The Winnipeg Jets enter the NHL’s league wide holiday break on a down note. On Sunday in Salt Lake City, Winnipeg lost 4-3 in overtime to the Utah Mammoth.
At least the Jets salvaged one point. After trailing 3-0, the Jets came back and tie the game and take it to OT. In overtime, however, it took all of 13 seconds for Clayton Keller to win the game for the Mammoth.
Kyle Connor had two goals for the Jets in defeat. He has now reached the 300-goal milestone. Great accomplishment for him.
The Jets big picture
As we enter the Christmas break, the Jets sit with a record of 15-17-3. They have lost four consecutive games and 13 of their last 16.
Coming off of a Presidents Trophy winning season and looking to take another step forward, nobody expected the team to be where it currently is in the standings. The Jets sit just point ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks for the lowest point total in the league.
We’ve reached the point where this season is all but lost. Sure, the Jets can get hot. The problem is that it would have to be sustained for more than half a season if Winnipeg is to climb out of the hole the team has dug for itself. What’s the likelihood of the rest of the season going almost perfectly? Not great.
The bigger question right now: How did we get here?
No replacement for Ehlers
Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff was tasked with filling the void left by the offseason departure of Nikolaj Ehlers. For many years, Ehlers was a mainstay on the Jets’ second line. Nearly every time the top line had an off nights, Ehlers and his line would pick up the slack. Thus far, the offseason additions of Jonathon Toews, Tanner Pearson and Gustav Nyquist have failed to come remotely close to providing the kind of production that we were accustomed to seeing with Ehlers.
Perfetti has regressed
Coming into this season, Winnipeg expected Cole Perfetti to build off of his Game 7 heroics against the St. Louis Blues last spring and take a big step forward. However, thus far the results have been quite the opposite.
In 21 games, Perfetti has scored two goals and seven total points. He has been benched at times over the last few games. For a player that is an RFA next summer, I can’t imagine the Jets offering Perfetti more than another bridge contract.
Jets prospects have not stepped up
Throughout training camp and the beginning of the regular season, the organization presented several prospects an opportunity to step up and seize full-time jobs on the main roster. Unfortunately, none of Brad Lambert, Nikita Chibrikov or Elias Salomonsson made the most of their chances.
Eventually, the Jets loaned all three players back to the Manitoba Moose. That’s not necessarily fatal to a career. Nevertheless, it’s an undeniably disappointing development.
What’s next?
In the next few days, I will turn my focus to what the team must do next to get back to contender status. They are now off until Saturday when they return home to host their rivals south of the border, the Minnesota Wild.
