When push comes to shove… are the Jets ready to answer the bell?

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This article was published 02/10/2019 (2167 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If the Winnipeg Jets’ vulnerability on a rebuilt back end is of chief concern, an apparent shortage of toughness should be the next item on the list.

The Jets forfeited plenty of physicality when feisty winger Brendan Lemieux was shuffled to New York in a February trade-deadline deal with the Rangers for Kevin Hayes. A few months later, defenceman Jacob Trouba was dealt to the Rangers, while winger Brandon Tanev and blue-liner Ben Chiarot inked free-agent contracts elsewhere during the summer.

Players acquired to replace some of that toughness included defenceman Anthony Bitetto and, well… just him. The Jets also signed veteran forwards Mark Letestu and Gabriel Bourque, although neither offers the hard-hitting jam of Tanev, the NHL’s third-leading hitter (278) last season.

Making matters much worse is Dustin Byfuglien’s leave of absence, now well into its third week. The 6-5, 260-pound defenceman can obliterate an inattentive skater like no other in the league, yet his primary role is peacekeeper just by mere presence alone.

Indeed, the game today demands a blend of speed, skill and creativity as a recipe for success, with less of a focus on clout. But the fact remains the Central is still, arguably, the NHL’s most rugged division, yet the Jets’ grit factor has diminished considerably.

Lemieux led the club with four fighting majors a year ago, while Tanev had three. But Winnipeg really isn’t missing an enforcer, as there’s little doubt the league has transitioned out of employing full-time tough guys.

The club needs to be able to out-muscle the opposition in its own end, free up pucks with solid contact on the forecheck and, when necessary, have each other’s backs — some push back when an opponent tries to intimidate them.

Bitetto, 29, maintains the Jets possess a solid brand of team toughness, a more effective way to display tenacity than simply dropping the gloves.

“I said it a couple of weeks ago when I came into camp that it was the hardest-working group that I’ve been around. It doesn’t seem like anyone takes time off. When you have that compete mentality, you can play a physical game, any of us,” said the 6-1, 210-pound blue-liner from Island Park, N.Y.

Winnipeg begins the regular season against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden in New York on Thursday night.

“We lost some guys but I think guys can step up and fill that type of role. Obviously, (Byfuglien’s) a special player. It’s not every day you find a guy like him, size and skill. But it gives other guys a chance to come in and maybe take on a role that’s maybe more physical and demanding in that sense,” added Bitetto, who played 36 games last season split between the division-rival Nashville Predators and Minnesota Wild.

Forwards Adam Lowry, 17th in the league in hits (223) last year, Andrew Copp and Blake Wheeler must exert their presence, while Bitetto and Tucker Poolman need to play big on the back end. Defenceman Carl Dahlstrom, listed at 6-4, 230 pounds and who the Jets claimed off waivers on Tuesday, has the stature but doesn’t come billed as a guy who plays with an edge.

The game has gone younger, faster and more highly skilled than in the past, while tighter officiating on clutching and grabbing forces a different style of play, said Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice, noting that’s where the Jets can gain an edge.

“The vast majority of the group has never grown up in that (enforcer) environment. It’s not as noticeable anymore. It just doesn’t happen. So, take care of each other, stand as five guys and you’ll be fine,” said Maurice. “There’s only one question on team toughness (and it’s) if you can get to a puck first, and that’s it. Go get the puck, then you’re not intimidated with anything that’s going to happen.”

Standing up for a teammate is still a golden rule, although the Jets seemed to break it last Sunday afternoon in St. Paul, Minn., when Bryan Little got levelled with a shoulder to the head from Luke Kunin. The Wild forward faced no retribution from anyone in a Winnipeg jersey and then received no punishment from the NHL’s department of safety.

Little, meanwhile, is in concussion protocol and likely won’t play on the team’s four-game road trip.

Maurice said the dangerous contact escaped the view of just about everyone until they saw it later on replay — and he gives his players a pass for not reacting.

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“To be honest with you, as a coach you’re not going into your room and making a point about that anymore… you’re not circling a name on the board anymore. The league decided there wasn’t anything there so we just move on,” he said.

Earlier in the pre-season, Poolman did take matters into his own hands, challenging Mike Liambas to a scrap after the Wild forward took a run at Kristian Reichel (now with the Jets’ AHL affiliate Manitoba Moose). Poolman said the instincts are there to protect a teammate, however, that’s only part of what constitutes team toughness — the brand the Jets must demonstrate night in, night out.

“Sure, you try to take care of each other, and that’s about as simple as I can put it,” he said. “But to be a successful hockey player and to help this team win games, you gotta play hard in the corners and you have to be able to lean on guys, for sure. That’s the kind of toughness we’re after.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell