The Winnipeg Jets are now losers of four straight games and are an abysmal 3-7-1 in the month of January. This is a team that was once top-three in the Central Division, but are now out of a playoff position and fighting just to stay in the race.
Related: Jets’ Struggles Will Continue
While the following players are not the sole reason for the team’s recent slumps, they also are not helping a lot either. I am going to take a look at three Jets who have been underachieving the most through 51 games this season.
You will notice and wonder why not a single defencemen had made this list and the sole reason for that is there were never high expectations for the entire group to begin with. The three players listed were expected to have much bigger impacts this season and, for whatever reasons, are not even close to doing so.
3 – Laurent Brossoit
Backup goaltender Laurent Brossoit was a breath of fresh air last season which saw him finish with a 13-6-2 record and a .925 save percentage (SV%). He was everything the Jets needed in a backup and he stepped into the crease with confidence when starter Connor Hellebuyck needed a night off.
This season has been a completely different story for the 26-year-old and while I do not believe all the blame should be thrown on him regarding his poor numbers I do think he needs to be a lot better. His 3.71 GAA and .883 SV% is not cutting it and the Jets have lost four of the last five games he has started.
Hellebuyck has had a heavy workload this season and is starting to show some signs of fatigue. There is no better time than now for Brossoit to step up and ease some of the pressure off Hellebuyck as we head full swing into the back half of the regular season.
2 – Mathieu Perreault
Mathieu Perreault had somewhat of a down year in 2018-19 and many expected him to regain his 40-point pace from seasons past here in the 2019-20 season. With Brandon Tanev leaving for Pittsburgh and many question marks around the Jets’ bottom-six to start the season, Perreault was expected to be one of the guys to step things up.
However, Perreault currently sits with just 14 points through 45 games played and has the second-worst plus/minus on the team with a minus-nine rating. His shooting percentage is the lowest it has been since the 2015-16 season at just 9.1% and he still seems to take those ill-timed penalties that hurt the team in key situations.
Perreault has simply not had the offensive production he once had with the Jets and this has been another frustrating season for the 32-year-old. Secondary scoring has been a sore spot for the club this season and Perreault is a big part of that – simply put, they need more from him.
1 – Jack Roslovic
Jack Roslovic started the season in the bottom-six once again this year but got the chance he has been hoping for after Bryan Little’s unfortunate head injury in November that has sidelined him since.
Roslovic got moved up to the second line with two top point-producers in Nikolaj Ehlers and Blake Wheeler. He felt he deserved the chance at a bigger role with more scoring talent heading into this season and he finally got it.
Related: Jets’ Playoff Hopes Won’t be Buoyed by Little & Byfuglien
The unfortunate part is he has not lived up to expectations thus far and has started to get shuffled back to the third line at times. Roslovic has just 19 points through 51 games and has not been a consistent threat on the team’s second line. He has all the speed and effort in the world but for whatever reason, he lacks finish and consistency and that is what is hurting his numbers or lack thereof the most.
I have always been a big Roslovic fan and felt he deserved a look in the Jets’ top-six forward group. I defended trading him at past deadlines as I felt he still had a lot more to show. He is still just 22 years old (soon to be 23) but at this point, I do not believe he is a capable top-six forward in the National Hockey League.
There is still a lot of season left, so hopefully these three players can turn things around and prove me wrong. Hope is wearing thin in Jets land and someone needs to step up – why not these three?
Feel free to leave a comment below on who you feel has underachieved the most for the Jets so far this season.