Mitch Kasprick is now the “Westdale Curmudgeon”
Odds and Ends, Thoughts and Questions, from this past week in hockey –
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.
UPDATE:
RIP BOBBY HULL
1. Jets: The Winnipeg Jets just had their worst week of the season (0-3) and are in the midst of a stretch where they have lost 5 of their last 7 games. The question is whether the glass is half empty or half full.
For me, the glass is half full when it comes to the team but half empty when it comes to some of the players. Although I’m a huge Jets fan I’m not a cheerleader, I comment on what I see.
Nobody expected the Jets to have this record so I’m pretty happy right now and after this team gets recharged after some well-deserved rest they should HOPEFULLY be fine.
UPDATE:
The Jets took care of business vs the Blues Monday night (4-2) and now go into the AS break with a 32-19-1 record and only 1 point behind Dallas for first place. We can now exhale.
2. Jets: Despite 3 straight losses and one more game left to go before the AS break, the Winnipeg Jets are still 12 games over .500 (31-19-1) and have the most wins in the Western Conference with 31.
3. NHL: Even though they have no cap space my sources tell me Jacob Chychrun, Bo Horvat, and Timo Meier are all going to the Leafs. LOL
4. Jets: I wonder where Mason Appleton slots in when he returns after the All-Star break?
5. Jets: The Jets need to start being more selfish and shoot the puck more and crash the net looking for rebounds. The excessive passing and looking for the perfect play is getting tiring.
6. Jets: It’s hard to believe the Jets’ record was better when all those bottom 6 guys were replacing our injured star players.
7. Jets: Brendan Dillon had his worst game as a Winnipeg Jet on Tuesday vs Buffalo. He wasn’t alone but he really stood out.
8. ICE: The Winnipeg ICE are still #1 in the latest Kia CHL Top-10 Rankings for the 2022-23 season.
Kia CHL Top-10 Rankings – Week 16
as of Jan. 25
1. Winnipeg ICE (33-5-1-0)
2. Quebec Remparts (35-6-1-2)
3. Seattle Thunderbirds (32-7-1-1)
4. Halifax Mooseheads (31-7-4-1)
5. Ottawa 67’s (31-9-1-1)
6. Portland Winterhawks (30-8-2-1)
7. Sherbrooke Phoenix (29-11-2-2)
8. Windsor Spitfires (28-10-3-1)
9. North Bay Battalion (30-11-1-1)
10. Kamloops Blazers (26-9-4-2)
9. Jets: In my opinion, Kyle Connor is going through a stretch where he is not competing like he was earlier in the season. I’m sure this will pass but it is frustrating to watch when his center is busting his ass and he’s mailing it in. I’m not asking KC to match PLD’s physicality but I’d like to see a lot more effort and hustle. It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog and right now there is barely a whimper from KC.
UPDATE:
I thought KC was back to his old self vs St. Louis. He was engaged, skated hard and really competed. An excellent sign.
10. Jets: Cole Perfetti is one of the few Winnipeg Jets players that has been pretty decent during this tough stretch of play by the team. He is still learning the defensive side of the game and sometimes he struggles along the boards but he isn’t a winger. He is also just a rookie and gets a pass, unlike the winger on the other side.
11. Jets: I don’t understand why Rick Bowness is rotating Dylan Samberg and Logan Stanley in and out of the lineup when Neil Pionk is consistently one of the Jets’ worst defencemen on the ice a lot of nights. Unless Samberg is ill or injured I don’t think he should be rotating with anyone. In my eyes, he’s won that job a long time ago.
12. Jets: Poll question-
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13. NHL: Nice call by Jarmo Kekelainen when he selected Pierre-Luc Dubois 3rd overall instead of Jesse Puljujarvi. Jesse looks awful and he needs a fresh start somewhere else.
14. Jets: My weekly question for Rick Bowness, Kevin Cheveldayoff, or Mark Chipman.
This is a question for Chevy. It’s been two years of indifferent play (that’s putting it politely) but what does this organization see in Neil Pionk and please don’t say he is because he is a right-handed shot. That is a piss-poor reason to keep playing one of your worst defencemen.
15. Jets: Special Teams: Rule of thumb. Have the two red numbers (PK and PP) total at least 100% when added (as your minimum).
- PP: 13th at 23.10% down from 12th last week at 23.80%
- PK: 3rd at 83.80% down from 2nd last week at 83.80%
- FO: 24th at 48.40% up from 24th last week at 48.30%
16. Jets: Goaltending:
- Conner Hellebuyck: 23-15-1 … 2.46 GAA … .923 SV% … 3 shutouts
- David Rittich: 8-4-0 … 2.58 GAA … .909 SV%
As far as Appleton goes hopefully they try and package him up to balance some salary at the deadline. That AAV isn’t worth what he brings. Not a prohibitive compared to the value they get from Pionk and Schmidt but that’s a lot to pay for fourth line talent.
And yeah Pionk has been awful. But in all honesty he’s had one good year. Would be nice to get rid of that contract too but that’s probably a summer project.
It also looks like Lowry has reverted back to form no goals in 24 games
Thanks for dropping by Dave …. Pionk’s return on investment is definitely negative value … that money could be better spent elsewhere