Good thing no team wanted Perreault

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/03/2021 (1650 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The list of professional athletes who go out on their own terms and at the top of their games is a very short one. Father Time remains undefeated, and pride can be a powerful thing when it comes to recognizing the end of the road.

It can get especially problematic when an aging player is still cashing cheques far and above their current skillset, especially in a flat salary cap era. Beloved fan favourite one day. Overpaid bum they can’t wait to run out of town the next. Life moves fast, and it’s not always fair.

All of which brings me to veteran Winnipeg Jets forward Mathieu Perreault.

Now in his 13th pro season, and seventh here in River City, Perreault’s best days are clearly behind him. An avid golfer, the 33-year-old is well into the back nine of his hockey career. Even when healthy, which is no guarantee given his injury history, Perreault doesn’t have the same giddy-up and go he once possessed, nor the same finish around the net.

That would be fine if money was no object for the franchise or he was signed for something close to the league-minimum of US$725,000. But it’s a big potential problem considering Perreault is in the final year of a deal paying him US$4.125 million, on a Winnipeg team right up against the US$81.5-million cap ceiling.

The reality is Perreault would be long gone by now had the Jets gotten their way. There were off-season trade talks in which general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff would have gladly unloaded him for a draft pick but found no takers. And there was the NHL’s version of giveaway weekend in mid-January, when the team put him on waivers. The other 30 clubs around the league said “No thanks.”

I imagine that must have felt like taking a spear to the groin for a guy like Perreault. Not that it was ever personal. He is a quality human being, and the man known to teammates simply as “Frenchy” is beloved in the room. But the business of sport can be cold and cruel, and the Jets had to make some calculated decisions in an attempt to create some financial breathing room. His price tag is what scared everyone else away, too.

But here’s where things take a bit of an unexpected turn, a development that I didn’t see coming and I suspect many within the organization didn’t either. The Jets should be thankful everyone else took a pass and Perreault is still in the fold.

In addition to being a consummate pro and saying all the right things, Perreault’s recent play has spoken volumes as well.

He looks like a guy who is cherishing every minute of the opportunity, of playing every game this season on a big stage in his home country, of showing everyone around the league who was ready to write him off — his own team included — that he’s not done just yet.

“He never complains, whether he is playing less or more or whatever his role is over the years. That’s something everyone can take note from. A veteran guy who has had a great career who’s played a long time already in this league and it doesn’t matter where he is in the lineup, he’s going to work his butt off,” alternate captain Josh Morrissey told me Friday.

The Jets have made his money work, with Bryan Little going to long-term injured reserve. And rather than hindering Winnipeg’s success, he’s actually helping with it. So what gives?

“Matty Perreault loves playing hockey,” said coach Paul Maurice when I asked what he’s seen from him this season.

“I think he loves every part of it, right. He likes being around the guys, he likes the travel, he likes bringing his kids to the rink, he works hard in practice, and he’s never seemed to get caught up in … he’s an unselfish player. He’s not worried about his lot in life. He’s found a way to come to the rink and enjoy it every single day. And that’s the energy and enthusiasm that he brings. That’s why he’s a valuable part of that fabric of our room right now.”

The switch really seems to have gone on in the last month. After registering just a goal and assist in his first 10 games, Perreault has four goals and four assists in his last dozen. That includes eerily similar hard-working tallies in two straight games, victories over Vancouver and Montreal, in which he stole loose pucks in the offensive zone, broke in all alone and beat netminders Braden Holtby and Jake Allen with beautiful backhanders.

There was more than enough jump in his legs on both occasions, as there has been on every recent shift. And a Jets team with an elite top six forward group in Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, Paul Stastny, Nikolaj Ehlers, Kyle Connor and Pierre-Luc Dubois is now getting the kind of depth production that can turn good teams into great ones.

There was a time when Perreault’s name would have been included among those top players, which is how he earned the current contract that will expire in the summer and leave him an unrestricted free agent. The versatile winger, who can also play centre, has always had strong analytics for things like puck possession and retrieval, even as his speed and offensive production began to slow down and injuries mounted. And they’ve been stellar this season.

“I don’t have any distraction, to be honest. I always come to the rink and play hockey as hard as I can. I’ve always done that. I’ve never worried about anything else outside of that. And this year it’s one of those years, Paul is giving me a lot of confidence, he’s playing me good minutes,” Perreault said following Thursday’s 4-3 overtime win in his home province.

“I’ve just been able to find a way, really. My game doesn’t really change. I play the same way I’ve always played, and right now it’s just going in for me. So I’m just going to try and ride it. And the team’s winning games, so couldn’t be any happier.”

Maurice prefers a fourth line that he can trust, rather than one filled with younger, unproven players, and the current incarnation with Perreault and fellow veterans Trevor Lewis and Nate Thompson is serving the team well.

When you throw in a third line of Adam Lowry, Andrew Copp and Mason Appleton, who have 14 goals and 25 assists between them, this is the deepest forward group in Jets 2.0 history. So deep, in fact, that players such as Jansen Harkins, Kristian Vesalainen and Gustafsson can’t even get a sniff.

Their time will come, soon enough. But for now, Perreault and the Jets are reaping the benefits of their long-term relationship going into overtime. Despite the steep price, keeping him around has really paid off.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg