Jets discover what shrewd scholars have long known: no ‘I’ in team

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This article was published 15/11/2021 (1447 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It wasn’t too long ago the Winnipeg Jets were a young, inexperienced club filled with what could be perceived as selfish, one-dimensional players.

They came by it honestly, a roster stacked with high draft picks — especially among the forwards — who had risen through the hockey ranks not accustomed to sharing the spotlight. Or, for that matter, playing a complete, 200-foot game. No, the focus was primarily on the offensive zone and padding their personal stats, which ultimately led to big numbers on their paycheques.

Don’t just take my word for it. Coach Paul Maurice frequently said as much, albeit in a slightly kinder way, by noting there were sacrifices his skilled but flawed squad would ultimately have to make to reach their ultimate goal, and plenty of lessons needed to be learned along the way. As any veteran bench boss can attest, building a winner is more complex than simply throwing your best over the boards and letting them run wild.

The Edmonton Oilers, for example, employ not only the greatest player in the world in Connor McDavid, but arguably the second-best as well in Leon Draisaitl. And what have they accomplished in the six full seasons of having two future Hall-of-Famers in the fold? Four years missing the playoffs, one first-round sweep (at the hands of the Jets last spring) and one lone series victory way back in 2017. Woof.

Winnipeg has its own version of a dynamic duo in the former top centre Mark Scheifele and captain Blake Wheeler. Both have been here since Day 1, now entering their second decade with this franchise, and it’s been fascinating to watch how these key cogs have been utilized recently. After dealing with positive COVID-19 tests which kept them out of the lineup for a couple weeks, Scheifele and Wheeler returned to action — and were immediately placed on what was essentially the third line with Adam Lowry.

Not surprisingly, there wasn’t a lot of offence to be found in that slightly reduced role, but the team was still playing well enough so as not to disrupt the good thing they had going in their absence. That unexpected development, perhaps more than anything early in this new season, shows that maybe it’s not going to be business as usual around here with a talented, tight-knit group.

The Jets are 8-3-3, flirting with first place in the Central Division, and Wheeler has yet to light the lamp. The 35-year-old has just four assists through his nine games. Scheifele, 28, finally got the monkey off his back on Saturday night, scoring the overtime winner against Los Angeles for his first of the campaign to go with just three helpers. That puts them in a tie for 319th in NHL scoring as of Sunday evening.

No question Scheifele and Wheeler would love to be contributing more on the scoresheet, especially in a season where Winter Olympics jobs are up for grabs, and you wonder how much their battle with the virus has impacted their on-ice performance to date. In Wheeler’s case, you also wonder about Father Time and its inevitable impact on all athletes.

Regardless, the only points that should matter are the ones in the standings. And when two of your most important players are seemingly on board with a “whatever it takes” mentality, you’ve got a good thing going and the kind of championship culture which is easy to talk about, but difficult to build.

Scheifele and Wheeler both have long-term contracts and job security. What they don’t have is a Stanley Cup, nor the benefit of unlimited time to get one.

This Jets club, as currently constructed, doesn’t need any one or two players to do it all on any given night. Not with the likes of Kyle Connor (11 goals in 14 games), Andrew Copp (15 points in 14 games) and Pierre-Luc Dubois (14 points in 14 games) doing plenty of heavy offensive lifting through the first month. Nikolaj Ehlers (10 points) and Paul Stastny (eight points in 11 games prior to getting injured) have helped the cause as well, giving the Jets perhaps the deepest top seven forwards in the NHL. All told, 15 different players have scored at least once for Winnipeg so far this year.

Along with players such as Lowry, Evgeny Svechnikov, Jansen Harkins and Kristian Vesalainen, Maurice has more options than ever to mix-and-match among his top three lines and balance out an attack that can pose a nightmare for opponents to defend. Just as important as scoring goals is preventing them, something the Jets have made significant strides in as they appear to better recognize the risk versus reward aspect of hockey at the highest level and pick their spots on a more consistent basis than in the past.

After beginning the year 0-2-1 and getting burned for 14 tallies, the Jets have only surrendered 23 in the 11 since, going 8-1-2 in that span. And a big part of that is the dogged work of the forwards, to go with a bolstered blue-line that has also helped the offensive attack. Who had Dylan DeMelo, for example, scoring shorthanded in the third period against the Kings to send it to overtime? Nobody, of course. But that’s the kind of timely production that can turn a good team into a great one.

Getting Scheifele and Wheeler up to speed should only further help the cause. Keeping everyone pointed in the right direction with an “all-for-one, one-for-all” approach will be even more important.

The early returns are promising. Whether it’s coming-of-age from or learning from experience, or perhaps a bit of both, we’re seeing plenty of signs that a crucial lesson has been learned, one that Maurice his spoken about for a few years and should serve Winnipeg well going forward.

If you want to have success in the NHL, there can’t be an “I” in team.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewg