Winnipeg Jets Notebook

Posted: 1:00 AM CDT Monday, Sep. 16, 2013

THE Winnipeg Jets have a lot of players -- 58 in camp right now -- but not a whole lot of chemistry.

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THE Winnipeg Jets have a lot of players -- 58 in camp right now -- but not a whole lot of chemistry.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/09/2013 (4445 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE Winnipeg Jets have a lot of players — 58 in camp right now — but not a whole lot of chemistry.

And Jets head coach Claude Noel says the result was there for all to see Sunday night in an uninspired 3-1 pre-season loss to the Ottawa Senators at the MTS Centre.

“I think some of that is a lack of chemistry. You’re chasing the puck, you look like you’re playing basketball sometimes out there to a point — bobbing all over the place,” Noel said following the game.

trevor hagan / winnipeg free press
Jet's Anthony Peluso tangles with Sens' Michael Sdao. — trevor hagan / winnipeg free press Jet's Anthony Peluso tangles with Sens' Michael Sdao.

“No continuity of plays, couldn’t get started from our zone, that wears on you. It’s tough.”

Noel hinted cuts will be coming soon as he tries to get his roster down to a more manageable size and get his veterans more playing time in advance of the regular-season opener on Oct. 1.

JETS tough guy Anthony Peluso is going to be taking a lot of seven-minute fighting penalties this season.

A new rule levies an extra two-minute unsportsmanlike penalty on top of five-minute fighting majors on fighters who take their helmets off voluntarily and Peluso — who missed the final 27 games of the 2012-13 season when he broke his hand in a fight March 2 at the MTS Centre — said that’s fine by him.

“I’d rather take that extra two minutes and not break my hand,” said Peluso.

Both Peluso and his second-period combatant last night — Ottawa’s Michael Sdao — were assessed the extra minors along with fighting majors when they tossed their helmets prior to the fight commencing.

THE Jets will have to wait for the regular season before they get to see most of their new division mates.

A pair of games this week against the Minnesota Wild — at home on Thursday and Xcel Energy Centre on Saturday — represent the only pre-season action the Jets will have against their fellow teams in the West’s new Central Division.

The Jets, of course, switched conferences over the off-season as part of a league-wide realignment and will play this season in the same division as the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues and the Wild.

The Jets play a total of eight pre-season games, with dates still to come this Tuesday at home against Edmonton; the two Wild games; in Edmonton against the Oilers on Sept. 23; and then home-and-home against the Boston Bruins, beginning at the MTS Centre Sept. 26 and continuing the following night in Boston.

The Jets open the regular season Oct. 1 in Edmonton against the Oilers.

NEWLY acquired Jets forward Jerome Samson, who played most recently in the Carolina Hurricanes organization, admitted to some nerves Sunday as he contemplated making his Winnipeg debut before a packed house at the MTS Centre.

“The first impression is always important,” said Samson. “I’ve played a couple of games in the NHL already with Carolina so it’s nothing new. It’s the same game, I’m the same player.

“But I’ve got some butterflies in the stomach right now. It’s my first game for this organization and a new start this year, so I want to make a good impression.”

Samson, 26 (6-0, 195, Greenfield Park, QC), played a total of 46 NHL games over three seasons with the Hurricanes and is a physical forward who prides himself on his defensive game. His modest lifetime NHL numbers speak to that: two goals, seven assists and 18 penalty minutes.

The Jets had him playing on a line with Patrice Cormier and youngster Axel Blomqvist.

“I need to show my assets,” said Samson. “I signed here as a free agent. They approached me over the summer and I picked this team because I thought it’d be a good fit. They’ve got good trust in my abilities so I just have to stay calm, stay composed and play my game.”

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca