Jets bond over good times in sunny climes

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This article was published 03/11/2023 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Last year, the Winnipeg Jets kicked off the new season with some fresh mountain air and plenty of bonding in Banff.

Although a second straight training camp retreat wasn’t in the cards this time around, the hockey club has been trying to find ways to re-capture those positive vibes.

Enter this week’s road trip, which saw the Jets take flight a day earlier than usual. With the first game not taking place until Thursday night in Vegas, the team boarded the charter on Tuesday afternoon.

Once they got settled at their usual hotel, a well-planned Halloween night bash was held. Every player was under strict orders to bring a costume. The more elaborate the better. Amazon, we’re told, was an extremely popular outlet.

However, there was a twist. You wouldn’t actually be wearing your own attire. Rather, it would go to a random teammate by virtue of a draw.

Think of it as playing a game of pick-up hockey, where all the sticks are tossed into the middle. If, of course, nobody actually knew who owned each stick.

At that point, a bit of show-and-tell took place, with players encouraged to fully immerse themselves in whatever character they happened to be assigned. Then, based on the reaction from the rest of the room, they had to try and guess who came up with the particular costume in question.

A good time was reportedly had by all.

After practising Wednesday, there was a team dinner and other larger group of events are being planned for later in the year.

That includes the return of the fathers trip, which will take place when the Jets head west for three games against the San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks and Arizona Coyotes in early January.

No word yet on whether any costumes will be part of the festivities.

Around the glass

It was quite a start to the season for former Jets forward Sam Gagner, who is back from the double hip surgery he had late in the 2022-23 campaign and in the Edmonton Oilers lineup.

Gagner, who was the Jets nominee for the Masterton Memorial Trophy last season, scored twice in 13 minutes of ice time Thursday against the Dallas Stars while recording five shots on goal.

Gagner has appeared in 1,016 NHL games and this is his third stint with the Oilers, who are in desperate need of secondary scoring after getting off to a 2-6-1 start. Gagner told reporters in Denver last April that he was hoping to play again and he worked hard rehabbing during the offseason to achieve that goal.

Returning to the organization that chose him sixth overall in the 2007 NHL Draft seems like a fitting next chapter in what has been a great career. That he needed to sign a pro tryout offer before earning a one-year contract with the Oilers is just another example of the persistence Gagner has displayed with regularity.

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It was great to see the passion and transparency from new Ottawa Senators owner Michael Andlauer, as he addressed the media earlier this week to discuss the 41-game suspension for Shane Pinto and the loss of a first-round draft pick for the botched Evgenii Dadonov deal.

Andlauer was clearly upset that the league didn’t disclose either investigation when negotiations were ongoing.

This is the latest example where a bit more transparency from the NHL would benefit all parties. Andlauer is correct when he asks why it took so long to come to a conclusion for the Dadonov investigation. As for the dismissal of Senators GM Pierre Dorion, he’s been aggressive on the trade front but the team only made the playoffs once in eight seasons. There are brighter days ahead for the Senators and he helped lay the foundation, but it’s not a surprise that Andlauer wants to hire his own GM.

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The Vegas Golden Knights aren’t the only team that hasn’t lost in regulation this season. Don’t look now but the suggestion the Boston Bruins were about to fade into the sunset after getting knocked out in the first round by the Florida Panthers after their historic regular season couldn’t be further from the truth.

The Bruins are 9-0-1 and continue to play excellent defensive hockey even after losing Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to retirement during the offseason. New captain Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak continue to lead the way offensively, while the goaltending tandem of reigning Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark (1.77 GAA, .929 save percentage) and Jeremy Swayman (1.38 GAA, .954 save percentage) have picked up where they left off last season when they combined to win the Jennings Trophy.

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What a start for Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes, who leads all blue-liners with 16 points in 10 games — after a five-point effort on Thursday night against the San Jose Sharks.

Hughes has worked hard on his two-way game and is one of the reasons the Canucks are off to a tidy 7-3-1 start under Rick Tocchet. On the flip side, the Sharks are 0-9-1 and have scored only 10 times through 10 games and allowed 45, good for a minus-35 goal differential. Yikes.

There has been some buzz this week around 36-year-old forward Phil Kessel, who is working out in Arizona with hopes to still play in the NHL this season. Kessel, the fifth overall pick in the 2006 NHL Draft, won a third Stanley Cup last season with the Golden Knights — though he only appeared in four playoff games.

Kessel is nine points away from 1,000 for his career and told The Athletic he isn’t worried about his Iron Man streak coming to an end. Kessel is a proven point producer, power play specialist and scored 14 goals last season. It will be interesting to see where he ends up.

Wonder if the Jets would see Kessel as a fit, especially as it pertains to having another option for the power play and to provide some secondary scoring.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld