The Winnipeg Jets have mostly acquired their depth through trades that have bolstered a talented team. Trades like the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade and even simpler moves where general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff only trades picks to acquire players. Many hiccups and headaches have plagued fans, and poor defensive play and general inconsistencies have plagued this team. Players like Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Connor Hellebuyck have had their fair share of slow starts. Unlike last season, the Winnipeg Jets have faced their adversities early in the season. One of the most noticeable things is the fact that head coach Rick Bowness and his team look to be on the same page.
If you remember in the 2023 postseason where Bowness didn’t cut any corners and gave an emotionally powered interview, the players were quick to snap back at their coach. When you see the team post videos of their players on social media, it seems as if the locker room controversy has quickly faded away. Meanwhile, Cheveldayoff has kept himself busy. Trades and free agent signings throughout the offseason gave the team an entirely new identity. He also found some excellent depth signings during the 2023 free-agency period. Free agent acquisitions Jeffrey Viel and Collin Delia have rounded out the roster, while other acquisitions have shaped the top-nine forward group better than anticipated. The work that has been done created some positional logjams that will benefit the team’s lineup in the marathon 82-game season.
The Jets’ core strength has been their identity on and off the ice. From their leadership group to the hardnosed players who battle every second they’re on the ice, the team has been fun to watch. They’ve had untimely injuries, but the players who filled in have exceeded expectations. When the Jets are winning games, Canada Life Center is electric, and the team’s depth players have been crucial in bringing hope to the fans for a lengthy playoff run. Identity is created by the depth of the team, and the identity a team has is a large part of the success they find throughout the season.
The Jets have 13 forwards, eight defencemen, and two goaltenders, with three players on injured reserve. With players like Gabriel Vilardi set to return, Bowness will have a challenge on his hands. Alex Iafallo looks good on the top line, especially with his production with Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele. The team’s second line is most likely where Vilardi is placed where Vladislav Namestnikov is given a role on the fourth line.
Jets’ Depth Players Have Stepped Up
The Jets are one of the deepest teams in the league. When Vilardi went down with a sprained MCL, Mason Appleton tried and didn’t succeed at taking Vilardi’s spot. Then Iafallo was thrust on the Jets’ first line, with Connor and Scheifele, albeit temporarily; the move was a massive success for coaches Bowness and Scott Arniel after Vilardi’s injury. When these moves were made, it was to fill the hole on the team’s top line. If the coaches choose to put Vilardi back there upon his return, the right side will be deeper than originally anticipated for this roster.
Related: Winnipeg Jets 2023 Offseason Review
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When Pierre-Luc Dubois was traded to the Los Angeles Kings during the offseason, it created uncertainty about what Cheveldayoff had planned for the roster and his new acquisitions, Vilardi, Iafallo, and Rasmus Kupari. Iafallo’s impressive 13 points in 18 games this season makes him an early candidate to be the best part of the Dubois trade. Vilardi looked good in the three games before his injury. Kupari hasn’t found his footing yet, but he could explode once he returns from injury, while Namestnikov, now with his seventh NHL team, has shown massive value for little investment. He rose to the occasion when Bowness put Cole Perfetti and Nikolaj Ehlers on his wing. With all things considered, Namestnikov’s showing potential to become a 30-40 point player yet again. If he finds the success that he had earlier in his career, a fourth-round pick in exchange for Namestnikov will certainly look like a steal for Cheveldayoff.
While Dylan Samberg began his rise last season, he’s now a solid option for the Jets’ blue line. His 63-game run during the 2022-23 season was impressive. Early signs of being a strong puck mover and his willingness to play in a stronger role caused him to be a more prominent player on the team. His sheltered bottom-six role helped him acclimatize to the NHL level. It wasn’t until late in the 2022-23 season that he started putting his body in front of shots more and looking more comfortable with the team. This season, he has found a role on the team’s top penalty kill unit. He has also moved the puck with more confidence into the offensive zone. Most notably, he plays just under 16 minutes a night and consistently blocks shots. His nearly 16 minutes of ice time per game is up from his 2022-23 season where he averaged just over 12 minutes per game.
Cheveldayoff’s offseason acquisitions have been a huge boost to the roster. When the big-name players went down with injuries, the depth stepped up and proved their worth. The lack of production from the top players was enough to cause concern for fans.
Depth players can present a challenge for most coaches as they build the team’s identity ahead of training camp. Bowness will have a lot on his hands as he creates an identity for his depth players. The third line of Neiderreiter, Lowry, and Appleton has created a logjam for the forward group that the team hasn’t seen in a long time. The last time they had a third line that carried a true identity, Lowry was paired with Andrew Copp and Brandon Tanev. Depth is a challenge because when these players connect, it’s hard to split them up. When you look at a team’s bottom lines, you hope to see direction and identity. If you look at the last five teams to win the Stanley Cup, their depth players gave them an identity on the ice. The best example in recent memory is the Tampa Bay Lightning’s former fourth line consisting of Pat Maroon, Corey Perry, and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.
Jets’ Early Hiccups Were a Lesson
The Jets had some massive hiccups with injuries that caused major line changes combined with the lack of production from Perfetti, Ehlers, and Connor Hellebuyck early on.
There was considerable frustration from the fans when the lines weren’t changed. Night in and night out, it was predictably the same players getting ice time. Other players like Declan Chisholm, Logan Stanley, and Dominic Toninato are patiently waiting on the sidelines for a chance to play. Continued frustrations grow over the fact that the Jets have played nearly 20 games and only changed their lineups when injuries happen. When it was time to make changes, like Iafallo on the top line, it proved to be a welcome change besides the circumstances that led up to his promotion. What has saved the Jets amid inconsistencies and poor play is their middle-six players, like Neiderreiter, Perfetti, and Lowry. These are some of the names that have stayed consistent to help the Jets beat top teams and secure crucial wins.
As mentioned earlier, whether it’s the team’s on-ice and/or off-ice leadership or the depth players, it’s certainly been presented as a team effort so far and the Jets are positioned nicely to earn a playoff spot.
Finally, the hiccups of inconsistency and some relatively poor defensive plays helped the team rally around each other early in the season. The locker room seems to have worked itself out, and the Jets could go on a serious run with the adversity they’ve overcome early in the 2023-24 season.