How the Jets are exceeding expectations — and how they’re not

Opinion

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This article was published 23/11/2017 (2851 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Jets passed the quarter pole of the National Hockey League season with a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings Wednesday. This brought their record to 13-5-3 for 29 points and second place in the Central Division and Western Conference.

The team has obviously exceeded — or at least met — expectations, so it’s time to take my pre-season expectations of each player and see whether they’ve met or exceeded those beliefs.

Skaters had to play in half the games (11) to make the list.

Player’s report-card grades are in brackets next to their name. They are based on their play so far this season:

Met Expectations

Mark Scheifele (A): Tied for 12th in NHL scoring and just one point shy of being tied for eighth makes this an easy choice. Last season he finished seventh.

Blake Wheeler (A): Tied with Scheifele for points, his 20 assists are tied for fourth in the league. He and Scheifele are one of the most dangerous duos in the league.

Patrik Laine (B+): With 11 goals he’s on pace for 40. He hasn’t shown a lot of his excellent passing skills yet and he has some work to do in other areas, but he’s getting better in those details.

Adam Lowry (B-): He’s only played 12 games but does the tough minutes well and thankfully isn’t on the power play anymore. His production may drop but he’s able to take whatever wingers head coach Paul Maurice throws at him and get the job done.

Andrew Copp (C+): He’s lately been playing with Lowry and doing a good job. His four points in 20 games isn’t impressive, but he does a lot of good things forechecking and has some offensive ability.

Joel Armia (C-): Eight points in 18 games is good for a bottom-six forward, although his play has been up and down. He’s in this section because I’ve accepted who he is and stopped dreaming about what his tools might add up to.

Dustin Byfuglien (B-): He’s trying to fit into the Jets defensive system and the team results agree. His numbers will likely suffer as “rogue Buff” is gone. He’ll eventually get a goal or two.

Josh Morrissey (B-): He’s joined his partner Trouba in taking on the best opposition players and has had some rough moments. They both are young and need to grow into this. It’s a tough job, especially for a sophomore, and he’s had a number of good things happening too.

Jacob Trouba (B-): He’s struggled at times with those tough minutes as well but is surviving. Gone is the Trouba that was constantly jumping into the rush — he’s following the system. I expected the two young guns on defence would struggle a bit with these types of minutes.

Tyler Myers (C+): He’s played every game, which was a big concern, and his nine points are impressive. What hurts his grade is his defensive-zone play, especially with the puck, where he struggles at times. After last season’s injury (playing only 11 games) he should get better here.

Dmitri Kulikov (C): Being on the third pair with Myers has allowed them to enjoy weaker matchups. He’s had some bad moments, but all I expected was that he would be fine on a third pairing. He’s been a definite upgrade from past years.

Not Met Expectations

Nikolaj Ehlers (B-): He gets the best mark in this section, as he’s still produced 13 points (eight goals) while suffering from a lack of offensive chemistry with linemates Little and Laine.

Bryan Little (C): With only two goals and seven assists I’m hoping this is only a chemistry thing with his wingers as he tries to figure them out.

Steve Mason: (C) He got off to a bad start in the first two games of the season, but has turned it around after that, giving the Jets the type of excellent goaltending they expected from him.

Shawn Matthias (D): He had a number of glorious chances early but couldn’t bury those (two assists in 17 games), and the rest of his game wasn’t good enough.

Exceeded Expectations

Connor Hellebuyck (A+): The main reason for the Jets stellar record thus far, I continued to believe in him after last year so I had reasonable expectations. As he started the season as the backup goalie though, he’s greatly exceeded them.

Kyle Connor (B+): After beginning the season in the minors, he’s come back as a strong battler for pucks to augment a great set of hands and feet. He needs some improvement in defensive zone, naturally.

Toby Enstrom (B-): Considering his injuries, age and decline in play last year, I was worried his days of being a decent NHL player might be winding down. However, he was the most consistent defenceman until he got hurt, using his smarts to make plays that often go unnoticed.

Brandon Tanev (C): Last year he flew around the ice and hardly ever went to the right spot. This year he’s created some good chaos in the proper areas, providing some solid work in the bottom-six forward group.

Matt Hendricks (C-): While he’s certainly struggled at times, my expectations were zero, but he’s had his good moments too. You certainly get everything he’s got in the tank — I just don’t see him in the regular lineup if the Jets make the playoffs.

Mathieu Perreault, Tucker Poolman, Ben Chariot and Marko Dano don’t qualify as they didn’t play enough games.

The Jets are flying high but there’s still plenty of room for improvement.

Chosen ninth overall by the NHL’s St. Louis Blues and first overall by the WHA’s Houston Aeros in 1977, Scott Campbell has now been drafted by the Winnipeg Free Press to play a new style of game.

Twitter: @NHL_Campbell