There has been a ton of great talk about defenders on the Jets. Is there any specific questions that can be explored via mailbag this weekend?

Let's be real.....if you are an opposing forward, do you really fear Pionk/DeMelo?Heinola ?
- bennythehat

There is room for 2 or three undersize d on any team. I have room for 4 Morrissey's in my lineup, (maybe average size but plays bigger).

Your point about fear is valid as when a team needs a goal they will crash the net hard and the slot can't be a free parking zone - stick checks wont cut it and it is not reasonable to think that any defenseman (whether it is Hedman, Fox, Makar or Demelo) can avoid pressure situations where 75 years of hockey history has shown that collapsing to the net, overpowering opposing players and blocking shots is the best strategy.

There has been a ton of great talk about defenders on the Jets. Is there any specific questions that can be explored via mailbag this weekend?
- Jacob Billington

I have two questions:

1. Which defensive pairing has the best possession numbers?

2. Which defensive pairing has been on the ice for the most goals against? I am hopeful that there is something that shows quality of competition as well.

Let's be real.....if you are an opposing forward, do you really fear Pionk/DeMelo?Heinola ?
- bennythehat

You salivate at the opportunity to play against a Stanley, you wish for it. Do you fear the guys you listed no, but would you rather other jets D on the ice with you, yes!!!!! Cause the other d are easier to play against

You salivate at the opportunity to play against a Stanley, you wish for it. Do you fear the guys you listed no, but would you rather other jets D on the ice with you, yes!!!!! Cause the other d are easier to play against
- Ross77

I think our D has generally always been easy to play against. Look at the stats, we have continuously finished in the bottom third in the league for high danger shots against. You can put Pieterangelo, Hedman, Josi, Makar and whoever else you want on the defensive corps; as long as no structure is provided this team will continue to give up a high number of high danger shots!

for the mailbag:

where does the Jets alleged 'defensive system' differ from systems used by defensively successful teams? Are we running the same systems as everybody else and just not executing it right? is it a talent issue? effort issue? Can you break it down for us. We all have opinions and point to one stat or another but what the hell is going on?

I agree with this! I am all for skill on the defensive side, however I do vividly remember how Getzlaf manhandled Enstrom during that playoff series with the Ducks.
- TheUltimateJet

Enstrom wasn’t even a problem in that series. If you look into it, he was average. From memory, only Trouba and Pardy of all people had good numbers

for the mailbag:

where does the Jets alleged 'defensive system' differ from systems used by defensively successful teams? Are we running the same systems as everybody else and just not executing it right? is it a talent issue? effort issue? Can you break it down for us. We all have opinions and point to one stat or another but what the hell is going on?
- 2.0

We play a weird, hybridized man to man/zone defensive scheme that involves both comedically overcommitting AND not committing at all to coverage, usually leading to confusion and continued cycling in our zone.

We surrender the blueline with no resistance, collapse to the front of the net hoping to curb cross-ice passing which results in giving up a ton of open space, and we have our wingers literally planted on the walls, leading to them being useless as a defensive support for the dmen, but also being caught flat footed on the breakout, making them also useless to the d as a passing option

There is room for 2 or three undersize d on any team. I have room for 4 Morrissey's in my lineup, (maybe average size but plays bigger).

Your point about fear is valid as when a team needs a goal they will crash the net hard and the slot can't be a free parking zone - stick checks wont cut it and it is not reasonable to think that any defenseman (whether it is Hedman, Fox, Makar or Demelo) can avoid pressure situations where 75 years of hockey history has shown that collapsing to the net, overpowering opposing players and blocking shots is the best strategy.
- 2.0

Colorado scratched Erik Johnson last game to accommodate Byram.

75 years of hockey have shown that what worked 75 years ago doesn’t work anymore. The best defensive teams in todays NHL rarely let it get to the point of having to collapse in front of your goalie.

Let's be real.....if you are an opposing forward, do you really fear Pionk/DeMelo?Heinola ?
- bennythehat

Are you going to fear Stanley? Or Dillon? Who’s having his worst season by miles?
Fear of a cross check isn’t as powerful as excitement to score.

I’m going against Stanley 100 times out of 100 if it’s between him and Pionk, because I (average Joe NHL) can out-skate Stanley, and have seen guys my side leverage him off pucks before.

I can’t escape Pionk, and there’s a non-zero chance he decides to kill us both with an out of nowhere kamikaze hip check.

Same goes for DeMelo. I’m likely just heading to the corner where I lose the puck battle. Heinola will probably let me get to the net front, where I’ll then be hacked to s**t, and embarrassed by him on the breakout

I think our D has generally always been easy to play against. Look at the stats, we have continuously finished in the bottom third in the league for high danger shots against. You can put Pieterangelo, Hedman, Josi, Makar and whoever else you want on the defensive corps; as long as no structure is provided this team will continue to give up a high number of high danger shots!
- TheUltimateJet

This is actually a really fun point. The two listed here who aren’t actually struggling defensively are Hedman and Makar.

Hedman because he’s always been excellent defensively (barring last year’s injury anomaly), and Makar because he can just panic pass to the other him he’s paired with.

Josi has been relatively sheltered by Ekholm taking the hard minutes this year, while Vegas has actually altered their defensive scheme to get around Pietrangelo’s inability to defend at high speed.

Defence is fascinating

for the mailbag:

where does the Jets alleged 'defensive system' differ from systems used by defensively successful teams? Are we running the same systems as everybody else and just not executing it right? is it a talent issue? effort issue? Can you break it down for us. We all have opinions and point to one stat or another but what the hell is going on?
- 2.0

I really appreciate you for asking this question. This is probably the best question that I have seen asked so far!

We play a weird, hybridized man to man/zone defensive scheme that involves both comedically overcommitting AND not committing at all to coverage, usually leading to confusion and continued cycling in our zone.

We surrender the blueline with no resistance, collapse to the front of the net hoping to curb cross-ice passing which results in giving up a ton of open space, and we have our wingers literally planted on the walls, leading to them being useless as a defensive support for the dmen, but also being caught flat footed on the breakout, making them also useless to the d as a passing option
- Rexypoo

"and we have our wingers literally planted on the walls"

That's not true at all, the Jets wingers usually collapse down to the front of the net often almost to the edge of crease leaving the opposition dmen wide open, what the wingers are doing in the defensive zone is pretty much the Jets biggest problem in the defensive zone but being planted on the wall as you put it isn't what they're doing and often if they were planted on the wall it'd be better cause the puck gets thrown up the boards by the Jets dmen but no one is there to get the puck and the opposition (usually their dman) collects the puck to continue their offensive zone pressure or put it back towards the Jets net where there's a ton of bodies obstructing Helle (or Comries) view of the incoming shot.

How are You Folks in Manitoba doing ?

"and we have our wingers literally planted on the walls"

That's not true at all, the Jets wingers usually collapse down to the front of the net often almost to the edge of crease leaving the opposition dmen wide open, what the wingers are doing in the defensive zone is pretty much the Jets biggest problem in the defensive zone but being planted on the wall as you put it isn't what they're doing and often if they were planted on the wall it'd be better cause the puck gets thrown up the boards by the Jets dmen but no one is there to get the puck and the opposition (usually their dman) collects the puck to continue their offensive zone pressure or put it back towards the Jets net where there's a ton of bodies obstructing Helle (or Comries) view of the incoming shot.
- JetFuel

I will have to be on the look out, then. This was not the case for the last couple years, and I’ve been slacking on viewership recently.

I was referring almost exclusively to the breakout issues more so than in-zone defending, my problem there being the weird hybrid coverage

How are You Folks in Manitoba doing ?
- henny1953

Honestly its not as bad as we were told it was going to be, especially here in Winnipeg. I cannot speak for the rest of the province.

Honestly its not as bad as we were told it was going to be, especially here in Winnipeg. I cannot speak for the rest of the province.
- TheUltimateJet

Great to hear!

IIRC, it was supposed to be worse a bit to the southwest, but bad enough to postpone an NHL game in Winnipeg (I don't know when the last time I saw that was...)

I think this board is all pretty much in agreement that the Jets are in serious need of a top notch coach next year. Its beyond obvious at this point. You even see guys like Craig Button get visibly mad at the fact that the Jets are a seriously talented club who should be challenging for the cup but its current coaching and systems just don't mesh with the type of players it has.

I have been saying for two years now the the Jet's system of cycling down low , especially for the top two lines just doesn't work. If you watch the top teams and top lines in the NHL you will see almost all of them use more of an umbrella system where there are three players up high and the cycle tends to happen in tandem with the D which leads to longer zone time and better opportunities to pounce in on the errant rebounds. Sometime you'll see guys like McDavid and MacKinnon actually skate outside the blue line and then back into the zone for some speed to the net.

The other upside of cycling up high vs down low is that you don't get caught on as many 3 on 2 's from the opposing team. If a puck shakes free on a down low cycle the opposing team is up the ice quickly with numbers. In todays faster NHL that low cycle system is better suited to 4th line muckers rather than top talents like Ehlers and Connor. When the Jets do have success its because Ehlers or Connor creates the room up high.

Bottom line is cement-head Lowry is too stuck with Maurice's out-dated system. He won't change. Chipman and Chevy need to bring in new and possibly younger blood with fresh views , but also someone who commands respect. This would be priority #1 in my books.

RIP #22 Mike Bossy

Two things I want to add real quick.

First off, rest in peace to Mike Bossy, one of the best goal scorers of all time. Unfortunate he had to retire due to injuries. Condolences to the family.

Second, sorry for the lack of articles this week. I have been putting lots of time into the mailbag that will either be uploaded tonight or tomorrow. Just want to make sure I am giving the best possible answers to all of your questions. Looking forward to posting this one!

Great to hear!

IIRC, it was supposed to be worse a bit to the southwest, but bad enough to postpone an NHL game in Winnipeg (I don't know when the last time I saw that was...)
- Jacob Billington

Up to 60+ cm of snow with snarling winds. Not pleasant at all, at all,

Highways closed and flights cancelled. Don't think the NHL had any other choice than to cancel the game. Are you say that this is the first time you have saw this happen?

Up to 60+ cm of snow with snarling winds. Not pleasant at all, at all,

Highways closed and flights cancelled. Don't think the NHL had any other choice than to cancel the game. Are you say that this is the first time you have saw this happen?
- grahamzky

Pretty sure that was sarcasm