The Winnipeg Jets are 2-3-0 to start the 2023-24 campaign. There’s been some things to like, but also many things to dislike, about their first 300 minutes (well, 304, since they went to overtime once) of hockey.
Here, we’ll look at three of each.
Thing to Like 1: Quick Starts for Connor and Scheifele
Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele, two-third of the top line, are the top two Jets forwards in points. Scheifele has four goals and two assists for six points, while Connor has three goals and two assists for five points.
It’s good to see both off to quick offensive starts. Scheifele set a career high in goals last season with 42, but his 68 points was his lowest total in an 82-game season since 2015-16 and was it was also the first time he failed to produce at at least a point per game clip since that same season.
Connor, meanwhile, is having a much better October than last. In 2022-23, after scoring an empty-net goal in the season opener, the sniper had just one more goal in his next 13 games. While he still managed to score 31 by the end of the campaign, the slow start was a big reason his total was a far cry from the 47 he scored in his superb Lady-Byng winning 2021-22.
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Connor and Scheifele are currently minus players, at minus-4 and minus-3 respectively — they have done part of their damage on the power play — but have posted relatively strong possession metrics and were caving in opponents when Gabriel Vilardi was their right winger for the first two games (plus five minutes) of the season.
Thing to Dislike 1: Another Injury to Vilardi
Unfortunately, Vilardi — the up and comer who was given first-line and first-power play responsibilities to begin the season — is already on the shelf with a long-term injury.
Early into the third game of the season Tuesday against the Los Angeles Kings, Vilardi was tripped by Blake Lizotte and went down awkwardly on his leg, spraining his MCL in the progress. He is out four to six weeks.
It was tough to see the 24-year-old go down, not only because he looked poised for a breakout alongside top-end line mates after scoring a career-high 23 goals with the Kings last season in a bottom-six role, but also because he has struggled with injury in his young career. It was even tougher to see him go down in the first game against his old team, who traded him to the Jets in June as part of the return for Pierre-Luc Dubois.
Vilardi missed 19 games last season with an upper body injury, and before that, was plagued by chronic back issues. He was limited to 54 games in 2020-21 and 64 games in 2021-22 (split between the Kings and AHL affiliate Ontario Reign.)
Thing to Like 2: Everything About Alex Iafallo
Iafallo, also part of the return for Dubois, has been everything he’s advertised as and more.
The 29-year-old forward has not only been a tenacious forechecker and shot blocker, but is tied for second in goals with three and tied for fourth in points with four.
Iafallo began the season on the third line with Adam Lowry and Mason Appleton, but has now been bumped to the first line. He wasn’t the first player pegged for the assignment — Appleton was head coach Rick Bowness’ first choice but Appleton was yanked from that assignment in the second period against the Edmonton Oilers Saturday night after four ineffective periods — but Iafallo showed his versatility by stepping up to the task.
Iafallo also currently has a first-unit power play assignment and has already notched a man-advantage marker. That assignment combined with possible continued top-line time could see him rack up points quickly. He has as many as 43 in a campaign.
Thing to Dislike 2: Sloppy Defence
The blue-line’s overall play and puck management has been way below par way too often, committing too many d-zone turnovers and giving opponents too much space. That’s frustrated Bowness, who preaches a defense-first game.
“It’s everyone. Soft plays at the wrong time…” Bowness said after the Jets committed a pile of defensive transgressions and turnovers against the Vegas Golden Knights Thursday that led to chances and goals against.
“They’re big, they’re strong they’re aggressive and we’re making soft plays. We’re shooting ourselves in the foot,” said Bowness. “Yeah, it’s a mental thing. There’s no question. When you want to get the puck out of your zone you make high percentage plays. You make hard plays. We’re making poor percentage plays and we’re making soft plays. It’s a bad combination.” (From “Defensive letdowns costly,” Winnipeg Free Press, Oct. 19, 2023.)
Those comments came after his team’s defensive play was similarly suspect against the Kings, where failures to execute clean zone exits were a big part of the second and third-period unraveling.
Brenden Dillon and Nate Schmidt, who were paired together for the first three games and are worth almost $10 million between them, have has especially rough times thus far. Dillon is minus-7, Schmidt is minus-4, and their possession metrics are below 50 per cent across the board.
Schmidt was even scratched in favour of Logan Stanley for the game against the Golden Knights, but was re-inserted into the lineup after Stanley didn’t show much and took a careless first-period high-sticking penalty that resulted in a goal against.
Dillon and Schmidt better not get too comfortable, because Declan Chisholm is waiting in the wings for his first game of the season and Ville Heinola — who had an outstanding training camp but fractured his ankle in the final preseason game — should be available for the back half.
Thing to Like 3: Resilience Over Past Two Games
After failing against to rise above the adversity they faced against the Kings due to Vilardi’s injury and poor officiating, the Jets have shown some resilience.
They fell behind 3-1 in the second to the Golden Knights, who are absolutely smoking to begin their Stanley Cup-defending season, but managed to tie the proceedings by the mid-third (unfortunately, a late power play goal and an empty netter led to a loss.)
It was deja-vu against the Oilers as the Jets found themselves down 2-0 less than 10 minutes into the game against McDavid and company, and it looked like a long night was ahead.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Jets’ 3-2 OT Win Over Oilers
However, the Jets tightened up and clawed back: Josh Morrissey scored in the first, Vladislav Namestnikov scored in the late second due to a miscue by Oilers’ goaltender Stuart Skinner, and the third period was scoreless. In overtime, Scheifele played the hero by tipping home a beautiful pass from Connor to complete the comeback.
The win was important not only because it prevented the Jets from falling to 1-4-0, but also because it restored some of the good vibes that had quickly shrivelled away due to the shellacking them and to low attendance numbers at Canada Life Centre for the first three home dates.
Thing to Dislike 3: Less-Than-Stellar Goaltending
The Jets entered the season with one of the league’s better goaltending tandems, but they certainly haven’t shown their best yet, allowing 21 goals.
Connor Hellebuyck finally turned in a good performance Saturday against the Oilers — stopping 38 of 40 shots — but his first three starts upon signing a massive seven-year contract extension that will see him be one of the league’s highest-paid net minders until he’s 38 were disastrous.
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Hellebuyck let his team down in the season opener by allowing four goals on just 21 shots against the Calgary Flames in a game the Jets dominated throughout. He then allowed four goals on 33 shots in the home opener against the Florida Panthers — including two goals in quick succession late in the third that saw a comfortable 5-2 lead change to a nail-biting 5-4 one before an empty netter saved him — and allowed five goals on 29 shots against the Kings.
Laurent Brossoit didn’t fare too well in his season debut, either, allowing four goals on 26 shots to his former team. The first three goals against weren’t weak, but the game winner off Jack Eichel’s stick beat him to the short side with no screen.
Some of the goals against Hellebuyck were the result of soft (or completely deficient) defensive play in front of him, but Hellebuyck didn’t bail them out either, recording a -2.9 goals saved above expected (GSAx) in those first three starts. His goals saved above average sits at -3.3 through four starts.
While the numbers are ugly, Hellebuyck does have a good record of bouncing back, with a 31.1 goals saved above average and .570 quality start percentage over in his career. Ideally, he’ll be able to build off his start against the Oilers, where he allowed two early goals before shutting the door the rest of the way.
