The final cuts have been made — some surprising — and the Winnipeg Jets’ 2022-23 opening-night roster is now set.
After a promising 4-1-1 preseason where everyone noticeably pushed themselves to the max to impress taskmaster Rick Bowness, the new head coach has cut his roster down to the 24 players — 14 forwards, 8 defensemen, and two goalies — he believes are best equipped to get the ship righted and the team back to the playoffs.
Top Six Welcomes Perfetti to the Fold
Most of the forward slots were set in stone even before Bowness said after the fifth preseason game that he’d “without a doubt” seen enough to know who stays and who goes.
Kyle Connor, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Mark Scheifele were obviously locks for the top six; a new-look top line of Connor, Scheifele, and Ehlers found quick chemistry this preseason and potted some slick goals.
Paul Stastny’s departure cleared the path for Cole Perfetti to crack the top six, where the 2020 first-round pick and organizational top prospect played for a stretch last season before getting injured. The now-20-year-old, who had seven points in 18 games last season, will patrol the wing — if the lines in Friday’s final preseason finale against the Calgary Flames are anything to go by — and is in prime position for a breakout campaign.
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Again, if Friday’s lines are a reflection of regular-season reality, Blake Wheeler will not lose his top-six role like he lost his captaincy. The 36-year-old can no longer keep up when playing 20-plus minutes per game, but if Bowness rolls four lines more evenly than his predecessor, the former captain’s five-on-five play may not be as big a detriment as it’s been since his sudden regression started two seasons ago. He can still be a productive player if utilized correctly.
Youngsters, Veterans, Win Roles On Bottom Six; Harkins the Odd Man Out
There were some locks on the bottom six as well, with Mason Appleton and Adam Lowry never in doubt. Neither was Morgan Barron, despite the 23-year-old missing the first part of training camp with an injury. Bowness said he liked what he saw from the promising power-forward when it came to his penalty killing and decisions with the puck.
Some believed veteran offseason addition Sam Gagner was on the bubble, but this believes his status was never in doubt either. Gagner suiting up for only two preseason games was simply a byproduct of Bowness and company already knowing what they had in the 33-year-old with nearly 1,000 NHL games under his belt.
After a big wave of cuts halfway through training camp and more throughout the week, the situation boiled down to three roster spots for four players — David Gustafsson, Jansen Harkins, Saku Maenalanen, and Dominic Toninato — to battle over.
Maenalanen — a 28-year-old Finnish product who signed as a UFA this offseason — beat out Harkins, who has played 132 games with the Jets over the past three seasons. This was a surprise, but at the end of the day, Maenalanen — a 6-foot-4, 207-pound winger who can be a physical force — impressed Bowness in preseason while Harkins, who was placed on waivers Sunday and cleared Monday, failed to stand out.
An eleventh-hour addition added a bit of a twist to the proceedings, when the Jets claimed 24-year-old Swedish winger Axel Jonsson-Fjallby off waivers from the Washington Capitals on Monday. Jonsson-Fjallby is listed as non-roster pending his immigration status.
Appleton was placed on the injured reserve Tuesday, but Bowness said earlier he’d be good to go for the start of the regular season. Once Jonsson-Fjallby becomes a roster player, one more player will have to be sent down.
Toninato also made the roster and will likely be the extra forward to begin the season. Most probably, Barron will join Lowry and Appleton on the third line, while Maenalanen, Gustafsson, Gagner will make up the fourth line.
Brad Lambert was assigned to the AHL prior to the final preseason game, but the 18-year-old performed well beyond his years, turning heads with his speed, skill, effort, and craftiness. The 30th overall pick of this year’s draft should be the first call-up this season and can play up to nine games without losing a year off his entry-level contract.
Mikey Eyssimont, Jeff Malott, and Chaz Lucius are also call-up options.
Samberg, Stanley Spared the Axe; Heinola Victim of Defensive Logjam
The defensive logjam was one of the biggest storylines of training camp. With GM Kevin Cheveldayoff not moving out Brenden Dillon or Nate Schmidt in the offseason to clear the way for a youngster, there was only one everyday spot open as those two veterans, along with Dylan DeMelo, Josh Morrissey, and Neal Pionk, were all locks.
Ville Heinola, Dylan Samberg, and Logan Stanley were the three competitors for that final slot. Controversially, Heinola was the odd man out and sent down despite his offensive prowess jibing better with Bowness’ goal of getting more production from the blue line.
Stanley struggled in preseason, but the Jets were obviously too afraid of losing him for nothing to waive him — they’ve invested a lot in a player who’s been a long-term project since being chosen in the first round in 2016 and aren’t ready to end the experiment yet. It’s possible Cheveldayoff makes a trade early in the season to clear a space for Heinola, because he’s far too good for the AHL and to reach the next stage of his development, needs to play NHL games.
Bowness justified the move by saying the slick Finn needs more time to “straighten out” the defensive side of his game and make better decisions with puck while under pressure. He said he’d rather have Heinola playing big minutes with the Moose than sitting in the press box or rotating in.
Kyle Capobianco, an offseason addition, also cracked the roster — again, most likely because he was not waiver-exempt and the Jets were afraid he wouldn’t clear waivers.
Taking a look at defensive pairings, Morrissey and DeMelo should be full time partners this season. Last season, DeMelo’s stay-at-home style allowed Morrissey more leeway to be creative and helped him have his best season as a professional.
The other two pairings are less clear and it depends on which of Capobianco, Samberg, or Stanley starts and which two are in the press box. Dillon and Pionk played together quite a bit last season, to mixed results. Pionk and Schmidt and Stanley and Dillon have also been partnered together in the past.
No Surprises in Goal
Unlike in seasons past, there was no crease competition at all. Connor Hellebuyck is the undisputed number-one, and David Rittich will back him up.
For the tandem to be successful, Rittich will have to bounce back and leave his past few subpar seasons behind. He needs to gain Bowness’ trust enough that Hellebuyck’s workload can be eased, because Hellebuyck was drastically overworked last season and was obviously out of gas by March when it came time for the stretch drive.
The lack of competition was partly due to Mikhail Berdin’s departure. The flashy Russian goaltender reported to camp, but took a leave of absence soon after and won’t be with the organization in 2022-23 as per the advice and recommendation of the NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse and Behavioural Health Program.
Berdin’s situation does not involve substance abuse, but rather a desire to be closer to his family in Russia, his agent said, and he will be permitted to play in the KHL this season. If Hellebuyck or Rittich get injured, Arvid Holm and Oskari Salminen are the call-up options.
And finally, moving from the crease to the 10,000-foot view, it’s not an exaggeration to say that this season is pivotal, and perhaps the most important in Jets 2.0 history. The 23 men have but one goal: get the team back to contending.
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Will they buy in to Bowness’ systems and philosophies and make the playoffs, or will they disappoint again and waste another season? We’ll begin to find out Friday, when games start to count for real.