Thoughts on the Winnipeg Jets, Manitoba Moose, and the National Hockey League
Winnipeg Jets grades for the forwards:
As usual in any hockey season, any given NHL roster is going to have its surprises and its disappointments. The Winnipeg Jets are no exception. The Winnipeg Jets forward group in the first quarter of the season has been very inconsistent with the exception of Kyle Connor and Pierre-Luc Dubois. [Read more…]
Mitch Kasprick is the “Motown Curmudgeon” aka “Motown Mitch”
Just so there’s no confusion when I’m spewing my bias, I am a fan of the Winnipeg Jets, Arizona Coyotes, Manitoba Moose, Winnipeg Ice, and all Team Canada Hockey teams.
I am NOT a fan of Gary Bettman or as I call him, Count Chocula. I am a big believer in the 7Ps. You’ve been warned.
1. Jets: The Winnipeg Jets went 1-3-0 last week and as bad as it was and it was getting really ugly, the Jets adverted a complete disaster with a much-needed 4-2 in Calgary on Saturday night. Their record now sits at 10-7-4 on the season. The Jets now have 4 in a row at home and need to get back on track.
2. Jets: The highlight from last week for me was when PLD scored late versus Minny and broke up Cam Talbot’s shutout. I got one point in my fantasy league and the team right behind me lost his shutout. That was a 3 point swing. Talk about small victories.
3. Jets: When people ask me why Paul Maurice hasn’t been fired, I always joke he is a lifer and will never be fired unless he has completely lost the room or the team hits rock bottom. He may not have lost the room yet but I would consider Friday afternoon’s loss in St. Paul to be pretty rock bottom.
4. Jets: I hate to admit this because he was once one of my favourite players buy Josh Morrissey is driving me up the wall. He is now officially my new whipping boy. He is so overrated it’s sickening. The other day Craig Button was telling us how great Josh was and he should be on Canada’s Olympic hockey team’s radar. Holy shit, half the time you need radar to find him after he pinches and gives up another 2 on 1. Hell, in the Pittsburgh game last Monday he gave up a 2 on 1 in the first 20 seconds of the game AND it was Sidney Crosby to boot. I’m so down on him right now I cringe every time he’s on the ice. If you think I’m just being an a-hole, just focus on him for a game or two. He has some good moments but for the most part, when he doesn’t have the puck he looks lost.
5. Jets: It looks like Paul Maurice finally has his excuse to keep the Kyle Connor/Mark Scheifele/Blake Wheeler line for good now since they helped end the losing streak when reunited vs the Flames and KC potted a couple of goals. To be honest, I’m kind of surprised it took this long.
6. Jets: Regulars that visit here know how much I hate the NHL’s officiating and on Wednesday I thought I had seen it all when after a scrum seemed to be defused, Blue Jacket’s forward Max Domi wasn’t quite finished with Jets’ Evgeny Svechnikov and started swinging while the linesman ( CJ Murray or Jessee Marquis), not sure which one decided to put Svech in a bear hug while Domi was feeding him right hands.
Columbus’ Max Domi has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for Unsportsmanlike Conduct during last night’s game with the Winnipeg Jets.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) November 25, 2021
The NHL DPS fined Max Domi which is fine but I’m not even sure it was all his fault. In my opinion, the league should also be looking at the linesmen involved in that skirmish.
Another example was on Sunday in Boston when superpest Brad Marchand slew-footed Vancouver’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson, It was pretty bad and neither referee thought to call a penalty. I just shook my head and wondered why I was surprised?
UPDATE:
Boston’s Brad Marchand has been suspended for three games for Slew-footing Vancouver’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson. https://t.co/SpI0MVHulW
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) November 29, 2021
How do 4 sets of eyes miss a penalty that requires a 3-game suspension? It is time the referees are outed publicly and repremanded.
7. Jets: How long before we see Riley Nash on the waiver wire? He’s hasn’t worked out as planned and he’s now being healthy scratched. I think he would more than likely get claimed and a spot will open up for David Gustafsson. If the Jets are going to do it, do it now before the Christmas roster freeze.
8. Jets: Saturday night in Calgary was a nostalgic night for quite a few Jets fans. Connor, Scheif, and the captain were back together. The Jets were outplayed for most of the game. The Jets’ defensive coverage looked like Swiss cheese. After giving up a couple of early goals, Helle stood on his head and shut the door allowing his team to come back and steal a win.
All kidding aside, this game was a microcosm of the last 3-4 years. The names are different but the play looked very familiar. This hybrid man-on-man system just doesn’t work. It has too many holes in it and gives up too many grade-A chances. It’s time to change the system or change to coaches. I always thought it was guys like Forbort, Beaulieu, Kulikov and Bitetto who were the problem but we have a much better defensive corp and it’s the same old, same old while Forfort and Kulikov are playing just fine with their new teams. It doesn’t take a genius to figure this out and although I think I’m pretty smart, my wife will tell you I’m no genius.
9. Jets: I’m finally putting the Eric Comrie poll to bed. After a very slow start trying to win the fans over, Comrie has reversed some of the doubt BUT not all of it. His numbers are actually pretty good and I think he has played very well overall. I’m still not a fan of smallish goalies and he still scares me a bit every start but that’s me.
10. Jets: I wonder if Paul Maurice end up moving Andrew Copp to the 3rd line with Adam Lowry and Jansen Harkins? I was skeptical about Copp playing in a top-6 role but he acquitted himself very well and although his scoring has dried up a little I have no problem leaving him up there a little longer.
11. Jets: Josh Morrissey got dinged again by the NHL’s DSP. I’m not sure if Josh is considered a repeat offender or not but he better stay on the straight and narrow for a while.
Winnipeg’s Josh Morrissey has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for Slashing Columbus’ Alexandre Texier.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) November 25, 2021
12. Ice: The Winnipeg ICE went 2-0-1 in three home games this past week and improved their overall record to 21-1-1 on the season. The only blemish last week was an overtime loss to Prince Albert. Matt Savoie, Mike Milne, Connor McClennon, and Jakin Smallwood are one, two, three, four in the WHL’s scoring race. After week 8 the ICE are still the top-ranked team in the CHL.
Kia CHL Top-10 Rankings – Week 8
13. Moose: The Manitoba Moose won both their home games versus the Texas Stars this week and improved their overall record to 11-6-1-0 and moved into 4th place in the Western Conference. Cole Perfetti, David Gustafsson, and Ville Heinola lead the team with 14 points but Perfetti has done it in 15 games. He also leads the team with 6 goals.
14. Jets: Even though the Jets were struggling through a 5 game winless streak last week there was some good news, the Jets were in a playoff position on Thursday which was the US Thanksgiving and since the lockout, 77% of teams in a playoff position on this day make the post-season.
15. Jets: My weekly question for Kevin Cheveldayoff and Paul Maurice.
After witnessing one of the worst weeks all season do you think it’s about time to give a couple of kids on the farm a look? (see #13)
16. Jets: Attendance: Winnipeg Jets attendance has never been an issue or a talking point but after a year with no fans, with people still a little hesitant on attending games because of covid, and maybe some fan backlash toward TNSE and Kevin Cheveldayoff, the attendance is down and I’m a little concerned. I’ve gone through the pain of losing an NHL team and once in a lifetime is enough for me. Yes, we have rich owners but the club still needs to be viable on its own merits.
Mitch Kasprick is the “Motown Curmudgeon” aka “Motown Mitch”
Just so there’s no confusion when I’m spewing my bias, I am a fan of the Winnipeg Jets, Arizona Coyotes, Manitoba Moose, Winnipeg Ice, and all Team Canada Hockey teams.
I am NOT a fan of Gary Bettman or as I call him, Count Chocula. I am a big believer in the 7Ps. You’ve been warned.
1. Jets: The Winnipeg Jets went 1-1-1 last week and improved their overall record to 9-4-4 on the season. The Jets play at home Monday night versus the Penguins then head back on the road for 3 games this week (Columbus, Minny, and Calgary) with a back to backs on Friday/Saturday.
2. Jets: The highlight of last week’s games was the Jets’ 5-2 win over the Edmonton McWhiners and that win helped them finish their 7-game homestand with an impressive 5-1-1 record. Any day we beat the Oilers is a good day in my books.
3. Jets: Are you kidding me? FYI, these rankings came out on Tuesday so whatever happened after Tuesday’s 5-2 win over Edmonton is irrelevant. As far as I’m concerned ESPN’s rankings are a joke and they have no credibility.
The #NHLJets, who lead the Central Division at 9-3-3 and have just one regulation loss in the last 12 games (9-1-2) fall from 12th to 20th in this week’s ESPN/NHL power rankings — following a dominating 5-2 win over their No. 1 team, Edmonton.
🤷🏻♂️ https://t.co/vI0cuj0h7g
— Mike McIntyre (@mikemcintyrewpg) November 17, 2021
4. Jets: I’m getting a little concerned about the number of two on ones the Jets are giving up because of Josh Morrissey’s ill-advised pinches. Being aggressive in the offensive zone is part of the game now and every defenceman is going to get burned every once in a while but it’s becoming a regular thing with Josh.
5. Jets: It doesn’t matter what line Nikolaj “don’t call me Nik” Ehlers plays on, they automatically become a threat. Ehlers is a line driver and isn’t linemate dependant like a lot of wingers in the NHL. He is an outstanding puck handler and one of the NHL’s leaders in zone entries every season.
6. Jets: Regulars that visit here know how much I hate the NHL’s officiating and on Friday night in Vancouver they didn’t disappoint. Winnipeg Jets never had one powerplay opportunity in a game where the Jets forwards were interfered with countless times in front of Thatcher Demko. This league is such a joke.
7. Jets: The Winnipeg Jets played 125 minutes of hockey in their home and home series with the Edmonton Oilers last week and only gave up THREE goals and only ONE at even strength. Again, ONE at even strength. Let that marinate for a bit. The Jets came away with three points and probably should have taken four and looked very good doing so. The scary thing is this team is not clicking on all cylinders and is still a work in progress.
8. Jets: If you want a good chuckle watch this.
“Ladies and gentlemans, welcome aboard. Your captain speaking!”
Go ice-level with Evgeny Svechnikov as the Jets took on the Kings in another edition of Mic’d Up presented by @DavesQuickPrint!
WATCH 🔽 pic.twitter.com/hxOndpI7wB
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) November 18, 2021
9. Jets: Going into camp most Winnipeg Jets fans think this is the biggest talking point. The concern seems to be waning in light of Eric Comrie’s play so far this season although I still need to see more and against some tougher competition BUT so far, so good. We will probably run this poll for a couple more weeks before retiring it but the angst meter has started going a little more in Comrie’s favour. His numbers are actually pretty good and he has played very well overall but I just don’t like small goalies. He still scares me to death every start but that’s me.
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10. Jets: I see the hate for Blake Wheeler has amped up again from the same vocal minority that has been on him for years. Yes, the captain is off to a slow start but keep in mind he missed a handful of games due to Covid. He probably isn’t a top-line right-winger anymore but he certainly isn’t ready for the rocking chair yet either. One of his biggest strengths was running the #1 unit’s powerplay from the right half-wall but for some strange reason, Paul Maurice has him in the left goal-line bumper spot which is a complete waste of his passing ability. I’ve also heard his detractors say he is too slow which is complete bullshit. He is faster than Andrew Copp and nobody has ever accused Anze Kopitar of being slow although I’ve seen glaciers move faster. The captain hasn’t been putting up points at his usual rate but it’s not from lack of chances. I’m not ready to write him off yet.
11. Jets: I really like the current configuration of the Jets’ third line right now. Jansen Harkin, Adam Lowry, and Evgeny Svechnikov have a nice mix of skill and grind in their game and they spend a lot of time in the offensive end of the ice. It seems like Lowry has to adapt to breaking in new linemates every season but he continues to be a beast and one of the Jets’ most reliable players. We are lucky to have him.
12. Ice: The Winnipeg ICE won both of their road games last week and improved their overall record to 19-1-0 on the season. Matt Savoie, Mike Milne, and Connor McClennon are one, two, three in the WHL’s scoring race. The ICE are still the top-ranked team in the CHL. It’s a great time to be a Winnipeg sports fan.
CHL Top 10 for Week #7:
13. Moose: The Manitoba Moose had a good week going 2-1-0-0 in their three-game series with the Milwaukee Admirals and now have an overall record of 9-6-1-0 and sit 5th in the Western Conference. A fun fact about this team is that there are four defencemen in their top eight scorers.
14. Jets: I hate the Winnipeg Jets penalty killing and I have for years. It is passive and basically relies on Connor Hellebuyck to stand on his head. This team’s PK has been hovering around the basement all season but yet the Jets AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose has the #1 PK in the AHL. I don’t know who the Jets’ PK coach is but enough is enough. It’s time for a different vision.
15. Jets: My weekly question for Kevin Cheveldayoff and Paul Maurice.
Does Riley Nash or Dominic Toninato bring more to the table than David Gustafsson would?
16. Jets: Attendance: Winnipeg Jets attendance has never been an issue or a talking point but after a year with no fans, with people still a little hesitant on attending games because of covid, and maybe some fan backlash toward TNSE and Kevin Cheveldayoff, the attendance is down and I’m a little concerned. I’ve gone through the pain of losing an NHL team and once in a lifetime is enough for me. Yes, we have rich owners but the club still needs to be viable on its own merits.
Mitch Kasprick is the “Motown Curmudgeon” aka “Motown Mitch”
Just so there’s no confusion when I’m spewing my bias, I am a fan of the Winnipeg Jets, Arizona Coyotes, Manitoba Moose, Winnipeg Ice, and all Team Canada Hockey teams.
I am NOT a fan of Gary Bettman or as I call him, Count Chocula. I am a big believer in the 7Ps. You’ve been warned.
1. Jets: The Winnipeg Jets went 2-0-1 last week and improved their overall record to a very sneaky 8-3-3 on the season. With one more game left in their 7-game homestand, the Jets are 4-1-1 in the first six games with a huge match-up versus the Edmonton McDavids on Tuesday night.
2. Jets: Every once in a while you get “goalied” and there is nothing you can do about it. The Jets got “goalied” by Jordan Binnington last Tuesday and outside of a weak opening goal that Connor Hellebuyck whiffed on the Jets played extremely well and I have no complaints about their effort. They definitely deserved a better fate.
3. Jets: Hockey is a game of mistakes. There is no such thing as a perfect game without mistakes and the Winnipeg Jets still make their share but I believe they have greatly reduced their errors and it has shown so far this season and it should continue to get better.
4. NHL: After watching Jordan Binnington’s effort against us last Tuesday I am now convinced he has to be the front-runner for Team Canada’s #1 goalie for the upcoming Olympics. He was a little lucky but he was a lot very good. (see #2)
5. NHL: The NHL might need to rethink their Covid protocols because it seems to be getting out of control. It is getting serious enough that it may affect Olympic participation. With only 50-60% of Americans vaccinated, it looks like Covid will be around for a while. My body, my choice though, right?
6. NHL: Regulars that visit her know my stance on NHL officiating. The officiating really irritated me for the games that involved the NYI, St. Louis Blues, and the LA Kings recently. It pisses me off when plodding teams are allowed to come into our building and get away with their style of play. The Winnipeg Jets are a fast, skilled, skating team that had to endure countless interference, clutching, and grabbing infractions going uncalled in those two games. There would be a hockey summit if this went on in Edmonton with the GOLDEN CHILD. Actually, I think there was in the off-season. I’m sick of the double standards and inconsistencies in this league. Ask Nik Ehers what he thought of the officiating after getting kneed by Brendan Lemieux with no call on Saturday night.
7. Jets: Why do NHL coaches worry about having a defenceman on the ice in 3 on 3 overtime? Overtime is not about playing defence, it is about puck possession and speed. You should put your best players on the ice regardless of position.
8. Jets: Kyle Connor is off to the best start of his NHL career. He is 6th in scoring with 11 goals and 8 assists for 19 points in 14 games. KC has never had this kind of success playing without Mark Scheifele. In the past any time KC was moved off the Scheifele line he went ice cold. KC used to be linemate dependant but now he is becoming a line driver.
9. Jets: Going into camp most Winnipeg Jets fans think this is the biggest talking point. The concern seems to be waning in light of Eric Comrie’s play so far this season although I still need to see more and against some tougher competition BUT so far, so good.
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10. Jets: Kristian Vesalainen is slowly and I mean slowly starting to show a little bit of his offensive skill that made him a late 1st round draft pick. I have all the patience for him in the world because he looks to have some offensive upside. Patience grasshopper.
11. Jets: When Paul Maurice gets the itch to put Kyle Connor back with 55 and 26 and you know it is just a matter of time I hope that he considers giving Nikolaj Ehlers a shot playing there first. I would love to see how many goals Ehlers would score playing with an elite center.
After I wrote this earlier in the week PoMo actually played Ehlers with Scheif and Wheeler. I’m not sure how long it will last but it made for a nice OT winner versus LA on Saturday night.
12. Ice: The Winnipeg ICE went 3-0 last week improving their overall record to 17-1. The ICE are still in first spot in the CHL’s weekly rankings. (updated Wednesdays) Notice that 4 of the top-5 teams are all from the WHL. This should make for some interesting competition. The ICE’s only loss so far was to the #5 ranked Oil Kings in Edmonton.
Kia CHL Top-10 Rankings – Week 6
Why is Ville Heinola still in the AHL?
16. Jets: Attendance: Winnipeg Jets attendance has never been an issue or a talking point but after a year with no fans, with people still a little hesitant on attending games because of covid, and maybe some fan backlash toward TNSE and Kevin Cheveldayoff, the attendance is down and I’m a little concerned. I’ve gone through the pain of losing an NHL team and once in a lifetime is enough for me. Yes, we have rich owners but the club still needs to be viable on its own merits.
Vs St. Louis Blues – 14,004
Vs San Jose Sharks – 14,229
Vs Los Angeles Kings – 13,776
17. Jets: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly this past week.
18. Jets: Special Teams: Rule of thumb. Have the two red numbers (PK and PP) total at least 100% when added (as your minimum).
19. Goaltending:
20. CFL: While resting a few starters, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers lost 28-14 in a meaningless game to Montreal last week but one thing was abundantly clear, if Zach Collaros ever gets injured this team is in a world of hurt. Mr. third and one, Sean McGuire may be able to get one yard when he needs to but as a passer he is an absolute train wreck. I’m not interested in hearing about McGuire’s lack of playing time and the poor weather conditions BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, the bottom line is Sean McGuire was awful. They don’t call me a curmudgeon for nothing.
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PS: Winnipeg Hockey Talk needs someone interested in writing about the Winnipeg Ice. If you are interested contact me (Mitch) at winnipeghockeytalk@gmail.com
In memory of my friend Darryl Manchulenko.
If you have any questions, please give me a shout. You can use the comment section or use the #ASKWHTPOD hashtag on Twitter.
If you like our new format, let us know in the comment section or hit me on Twitter at WpgSportsTalk or WpgHockTalk
If you are interested in writing for Winnipeg Sports Talk or if you know somebody interested, please contact us at:
winnipeghockeytalk@gmail.com
We are looking for writers to cover the Winnipeg Jets, Manitoba Moose, The Winnipeg ICE, Manitoba Bisons, Winnipeg AAA, MJHL, MMJHL, KIJHL, and Winnipeg High School or any sports team in town.
If you have any thoughts on any of these comments or questions, please let me know. We would love to hear your opinions.
Thanks, Mitch
Mitch Kasprick is the “Motown Curmudgeon” aka “Motown Mitch”
Just so there’s no confusion when I’m spewing my bias, I am a fan of the Winnipeg Jets, Arizona Coyotes, Manitoba Moose, Winnipeg Ice, and all Team Canada Hockey teams.
I am NOT a fan of Gary Bettman or as I call him, Count Chocula. I am a big believer in the 7Ps. You’ve been warned.
1. Jets: The Winnipeg Jets went 2-1-0 last week and improved their overall record to 6-3-2 on the season. The Jets still have 4 more games left in their season longest 7-game homestand.
2. Jets: The Jets’ streak of gaining points in consecutive games reached 8 after beating Chicago 5-1 on Friday night but ended after losing 2-0 to the Islanders on Saturday night. Not a bad run considering they played like crap in a couple of those games.
3. Jets: As each game goes by it looks more and more like Evgeny Svechnikov is getting comfortable in his role with the Jets. He was a low-risk/high-reward gamble that looks to be turning into the steal of the UFA season.
4. NHL: Now the NHL has hearings for tripping a guy?
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
I watched the replay of Subban’s “tripping” penalty but it wasn’t any worse than Phillip Danault’s TWO slewfoots against two Jets players vs the LA Kings a couple of weeks ago. One was called tripping and one was let go. The Subban slewfoot was a penalty but it wasn’t any worse than Danault’s. The NHL’s inconsistency never fails to disappoint.
New Jersey’s P.K. Subban will have a hearing today for Tripping Anaheim’s Trevor Zegras.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) November 3, 2021
By the way, PK was fined $15,000 for his bad behaviour. What a joke.
5. NHL: I thought that Mark Chipman and Kevin Cheveldayoff handled their presser fairly well and for the most part I believed most of it but they put a lot of spin on their narrative and had the benefit of following that brutal Gary Bettman/Bill Daly presser. It was staged well, scripted well, and it was conveniently scheduled at 4 pm where it could only last one hour. They left some satisfied, a lot frustrated, and a lot wanting more.
6. NHL: Finally the Jack Eichel trade happened and TSN is more relieved than Buffalo Sabres fans. Now TSN can spend more time talking about Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.
7. Jets: Paul Stastny and Andrew Copp aren’t exactly the fastest guys on the ice but somehow it works. They leave the skating to Nik Ehlers.
8. Jets: Winnipeg Jets fans are now seeing the REAL Pierre-Luc Dubois and he is becoming a fan favourite. He has a contrasting style to most of the Jets skill forwards but he also does it with speed and skill. He plays very well in the heavy areas and seems to have found some nice chemistry with Kyle Connor. Jets fans will never forget Patrik Laine but at least now they see why the Jets made that trade.
9. Jets: Going into camp most Winnipeg Jets fans think this is the biggest talking point.
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This thought was written after the Dallas Stars game on Tuesday.
Eric Comrie got his second win of the season against a goal-scoring challenged Dallas team. He basically did just enough for his team to get the win. He wasn’t bad but he certainly wasn’t great. (.889 SV%) Every win the Jets can get with him starting is a bonus but for me, the jury is still out.
This thought was written after the Chicago Blackhawks game on Friday.
Eric Comrie got his third win of the season against Chicago in a game where he wasn’t tested a lot but came up big a few times when he had to.
This thought was written after the New York Islanders game on Saturday.
Eric Comrie was forced to start in back-to-back games on Saturday versus the Islanders with Connor Hellebuyck not available and he was very solid in a 2-0 loss. Comrie played well enough to keep his team in the game but unfortunately got no support on the scoreboard. Comrie didn’t lead his team to a win but I thought it was his best effort of the week. I think he is starting to win the trust of his doubters, myself included with his early-season play.
10. Jets: Back to the 11 and 7 talk again. Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler are both healthy and playing but Paul Maurice still stuck with 11 and 7. I hate to admit this but I’m starting to dig the 11 and 7. I like that we are getting to see the Jets’ top players a little more as they rotate them in with the fourth-line guys.
11. Jets: When Paul Maurice gets the itch to put Kyle Connor back with 55 and 26 and you know it is just a matter of time I hope that he considers giving Nikolaj Ehlers a shot playing there first. I would love to see how many goals Ehlers would score playing with an elite center.
12. Ice: The Winnipeg ICE won both of their games last week improving their record to 14-1. The ICE have now moved into the first spot in the CHL’s weekly rankings. (updated Wednesdays)
13. Moose: The Manitoba Moose went 1-1-1 last week in the first 3 games of their 6-game road trip and now have a record of 5-4-1-0. They have 3 more games on this road trip before returning home for 5 straight in Winnipeg.
David Gustafsson is the leading scorer with 8 points in 1o games. Ville Heinola and Johnathan Kovacevic are right behind with 7 and 6 points respectively. Top prospect Cole Perfetti has 5 points in 7 games.
I know a lot of Winnipeg Jets fans are waiting for the 2019 1st rounder, Ville Heinola to get his chance with the big club and with injuries in a long NHL season, he will definitely see some action BUT don’t be surprised if 2017 3rd rounder, Johnathan Kovacevic challenges Heinola for a shot at the big club. Ville Heinola is no longer the default first call-up.
As of this writing, the Moose are in sixth place in the AHL’s Western Conference.
14. Jets: The 2 goals by Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele in the shootout Tuesday vs Dallas were things of beauty but it still doesn’t change my mind about shootouts. They are horseshit garbage. I say keep playing 3 on 3 until there is a winner. It should not take long and the lame-ass excuses about time constraints are just that …. LAME. If time is an issue then scrap the anthems. Funny there’s no time constraints when they have 15-20 minute pre-game ceremonies. SCRAP THE SHOOTOUTS.
15. Jets: My weekly question for Kevin Cheveldayoff and Paul Maurice.
Why is David Gustafsson still in the AHL?
I’m going to keep asking until they call him up.
16. Jets: Attendance: Winnipeg Jets attendance has never been an issue or a talking point but after a year with no fans, with people still a little hesitant of covid, and maybe some fan backlash toward TNSE/Kevin Cheveldayoff and his role in the Chicago Blackhawks/Kyle Beach scandal the attendance is down and I’m a little concerned. I’ve gone through the pain of losing an NHL team and once in a lifetime is enough for me. Yes, we have rich owners but the club still needs to be viable on its own merits.
Vs Dallas Stars – 13,174
Vs Chicago Blackhawks – 13,756
Vs New York Islanders – 13,424
17. Jets: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly this past week.
18. Jets: Special Teams: Rule of thumb. Have the two red numbers (PK and PP) total at least 100% when added (as your minimum).
19. Goaltending:
20. CFL: The Winnipeg Blue Bombers improved their record to 11-1 by sweeping their seven-game home schedule with a 31-21 victory over Montreal on Saturday night. They also responded to some early week trash talking by a few Alouettes players that said the Bombers haven’t played anybody tough and they (Als) are better. Pretty tough talk from a team that has Ottawa on their schedule THREE times.
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PS: Winnipeg Hockey Talk needs someone interested in writing about the Winnipeg Ice. If you are interested contact me (Mitch) at winnipeghockeytalk@gmail.com
In memory of my friend Darryl Manchulenko.
If you have any questions, please give me a shout. You can use the comment section or use the #ASKWHTPOD hashtag on Twitter.
If you like our new format, let us know in the comment section or hit me on Twitter at WpgSportsTalk or WpgHockTalk
If you are interested in writing for Winnipeg Sports Talk or if you know somebody interested, please contact us at:
winnipeghockeytalk@gmail.com
We are looking for writers to cover the Winnipeg Jets, Manitoba Moose, The Winnipeg ICE, Manitoba Bisons, Winnipeg AAA, MJHL, MMJHL, KIJHL, and Winnipeg High School or any sports team in town.
If you have any thoughts on any of these comments or questions, please let me know. We would love to hear your opinions.
Thanks, Mitch
