‘We know what we have in here’

Adam Lowry was quick to point the finger at himself and is planning to be part of the solution.

The Winnipeg Jets’ captain was both thoughtful and accountable when addressing the media for the final time this season over the weekend.

It was clear Lowry had spent plenty of time processing what had transpired over the course of a long and frustrating season, both for himself and for a Jets team that didn’t get to where it wanted to be.

“Criticism of my game is very warranted and very fair,” said Lowry. “I go from 16 goals to 5. That’s a huge dropoff. I felt like, coming out of the Olympic break, I started to find my game, I started to hold on to pucks more but I know there’s another level I need to get to.

“There’s some other levels that, if I expect our team to be a good team, I need to play at. So, disappointed with my season individually, disappointed with where we’re at, but I’ll use this time as motivation to come back next year and have a good season.”

This is what accountability looks and sounds like.

Lowry conceded that his offseason hip surgery was a factor in his reduced effectiveness and that the competitor in him likely forced him to come back a little sooner than he should have.

Although he was cleared medically, Lowry would have benefited from a bit more time in the gym during the ramping up process.

“The injury itself was 100 per cent. It’s other things around it,” said Lowry. “Hindsight is 20-20, but I maybe came back too soon. I could have spent time building myself up. At the same time, we’re competitive people, we want to get out there.

“I just felt all year like the pop in my stride, the strength in it was something that I was working to get back. With how tight the schedule was it was tough to find the extra time in the gym or the practice time to really find that next step.”

“Reflecting on how we handled those things will make us stronger moving forward.”

Lowry has mentioned on several occasions that the Jets’ 11-game losing streak (0-7-4) was a turning point and left the group with a massive hole to dig themselves out of.

It also provided a learning opportunity for him and the group as a whole.

“It was kind of the first bit of turbulence that we faced. My first two years went pretty smoothly with how the team played,” said Lowry. “Not many extended losing streaks. Reflecting on how we handled those things will make us stronger moving forward. Sometimes it’s finding the right words at the right time. Sometimes it’s going out there and leading the way with your actions.

“There’s things I learned. I think there’s things I could have done better that maybe would have gotten us out of that slump earlier.”

Lowry, who signed a five-year extension that kicks in next season, is clearly determined to get back to being a dominant checking line player who consistently wins his minutes and chips in more offence than the 21 points he managed in 70 games.

Jets forward Cole Perfetti falls into a similar category as Lowry, in that a high ankle sprain during training camp impeded his ability to make an impact immediately upon his return.

For a team that was lacking secondary scoring when he got back into the lineup on Nov. 9 after missing the first 14 games, Perfetti put some additional pressure on himself to perform.

Rather than build on his 18 goal, 50-point campaign, Perfetti didn’t fully get into the groove until December and beyond.

After producing just two goals in his first 26 games, Perfetti finished with 12 goals and 32 points in 68 games, a far cry from the projections both he and others had for him.

“Obviously I didn’t have my finest season, but I’m not going to sit here and blame it all on an injury. But I think it definitely did play a big role into it,” said Perfetti, who was chosen 10th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft. “Early on, I was a little hesitant and wasn’t playing my game. Really after Christmas, it started to get a little bit better. And then really around the Olympic break is when I started to feel full confidence and I felt like my game started to get that chippiness back, get the speed back, get the legs going, started making plays a lot more.

“The last 30, 35 games is really how I wanted to play. I’m glad I got to that level and got to the level of play that I know I could play at. But it would have been nice to do it from the get-go.”

The timing for the dip in production couldn’t be worse for Perfetti as he becomes a restricted free agent, but this is one of those situations where both sides will zoom out and look at the body of work since he entered the league in establishing his long-term value.

A shorter-term deal is possible, but a one-year deal would leave Perfetti one year away from unrestricted free agency, so there’s risk involved there, especially for the Jets.

Since Perfetti is a homegrown talent and recent first-rounder, the expectation is that the two sides will chip away on a longer-term deal.

“I want to be a guy that can help get this team far. You only get one career and you only get one crack at it.”

“You want to have that. That would be a real honour to have the team show that and express that faith in you as a player and as a person,” said Perfetti. “(That) they want you to be here long term. That they want you to be a player within this organization for the future. But obviously, I can’t speak for their side. I know where I stand, but can’t speak for them.

“It’ll be interesting to see how it goes. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there and figure it all out.”

Perfetti, who is now represented by Pat Brisson of CAA, gained some valuable knowledge through the negotiating process a few years back as a restricted free agent, and his objective going into this deal is crystal clear.

“I want to do what’s best for this organization. I want to do what’s best for myself as well. I think it’s every guy’s stand on things,” said Perfetti. “Obviously, being in this organization that drafted me and being here for five years now, you feel like you’re a part of this and have been a part of this for a long time and you want to be a solution, a fix.

“I want to be a guy that can help get this team far. You only get one career and you only get one crack at it.”

With that being said, Perfetti’s confidence in the group wasn’t shaken by missing out on the Stanley Cup playoffs one year after playing a massive role in the Manitoba Miracle.

“Well, it’s extremely high. We know what we have in here,” said Perfetti, who scored the tying goal in the waning seconds in Game 7 of the first-round matchup against the St. Louis Blues last April. “We showed what we are capable of last year. Obviously, not going as far in the playoffs as we had hoped, but to be the best team in the regular season. Everyone in this group believes it too.

“The bottom line is this sucks, sitting here and doing this.”

“There’s no doubt that we’re a playoff team and that this was just a one-off. We’re all pretty determined and no one’s very happy right now. So we’re all really going into the off-season making sure that when we come back in September, that this doesn’t happen again.”

The Jets need to have a successful off-season and will be looking to upgrade the personnel to bolster the depth up front and on defence.

Might that bring a further influx of youth, whether it’s more promotions from the Manitoba Moose or from free agency or trades?

“Just looking back to 2018, when a lot of us guys here that are older, we were on entry level contracts coming in. You need that good mix of veteran players and guys coming in and it’s about finding the right timing and the right fits,” said Jets left-winger Kyle Connor, noting those decisions are for management to make. “I’ll embrace winning. If they bring them in and we win, or if it’s somebody else. The bottom line is this sucks, sitting here and doing this. Everybody wants to win and to be playing games in the playoffs. Everybody in this room — especially the guys that have been here for a long time — whatever makes us the best team, we’ll fully embrace that.”

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