Sportsnet: Sean Reynolds on the Kyper and Bourne show on what the Winnipeg Jets should look to add to become a top contending team in the Western Conference.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Nick Kypreos: “When I look at the defense Sean, when I look at the defense, I see talent in Neal Pionk, (Josh) Morrissey, (Dylan) DeMelo. I just don’t see big. This is still, I still see big Buff somewhere in that uniform. And, is there thought about finding ways to make this blue line bigger?
Dylan’s there but, you know, Logan Stanley‘s at six-seven and he can’t find a regular situation there. Is there any talk that this blue line still is not big enough to compete in the West?
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Reynolds: “I think there should be talk about that. I think the vast majority of people will tell you that this team is probably a second-line center and a top-four big, rugged defenseman who can also move the puck away from being a true contender in the west. And I would, I would be in that group of people who think that.
This is the tricky part about this, right, Brendan Dylan’s a big strong guy and he can make you pay, right? Dylan Samberg is coming along and quietly having a really, really great year for the Winnipeg Jets. No one’s talking about him, and there’s a reason, he’s not making mistakes, he’s not flashy, but he’s not standing out in a bad way.
But you know, Nate Schmidt is looking like he’s struggled off and on this year, Neil Pionk, he’s again, off and on. This is a guy at one point it was looking like he was breaking out as an offensive defenseman. Josh Morrissey has come along and stolen that mantle and run with it on this team, but I hear exactly what you’re saying. They’re not the biggest defense. I think last year that was exposed really, really badly in the playoffs against the Vegas Golden Knights.
And so I subscribed to your theory that, I think a lot of people expected there to be change over on Jets blue line and nevermind the fact a lot of people but maybe Connor Hellebuyck would be gone and Mark Scheifele and that people expected a lot of change.
(Jets GM) Kevin Cheveldayoff is a patient, patient guy and at times like this, it looks like it really pays off but at other times that patience looks like inactivity, and has cost them in the past.
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If this team has true designs on contending for a Stanley Cup they probably have to get bigger on the back end. But it’s not just a matter of getting bigger. You got to find, you know, that size with skill. And we all know those guys grow on trees. Okay, it’s easy to solve that problem, right? Well, if it was easy to solve that problem, it would have been solved a long time ago and that’s the big problem that Winnipeg Jets find themselves dealing with.