Winnipeg Could Be Better Than We Think
TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button was on SportsCenter with Jay Onrait and was asked if the pundits are underestimating the Winnipeg Jets this season.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
NHL Rumors: Boston Bruins, and the Winnipeg Jets
Onrait: I want to talk about the Jets. Is this the team that we’re underestimating going into the season?
Button: Well, I don’t think we are underestimating the Winnipeg Jets. They had 110 points last year. They had the best goals against in league. Connor Hellebuyck was in Vezina form. The third line with Niederreiter, Lowry, and Appleton is one of the best third lines in the entire National Hockey League. They set the tone.
You know, it’s interesting how they come out, and they just say, this is the way we’re going to play. And they said to the Edmonton Oilers, we’re playing this way. You better match us. And when I talked about the Edmonton Oilers lacking intensity and urgency, it was like, We don’t want any part of this.
This is like, we might have to get our hands dirty and everything. We don’t want any of that type of thing. And they set the tone there. So when you have a Vezina Trophy goaltender who does so many positive things in the game, and then you have a third line that sets a tone like they do, Winnipeg is a good team, and I don’t know who’s going to finish first in the Central.
I think the Central is the hardest division with those four teams, Nashville, Dallas, Colorado and the Winnipeg Jets. They could finish first. They could finish fourth. But this is a good team, and we know that Kevin Cheveldayoff is going to go and make some maneuvers to fortify the team at some point but what a start for the Winnipeg Jets.”
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Note: We here at NHLRumors.com put out the Central Division rankings and have the Winnipeg Jets missing the playoffs. However, that could still happen, but if the Winnipeg Jets are going to play as they did against the Edmonton Oilers they could be a playoff team again.
Maybe the best move by Kevin Cheveldayoff was no moves at all.