30 in 30: Winnipeg Jets

For Winnipeg, everything old is new again

With the NHL’s 2011-12season finally at hand, the conversation around the Winnipeg Jets can move beyond all the packaging, marketing and nostalgia. Now the focus turns to the team’s on-ice performance as a measure of success.

Despite all the re-branding on the surface and what is all new material for the Manitoba fans, there is plenty left over from the team’s past in Atlanta. Finding a way to integrate the old with the new will be the biggest challenge for the coaches and team leadership.

Of those coming up from Georgia, several are now under their third coach in as many years, a particularly tough challenge for developing young talents like Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian. Add 2010 draft pick Alexander Burmistrov to the list of players still trying to find solid ground from which to grow and thrive as the Jets young core.

Andrew Ladd is the right man to captain the team. The 2004 first round pick of Carolina may already have three teams on his resume, but he also has two Stanley Cups. His knack for success gives him instant credibility and his junior hockey upbringing in the WHL should contribute to a feeling of familiarity for all parties. Ladd can and will carry the banner to keep players from such diverse backgrounds united and marching in the same direction.

Establishing the Jets’ identity and player chemistry will be of the highest priority for former AHL coach Claude Noel. Many of the Jets invited to Training Camp, not to mention their head coach, are plucked from the roster sheet of last year’s Manitoba Moose, (which was the Vancouver Canucks affiliate). The Moose is/was owned by True North and played in the MTS Centre since it opened and is now the St John’s Ice Caps, the farm club to the Jets. Got all that?

The bulk of the Jets top lines and pairings as the season opens are transplants from Atlanta, despite the new logo and color scheme. Will they be able to forget the stunning collapse in the second half of last year which saw them go from 3rd in the East at Christmas to 12th by Easter? Is the addition of Eric Fehr, whenever he returns from injury, enough to make a dent in what was the second-worst goal differential in the conference?

There were no new additions among the top-six defense, either; and with a 29th-best goals-against average of 3.20 last season, again, something was lacking. It’s not clear to me how Noel and GM Kevin Cheveldayoff will accomplish measureable improvement.

Is goaltender Ondrej Pavelec, age 24, steady enough to allow for hiccoughs on the ice without reflecting a drop in composure or the ability to shake off the miscues? How will time be split with 35-year-old Chris Mason? Mason isn’t getting any younger and with no obvious #3 in the system, this is a need that will likely be addressed by next summer, if not sooner.

With all the excitement of the seeming reincarnation of the Jets of old, the team and their fans will need patience as they reconstruct a team that was so badly mismanaged for so very long. It will be a multi-year process for Cheveldayoff and company to sort through what to keep, what to fix and what to let go.

Management’s effectiveness to put together a winning franchise almost from scratch – and do so quickly – will determine if Jets v2.0 will be able to thrive in this small Canadian city where, until a few months ago, the ‘Peggers only connection to NHL hockey was as a bittersweet memory from another era. They deserve better and I think, in due course, they’ll get it.

Additions: Eric Fehr, Tanner Glass, Kyle Wellwood, Randy Jones, Derek Meech, Mark Scheifele (D)
Subtractions: Anthony Stewart, Rob Schremp, Radek Dvorak, Eric Boulton, Freddy Meyer

Fresh Faces from the Farm
- The brightest star on the horizon is 2011 first round pick Mark Scheifele. Will he make the team at 18? He has looked very good so far in camp, but the jury is out if he’ll stick or be returned to Dale Hawerchuk’s OHL Barrie Colts to develop a bit further.
- Most of their minor league prospects are borderline NHL players, not future stars there to master the professional game. The club’s best young prospects (Bogosian, Kane and Burmistrov) have been in the NHL for a year or three already.

X-Factor: Ondrej Pavelec
With all the uncertainty about systems and roles assigned to the skaters, the #1 goaltender will need to be the steady constant that keeps the team on an even keel in what is likely to be a roller coaster of a season. After a great start in Atlanta in 2010, he couldn’t maintain the required consistency, and his performance took a tailspin with that of the rest of the roster.
Breakout: Evander Kane
Kane, who only just turned 20, brings an edge that injects energy and confidence up and down the line-up. Plus he’s got the speed, power and hands that can score – something the Jets will need plenty of. He could see his ice time increase, and with it, more opportunities to establish his game at both ends of the ice
On the Hot Seat: Dustin Byfuglien
Bigger than life, Big Buff seems to be a lightning rod of popularity and scrutiny wherever he goes. Moved to defense by Craig Ramsay in Atlanta, his name was making short-lists for the Norris in the early part of last season. Still, the boating-while-intoxicated charges bring questions about his readiness. Signed to a five-year $26-million contract extension last February by the Atlanta management, will he contribute consistently enough to live up to that commitment?

Bold Prediction: Mark Scheifele holds up under the grind to make the team. As the first-ever player drafted by these Jets, he rides that distinction and a 25-goal rookie season to become the most popular player in Manitoba since Teemu Selanne made his own splashy debut in this town.

The Final Word: Despite the energy and excitement surrounding the relocation, all that puck-savvy passion is a double-edged sword. Canadian fans and media are never shy about expressing disappointment when their teams don’t perform up to expectations. This will be a quick honeymoon as those on both sides of the glass re-learn about the long-term ups and downs of NHL hockey.

RLD’s Winnipeg related off-season posts:
July 13: Manitoba on my mind (Link)
July 28: Southeast Division Off-season Grades (Link)
September 26: Conversation with Evander Kane (Link)

Photo credit: Getty Images