No complacency on Jets

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This article was published 03/03/2025 (444 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NEW YORK — If you’re starting to wonder if the Winnipeg Jets might be lacking motivation for the stretch run, think again.

With 21 games left in the season — including Tuesday’s tilt with the New York Islanders — the Jets have no shortage of things to play for.

The Jets, currently tops in the NHL in points (88) and points percentage (.721), want to secure first in the Central Division. There are also benefits to claiming the top seed in the Western Conference and facing the second wild-card team.

Capturing the franchise’s first Presidents’ Trophy, which goes to the team with the best overall record in the regular season, would be a cherry on top, though it’s not essential for a long playoff run.

“Well, I think any time you put the jersey on and throw the sticks out there and someone drops the puck, you want to be better than everybody else,” said Jets assistant coach Davis Payne after a well-attended optional skate Monday morning. “At the same time, this group has been focused on a game-to-game basis, so nothing changes for us now.”

The closest the Jets have come to first overall was in 2018, when they finished second, three points behind the Nashville Predators after recording a franchise-record 110 points.

Adding to this week’s intrigue is Friday’s looming NHL trade deadline. The Jets figure to be adding to what is already a well-rounded roster.

Augmenting the defence, specifically the third pairing, appears to be the top priority, though that won’t prevent the Jets from pursuing a forward either.

As one of the team’s core pieces since he was chosen 17th overall in the 2015 NHL Draft, left-winger Kyle Connor has a strong understanding of what general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has done when the Jets have been a contender, but realizes that every season — and trade deadline — is different.

“That stuff will take care of itself,” Connor said. “If we get someone, if we don’t get someone, if we move players, whatever happens I think (there) is a good foundation in this room to be able to adapt.

“Obviously we’re in a pretty good position to hopefully add here and make our team better, but you never know.”

“If we get someone, if we don’t get someone, if we move players, whatever happens I think (there) is a good foundation in this room to be able to adapt.”– Winnipeg Jets left-winger Kyle Connor

Jets forward Vladislav Namestnikov has experience when it comes to being a trade-deadline addition, having been involved in five deals, including four at the deadline.

“I haven’t really talked to anyone about that, but hockey is a business and stuff happens, moves happen,” Namestnikov said. “So, it’s part of it and it’s the way you handle it and kind of just move on, I guess. But yeah, nothing you can do, really.”

The Jets are coming off consecutive 2-1 losses, including Saturday night’s shootout loss against the Philadelphia Flyers.

It is the time of the season when games get tighter and goals are tougher to come by, so it’s no surprise that six of the past eight outings were decided by one goal.

“You see it every year. Play only elevates and gets tougher and the space out there gets less and less and guys tighten up and the games become so much more magnified every single shift,” said Connor. “But it’s no excuse, though. It’s only going to get harder.”

Connor and others are openly talking about the importance of pushing through the challenges and building toward the Stanley Cup playoffs, recognizing some of the lessons learned during the 82-game regular season can be applied when Game 1 of the playoffs arrives and the stakes are higher.

This week’s four-game swing features the Islanders and Flyers battling to stay in the race for the second wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference, and the New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes jockeying for position in the Metropolitan Division.

“This team has shown throughout the course of the year that we can score, and we can score in different types of ways. From top to bottom, power play, scoring off the rush, in zone.”– Kyle Connor

The Islanders and Flyers have players who are generating interest on the trade market, if those teams decide to move assets, and the Jets are believed to be one of the teams trying to see if there’s a fit for either a forward or a defenceman.

In the meantime, the Jets are looking to generate a little more offence this week. Despite still being highest-scoring team in the NHL, goals have been hard to come by the last two games.

“This team has shown throughout the course of the year that we can score, and we can score in different types of ways. From top to bottom, power play, scoring off the rush, in zone,” said Connor. “So I don’t think we’ve been one-dimensional in any way. I just think that it could just be a stretch that we’re going through, that you kind of see it throughout the year, and I can’t remember a time throughout this year that we’ve had something like this, this many games in a row with this many quality chances.

“You have to stay positive. You have to take the strengths of what you’ve done. We’re generating a lot, so build on that and keep learning and moving on.”

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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