Jets GM stands up for Stanley

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/01/2025 (260 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DENVER — Logan Stanley doesn’t need anyone to fight his battles. The 6-7 defenceman for the Winnipeg Jets is no stranger to dropping his gloves when required.

However, his general manager wanted to make a few things clear Tuesday as he spoke with the Free Press about a number of topics — including the polarizing player he drafted 18th-overall in the 2016 NHL draft.

“I’ve never told a coach who to put in the lineup,” said Kevin Cheveldayoff.

That should put to rest the theory many have floated that he is ordering Jets coach Scott Arniel to keep rolling out Stanley, despite some tough nights of the office which have made him a target of vitriol for at least a vocal portion of the fan-base.

“Specifically to Logan and the roster in general, coaches makes decisions on the roster. Who’s in. who’s out. We have eight defencemen. It’s (Arniel’s) choice who to play,” said Cheveldayoff.

“Coaches make decisions. I’ve never seen a coach make a decision not with the best interest of trying to win.”

Arniel has done plenty of that in his rookie year, with a 31-14-3 record that has the Jets on top of the Central Division and Western Conference. Stanley has appeared in 34 of those 48 games, putting up eight points (1G, 7A), a team-leading 61 penalty minutes and a plus-six.

The 26-year-old Stanley has also made some costly mistakes, including one last week against the Vancouver Canucks in which his turnover led to the only goal to beat Connor Hellebuyck in what turned into a 6-1 Jets victory. Some of the fans in attendance at Canada Life Centre booed Stanley on his next shift when he touched the puck.

“There’s not a lot of perfect players in this league,” said Cheveldayoff.

“If you go back to the playoff series against Edmonton (in 2021), everyone seems to forget the role that he played there in winning four straight against Edmonton. He was a regular shift player, he played all the games. So he’s on a pretty good trajectory as a developing player at that point in time. Now he ends up having a bunch of injuries there. Does his development get changed? Or stalled or whatever? Those are things you don’t know, you can’t prognosticate.”

It was suggested Stanley’s presence could be a sign his team could use an upgrade or two when it comes to team toughness, which can be a big factor in the playoffs.

“You look at what’s available out there on the marketplace. Sitting here today I can’t tell you who or what is really going to be on the market at this point yet,” said Cheveldayoff.

“Sometimes you’ll have opportunities to maybe look at something different, but this is the group we have here right now. It is interesting, because how many games did he play in the 15-1 run? He played quite a few. He played, and he’s part of a group of players that have gotten to this point. Whether he’s a bigger part or smaller part moving forward, we’ll see.”

It was also suggested to Cheveldayoff some of the angst about Stanley might be due to the fact the Jets have lost two defencemen — Johnathan Kovacevic and Declan Chisholm — to waivers in the past two years, with both now playing prominent roles with their new clubs (New Jersey and Minnesota).

“One thing I do know for sure is developing in the National Hockey League is a very unforgiving thing. It’s either unforgiving for the player or the coach or the management. At the end of the day the mindset is to win. And that’s what it’s always been here,” said Cheveldayoff.

“Sometimes there’s collateral damage along the way and we wish things wouldn’t have gone in certain directions or other directions.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg