The Winnipeg Jets are going to be heavily scrutinized in 2023-24 as they attempt to compete amidst a retool initiated after another disappointing early playoff exit.
Three players in particular will be under the microscope of head coach Rick Bowness and his coaching staff, the media, and of course, the fans.
3: Laurent Brossoit
Laurent Brossoit just got his name on hockey’s Holy Grail, but is not satisfied.
“I was a part of the team that won the Stanley Cup. But the way it shook out, it doesn’t feel like that craving’s really been fully satisfied,” he said recently. This was a reference to being a part of the Vegas Golden Knights squad that won it all, but getting injured early in the second round and watching the rest of the way as Adin Hill stole the show.
“It was a great experience,” Brossoit, who played for the Jets between 2018 and 2021 and has re-joined them on a one-year deal, said. “It definitely made me hungrier to be a bigger part of another Stanley Cup win.” (From ‘Signing with Jets a no-brainer,’ Winnipeg Free Press, July 4, 2023.)
Brossoit’s 2022-23 with the Golden Knights indeed was up-and-down, and included some time in the AHL as the Golden Knights’ goalie carousel spun with alacrity. Brossoit got a chance down the stretch, though, and made the most of it, going 7-0-3 with a 2.17 GAA and .927 SV% in 10 starts and 11 appearances.
He then soundly outplayed then-former and now-current teammate Connor Hellebuyck in the first round, going 4-1-0 with a 2.42 GAA and .915 SV%, before getting injured in Game 3 of the second round against the Edmonton Oilers.
“I think I showed a lot of people what I can do, showed myself what I can do this past year. But everyone wants to see a little more of that, a full season,” he said.
The 30-year-old, by signing a one-year deal, is betting on himself and said establishing himself as a “bona fide starter” is the goal. He has 96-career starts under his belt over nine NHL seasons, but none as an undisputed number one.
“I don’t really want to wait longer than one year after this for that,” he said. “That’s my goal for this season, to prove to Winnipeg and to prove to everyone and anyone who would value me that I can be one of the best in the league.”
Brossoit may just be given the keys to the Jets crease soon, and all eyes will be on him if he does. Hellebuyck has one year left on his contract but no interest in re-signing with Winnipeg, and will either be traded before the season starts or sometime during it.
2: Cole Perfetti
Cole Perfetti is an electric player when in the lineup, but has not been able to stay healthy so far in his young career.
The 21-year-old put up 30 points (eight goals and 22 assists) in his sophomore season and played mainly on the top six. While he looked comfortable with his increased responsibilities, he missed 31 games due to two separate injuries.
It was the second-straight campaign where the 10th-overall 2020 pick spent significant time on shelf. In his rookie 2021-22, he was knocked out for the remainder of the season in mid-February by a Jamie Oleksiak hit and suffered a separate injury while rehabbing that one. With the two suffered last season, that’s four injuries in 69-career games for a player who is undersized by NHL standards and has not yet learned how to protect himself when hit or to avoid them.
While Perfetti is undoubtedly a strong playmaker and remains the Jets’ top prospect, he won’t have much impact if he can’t stay in the lineup for more than a few months at a time. Rightfully, some skepticism is building if he’s capable of handling the physical grind of being a full-time NHLer and safe to say, the Jets need him available all season with Pierre-Luc Dubois already gone and Mark Scheifele likely to be.
1: Gabriel Vilardi
As the key piece in the return for Dubois, Vilardi will be under pressure to prove he’s not a big step down from the player he was swapped for.
The 23-year-old centre/right winger was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in late June along with Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari, and a second-round 2024 draft pick in exchange for Dubois, a disgruntled power forward who refused to sign even a one-year bridge deal to unrestricted free agent status.
Vilardi will enter this season on the heels of a career year and will be under the microscope to see if his breakout into a top-six talent continues. Last season, the 6-foot-3, 215-pounder set career highs in goals (23, just four fewer than Dubois) assists (18,) average time on ice (15:36,) and plus-minus (plus-10) and also had two goals and two assists in five playoff games. In 154-career games, the 2017 first-round pick has 41 goals and 37 assists for 78 points.
Vilardi will also enter this season with his first big contract in hand. A restricted free agent coming off a one-year, $825,000 contract when acquired by the Jets, he nearly quadrupled his salary, inking a two-year bridge deal on July 19 with a $3.43 Million average annual value.
Related: Jets Getting Great Short-Term Value in New Vilardi Deal
Cheveldayoff believes Vilardi is “just scratching the surface” of his potential after suffering through some injuries in his formative years. Vilardi said he is searching for “more opportunity, obviously,” and seems poised to get it.
“Last year I kind of played more of a bottom-six role,” he said just after being acquired. “I just want to keep growing my game and getting better, and obviously helping the Jets however that is. I’m just excited to kind of get going there.” (From ‘Vilardi actually happy to be a Jet,’ Winnipeg Free Press, June 28, 2023.)
