If you’re not sure how excited to get about the Winnipeg Jets’ upcoming season, you’re not alone.
The Jets made another early playoff exit last season after a promising first half and are now retooling to some degree. Pierre-Luc Dubois was traded and Blake Wheeler was bought out, but the changes haven’t been as drastic as expected: Connor Hellebuyck and Mark Scheifele — two players who will be unrestricted free agents next summer and seemed likely to be traded by now — remain with the team as of this writing and seem likely to start the season in Winnipeg (if not finish it.)
Although how well the Jets will do in 2023-24 isn’t entirely clear, there are still things to be excited about as they attempt to stay competitive. Here, we’ll take a look at five.
1: Gabriel Vilardi’s Potential Breakout
The key piece in the trade that sent Dubois to the Los Angeles Kings has the potential to break out into a true top-six talent.
The 23-year-old centre and right winger — acquired along with Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari, and a second-round 2024 draft pick in exchange for the disgruntled power forward — enters 2023-24 with a brand-new two-year bridge deal with a $3.4 million AAV inked on the heels of a career year.
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Last season, the 6-foot-3, 215-pounder set career highs in goals (23) 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 played a bottom-six role with the Kings, but seems set to get a top-six opportunity this season as GM Kevin Cheveldayoff said Vilardi is “just scratching the surface” of his potential. Whether he plays up the middle or on the wing like most of last season, being on a line with skilled forwards such as Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers, or Cole Perfetti should bump up his production. It is too early to predict if he will get top power play time, but any time on the man advantage would also boost his stat line.
Vilardi suffered through some injuries in his formative years and played just 63 games last season. If he can stay healthy and play all 82 this season, he could reach the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his career.
“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.)
2: Players With Something to Prove
Vilardi won’t be the only Jet with something to prove this season. Of course, every player should be motivated to help their team win at all times — as we’ve seen over the past few seasons, this hasn’t always been the case in Winnipeg — but some may have bigger chips on their shoulders than others.
Cole Perfetti will be out to prove he can stay healthy for a whole season after suffering four separate injuries in his first two seasons. As a result, the budding playmaker and first-rounder has been limited to just 69 NHL games and has not made as big an impact as he could have.
In a similar vein, Nikolaj Ehlers will also be out to prove he can stay in the lineup for all 82 after playing 45 games last season due to injury — a career low — and also being on the shelf for four of five playoff games. He has played 70-plus games just once in the past four full seasons and as a high-level producer and analytics darling, needs to be available more consistently.
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Laurent Brossoit will be out to prove to the Jets — and the rest of the league —that he’s starter calibre. Brossoit won the Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights last season but since he was injured early into the second round, considers himself only “part of the team that won the Stanley Cup,” and said “it doesn’t feel like that craving’s really been fully satisfied.” (From ‘Signing with Jets a no-brainer,’ Winnipeg Free Press, July 4, 2023.)
By signing a one-year deal, Brossoit 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. At 30 years old, is running out of time to become one.
3: Better Defensive Play from Forwards
The Jets’ forwards have been too soft without the puck for years and despite head coach Rick Bowness stressing the importance of team-wide defensive responsibility and effort far more than his predecessor Paul Maurice ever did, some players simply wouldn’t buy in. Thankfully, Bowness shouldn’t have to bark as much this season to get his team to commit to two-way play.
Related: Jets’ Forward Corps More Defensively Sound for 2023-24 Season
Vilardi, in addition to his career offensive numbers, produced strong defensive metrics and possession stats last season, with his CORSI and Fenwick percentages at or near 60 per cent.
Iafallo, also part of the return for Dubois, is known just as much if not more for his defensive abilities than his offensive ones and the below player card from The Athletic shows his prowess without the puck. Iafallo, a 29-year-old left winger who can also play centre, has become known in his 420-game career for his ability to get to loose pucks and for his intelligence in the defensive zone. He’s someone who doesn’t make a lot of mistakes and can clean up ones by teammates before they turn into opposition goals.
With Nino Niederreiter and Vladislav Namestnikov — also both strong possession players — part of the top nine and Wheeler — who became the Jets’ worst defensive forward at even strength by a long shot as he aged — gone, the Jets should be able to cut down on the number of high-danger chances allowed and exit their zone effectively more often, easing the load on their often-beleaguered goaltenders.
4: What Josh Morrissey Does For an Encore
The Jets are hoping for an encore performance from their elite defender after his breakout 2022-23.
Last season, Bowness empowered Morrissey to jump up in the play and encouraged him to challenge for the Norris Trophy. As a result of his new bench boss’ faith in him, he busted out with an All-Star campaign, putting up 76 points (16 goals, 60 assists) to more than double his old career best of 37 while also cementing himself as a cornerstone of the franchise and one of the NHL’s best blue liners.
The 28-year-old, originally drafted 13th overall in 2013, had been a reliable defender and top-four mainstay long prior to last season, logging an average of 20-plus minutes per game since 2017-18 and posting 242 points in 501 games. However, last season was the first time he displayed utter dominance. He was one of the deadliest offensive defencemen in the NHL, despite being tied for being 34th-highest paid, and posted a surplus value of $6.1 million.
Even if his point totals dip a bit this season — 76 is no easy feat for a defenseman, even one who logs as much ice time as he does — all signs point to his ability to keep the momentum rolling. The only way the defender, who became known as “Josh Norrissey” among fans, could do any better is to actually be one of three Norris finalists a this time around (he finished fifth.) Regardless, expect him to play 24-plus minutes per game again and perform at a high level in all situations.
5: New Leaders Emerging
Wheeler, the former captain and final connection to the Atlanta Thrashers era, was bought out of the final year of his bloated contract on June 30. Not only does clear up some short-term cap space for Cheveldayoff, it also clears the way for new leaders to truly establish themselves.
Related: Jets’ Wheeler Buyout the Right Decision for Franchise
Last September, the then-brand-new Bowness stripped Wheeler of the captaincy he’d held since 2016. It was a gutsy move, serving not only as not only an indictment of Wheeler’s inability to establish a winning culture during his time as captain, but also a clear signal to every Jet the status quo that led to continual disappointment in 2021-22 was no longer acceptable.
However, in exit interviews after the Jets fell in five to the Golden Knights in the first round, it was clear the “changing of the guard” Bowness attempted didn’t really work. In bombshell comments that didn’t get enough press, many players said they still viewed Wheeler as the captain anyway.
This revelation was interesting since Wheeler was never a particularly effective leader or suited, personality-wise, to wear the C. It’s unknown if he tried to undermine the new leadership group or to hang onto his outsized voice in any way, but it’s worth noting that even if he didn’t do anything like that, he was still widely regarded as the boss.
Now that Wheeler’s influence is truly gone, new leaders have a real chance to step up. The leadership core is currently comprised of three alternates: Adam Lowry, Morrissey, and Scheifele.
Lowry, the pugnacious and physical third-line centre, only got a letter after Wheeler was stripped, but had been considered a leader and a strong voice in the room well before that. He is the Jets’ second-ever draft pick and through his 10-season career, has become known as gritty and hardworking power forward who does whatever it takes to win.
He lived up to his reputation in last season, leading by example in every way while setting a career high in points. It was a good start to his pitch to be the Jets’ next captain, and he should treat 2023-24 as the part two of that pitch.
Morrissey, as discussed above, had a career year and also displayed emerging leadership qualities. His “let’s f-ing go” goal celebration that sparked a comeback against the St. Louis Blues during a difficult January stretch became a rallying cry and was a good example of charismatic leadership. His term is also a plus — he is locked up for five more seasons on a team-friendly deal.
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With Scheifele still likely to be traded sometime during the season, an A will soon be up for grabs. Bowness has often spoken on the need for every player to be a leader in some way — letter or not — and the greater interchangeability they’re going for up front will work toward this goal. There will certainly be a few guys eyeing the alternate captaincy, nonetheless, with potential candidates including Brenden Dillon, Dylan DeMelo, and Namestnikov.