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Jets Talk; Eric Comrie, Kyle Connor, Blake Wheeler |
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The Winnipeg Jets have had a lot of talk surrounding the team over the past week or so. Last night, especially, brings up a few important topics for discussion. Let's get right into what came up.
In a loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, the Jets missed out on an opportunity to play a little bit of spoiler. While the playoff picture in the East is set, and has been since Christmas, the order is not quite settled. Carolina and the New York Rangers are fighting hard for the first spot in the Metro.
The Jets did not play spoiler. The Hurricanes had control of the game the entire time. The only thing preventing Carolina from winning 6,7, or 8-2, was Eric Comrie. Comrie played a fantastic game, and had to make a ton of saves.
Eric Comrie has certainly earned himself an extension as Connor Hellebuyck's backup. Provided any major change, I think the goaltending scenario is set for quite some time.
In other great news from last night, Kyle Connor recorded his 44th goal of the season, matching Patrik Laine's Jets 2.0-leading goal total. On a play that Dubois set up, Connor scored a fairly easy goal for his standards, and with 4 games remaining, I think he beats it.
How do the top goal scorers in a season look in Jets 2.0 history?
Kyle Connor (44) - 21-22
Kyle Connor (26) - 20-21 (56 Game Season)
Kyle Connor (38) - 19-20 (71 Game Season)
Mark Scheifele (38) - 18-19
Patrik Laine (44) - 17-18
Patrik Laine (36) - 16-17
Mark Scheifele (29) - 15-16
Blake Wheeler (26) - 14-15
Blake Wheeler (28) - 13-14
Blake Wheeler (19) - 12-13 (48 Game Season)
Evander Kane (30) - 11-12
The common trend here, is that the Jets go through periods where they have one goal scorer to lead. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily, look at Washington, nobody will top Ovechkin's totals every year, that doesn't mean he is the only one scoring.
But with this list, some of the numbers aren't very high. They aren't known for high goal scorers. That is part of the reason Patrik Laine was so welcomed into Winnipeg. The departure is a whole different conversation, but now with just a 24 year old Kyle Connor in the mix, we will see his name top that list for many years to come.
Finally, Blake Wheeler.
Blake Wheeler spoke to the media yesterday, and while he didn't say anything incredibly wide-open or jaw-dropping, he had some very interesting stuff to say. Below are quotes pulled from Blake Wheeler's zoon call, reported by @mikemcintyrewpg on Twitter:
"It feels like we are back to square one."
Blake Wheeler clearly notes that he feels the team has taken a great step back. to me, saying back to square one makes me think of the incredibly mediocre team the Jets were when they moved back to Winnipeg. I can only imagine how he is taking that.
"We built so long to get to a championship level and sitting here is pretty deflating...this is the best part of the year to be a hockey player, except when you are in our shoes, it's the worst."
I don't like hearing this quote and many just brushed it off. This quote tells me exactly how crappy the locker room is right now. If I am Heinola, Samberg, Perfetti, Gustafsson, whoever, I am not looking forward to that call up until next year. Playing in the NHL is a dream, but I think there might be an internal battle with those prospects getting called up. I understand the frustration, and completely agree and respect what Wheeler said, but that kind of quote comes with a bunch of blowback.
"I certainly take the responsibility for where the team sits. Hopefully we have a locker room full of guys doing the same...It's been my job to build the culture here and I have taken a lot of pride in that over the years. I certainly look in the mirror on that one, and where we've gotten to, the team that we were and the team we are now, I don't hide from that at all"
This is a big one. I love the ownership Wheeler takes of the culture, the room, all of it. He takes pride in being able to be that leader, and I do think that he is a fantastic leader, and great for that locker room, despite his on-ice performance as of late.
"To regain the form that we had that made us a contender. I don’t think it’s a matter of snapping your fingers. In large part we have a group of really good hockey players. Just how do you fit that into a good team? That’s our job.”
The Jets certainly have work to do, but I really don't think they are too far off. Some changes everywhere are needed, and I think that needs to happen first.
I appreciate you all taking the time to read, leave your thoughts in the comment box below, and have a great day!
Jacob
Winnipeg Jets Blogger • 
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