Winnipeg Jets Final Quarter Report Card: Defence and Goal —
The Winnipeg Jets finished their third season in River City with a record of 37 – 35 – 10. The Winnipeg Jets defensive corp went through a bit of a makeover during the third quarter of the season and during the final quarter were a patchwork group of third pairing defence led by Mark Stuart who was actually playing up in the lineup due to the fact he was paired with super rookie Jacob Trouba.
Zach Bogosian had a bit of a slip this season but I’m not too worried about Bogo, he’ll bounce back. My only concern with him is the injury factor. I have no problem with Adam Pardy, Keaton Ellerby, Mark Stuart, Grant Clitsome, Paul Postma or Zach Redmond. They are all third pairing defencemen at best but the problem is the Winnipeg Jets have SIX of them, some signed, some RFA and UFA. Tobi Enstrom. Zach Bogosian and Jacob Trouba are the Jets “Top 3” and now this team has to find a left shooting “Top 4” defenceman and then thin out the herd at the five/six spot. Good luck to Coach Paul Maurice with that.
Jacob Trouba ~ The Future photo by Shawn Coates
My Criteria
Keep in mind the first grade is based strictly what I see on the ice. The second grade, ROI, is based on whether I think the player is earning his salary or is the team getting the appropriate “bang for their buck”
Under “Salary” you will notice this years salary along with the “cap hit” courtesy of capgeek.com/jets
Goaltending
The Winnipeg Jets goaltending is still a constant talking point in this city and has really ramped up with the inconsistent final quarter of Ondrej Pavelec and the emergence of Michael Hutchinson in the final three regular season games. I realize it’s a very small sample size but for the first time in three years there seems to be a young challenger for the starting job or at the least a roster spot in goal next training camp.
Michael Hutchinson would like to throw his hat in the ring for a roster spot this fall photo by Shawn Coates
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