWorld

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg