GAME NIGHT: Are the Winnipeg Jets and goalie Connor Hellebuyck ready for playoff success?
We take a look at the Winnipeg Jets, their offseason moves, and Connor Hellbuck’s postseason on this edition of Locked On NHL Game Night. When that final horn sounds, you know it’s time for Locked On NHL Game Night. All the postgame reactions to every game across the league, every single night with insights only the hosts at Locked On can provide. Prepare to experience game day reactions like never before. Only on Locked On NHL Game Night. Your team every day. Hey hockey fans, welcome to Locked On NHL Game Night, part of the Locked On Podcast Network your teams every day. Thanks for making Lockdown NHL Game Night your place to get a recap of the night in the NHL during the regular season in the playoffs. We are available wherever you get your podcast and on YouTube. Today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, use the code locked on NHL. You’ll get $20 off your first purchase. I’m Eddie Garcia, an LA Kings fan on the West Coast. He is Shukri Wright’s a Boston Bruins fan on the East Coast. Together, we are normally discussing all the goals, saves, big moments, and stories from the night of the NHL, but it’s the off seasonason. There are no games to recap, but we’re here to help you get ready for next season by previewing all 32 NHL teams between now and opening night. And before we bring in our next local expert to help us talk about today’s featured team, Shu, uh we’re going to be learning more about what’s been going on with the Winnipeg Jets, a team that you and I talked a lot about during the playoffs. I can’t wait and I’m excited for this episode because of the fact that the Winnipeg Jets, they were a team that we talked about a lot during the Santa Cup playoffs and I talked about Connor Halle extensively during lockdown game night. But there are other reasons why I’m excited and I am fired up for this episode. Let’s get right into it. Can’t wait to talk to Harrison all about it. Yeah, Harrison Lee is the host of Locked On Winnipeg Jets and we are excited to have him here to provide us with all the insights of his team. Harrison, thanks for joining us. How you doing? Good. Thanks for having me on. Uh before we get into the offseason moves and looking ahead towards next season, do want to touch base with you on last season. certainly ended uh in a very dramatic way. There were as as I mentioned with Chukree, lots of things to talk about as far as the Jets in their playoffs last year. Uh they end up losing in the second round in six games to the Dallas Stars. But I wanted to ask you from the expectations for Winnipeg going into last season to how things ended up. How do you feel about the overall performance of the team? Uh the the team did fantastically and I mean anyone who has misgivings about the season um yeah the playoff uh run didn’t quite end the way that I think a lot of us wanted and I will admit there were some red flags heading into the postseason. Um you know I think the trade deadline for me was probably the biggest disappointment. I think that that was a really big missed opportunity and I I think the Jets unfortunately added some guys who they’re nice. They are, you know, uh certainly leaders in the room, but in terms of the on ice stuff, I think the Jets sort of hit the the ceiling of what they could accomplish. And for the regular season, fantastic president’s trophy, you win your division, you win the conference. That’s all stuff that you can hang banger uh banners for. But when it comes to the playoffs, I think that that’s still um a hurdle for the Jets to figure out. But as a first year for Arneal coming into um really the full-time head coaching role and certainly the Jets coming off of uh rebuilding really a toxic locker room that had to be broken down and rebuilt during the Bones era. I think that was a pretty darn great first year. You know, you talk about the season that was for the Winnipeg Jets and you look at a team that won the presence trophy. They had a magical regular season. Yes, there were people who were disappointing in the tread deadline for the Winnipeg Jets. But when you look at the season as a whole, they get past the St. Louis Blues in what was, let’s face it, a controversial first round because yours truly was the hardest on Connor Hobbeck this entire postseason run. But they do get past with St. Louis Blues and and as part of an incredible game seven, the the miracle of Manitoba and they lose ultimately to the Dallas Stars. So my question to you Harrison to start off is will you assess the Winnipeg Jets after the playoff run? How do you how do you perceive this team in terms of its current standing and as well as as it pertains to the perception surrounding Connor Hellbeck who let’s face it at times has underperformed in the postseason. Yeah, I mean Heli definitely had a rough series against the Blues. Um his run against the Stars was a lot more of what we’ve come to expect from him. I think the biggest problem for the Jets is that the way that they’re built and this has really been the case for years. Um, the Jets are built from goal out and so, you know, they don’t have the crazy high-end forward talent uh that a lot of other teams do. Now, I still do believe that you can win by committee to a point, but I think the Jets have had issues where either one part of the team has struggled or the other has struggled and if you don’t have everyone working perfectly, it collapses very quickly. And in the blue series, we saw that when Heli was off his game, the rest of the team really had their confidence shaken. Um, and that definitely was uh almost enough to get them out. You know, 1.6 seconds away from uh an early first round exit. That was uh about as dramatic as it gets. I think Winnipeg is still a very good team and this this year’s team will probably finish towards the the the the top half of the Western Conference. Um I do think that they’ve gotten older and slower this off season. And there’s a part of me that’s starting to think that how they’re approaching this is a little bit intentional. I I think Winnipeg is looking at kind of the next five years of where the league is going and where this Jets team is. I think they acknowledge that there were some really big offensive shortcomings. Uh you know, especially when you look at who actually won won the cup, what happened to the Stars in the next round. Winnipeg knows that they’re just going to have to do things differently. And so this season especially kind of feels like they might be taking something of a gap year. Um I I don’t know that they’re entirely believing this to be a deep playoff kind of team, but we we’ll chat about that part a little bit later. Uh certainly I have to bring up Mark Shley. Um not the captain of the team, but certainly one of the leaders of the team. He’s signed long term. Um you know, the way that final game went where his father passes away, he scores a goal, and then unfortunately he’s in the penalty box for the overtime game winner. uh just a heartbreaking way for the season to end when you you know put that in perspective as well. What’s kind of been the reaction uh and what are you expecting from him kind of going forward from this? The thing with Shley and he’s always been a very interesting player is if he’s bought into the way that Winnipeg is being coached and feels like the team is moving in the right direction, you will always get 100% from him. Uh it’s clear before Bones and before O’Neal came in, he was definitely not feeling it. Um, you could tell from the body language on the ice in press conferences. Uh, but the last few years, even if the point totals haven’t always been there, he’s really put up some really great results. Um, this past season, I think, was one of his most engaged. So, when it comes to him, I don’t really worry too much about him. Uh, you know, I think that the way that last year ended, I think we’ll leave a very sour taste in terms of his satisfaction, but I think he’s going to be coming in hungry for more. Uh the only thing with with Shley that I still wonder is if he’d be more open to change. That’s been a really big topic uh with the top line. You know, the Jets top line is good in some ways, but it’s still kind of middle of the pack when you look at it compared to all the other top lines in the league. And that’s one thing where Shley and Connor haven’t always been willing to change. Um and so if this year maybe they’re willing to adjust some things, maybe take a a different approach, I think that would be really beneficial to the Jets long term. But in terms of what I think he’ll do this year, I think he’s going to come out swinging. Uh I expect him to do his usual 35 40 goal sort of performance. Uh no real concerns about him at all. On a team that I look at that you mentioned you expect them to be among the top um contenders in the Western Conference this upcoming season. and they took care of a really big and a really important piece of business um tying in Gabriel Ardi to the six-year $45 million contract extension with the Winnipeg Jets avoiding arbitration hearing. He was he was previously a restricted free agent and he had a careerhigh this past season, 27 goals, 34 assists, and 61 points. When you look at the the Winnipeg Jets in terms of important pieces moving forward for a team that is still a legitimate Stanley Cup contender, how important was this deal for the Winnipeg Jets and Gabriel Valardi in terms of getting this deal done and as well as your projections in terms of his offensive production for this upcoming season? Uh, Valardi obviously a really big piece for the power play and I think that’s really where he’s done um so much of his damage. He’s It’s funny JFresh put out a tweet about him when he extended and said, “Well, he’s not any of these things that usually define a good player, but he’s a very good player.” So, um, Valardi has kind of been one of these guys where I view him as a very pivotal piece in some very specific ways. I think his topline performance has kind of been a little all over the place and it’s not necessarily on him. Uh but in terms of the Jets watching Eers’s walk, you know, there there being some uh potential uncertainty around this off season, Winnipeg signing Taves and a bunch of other guys who are new to the team and, you know, there’s there’s all this upheaval. I think locking down one of your core young pieces was really important. Now, Valardi definitely comes with some risks. Uh his health has been a bit of a question mark the last few years. Um, honestly, as somebody who kind of followed him during his draft year, I’m just really amazed that he’s even had an NHL career. Uh, there was a part of me that was not convinced he’d make the pros. So, it’s awesome that he’s done well. Uh, I think for the teams and city’s image as well, it’s also really important. We have to hear so much about how people don’t want to come to Winnipeg. They don’t want to sign here. And Balardi didn’t exactly have the biggest choice to come to Winnipeg, but he’s called it home. uh based on how relaxed he is in his interviews, you can tell he’s pretty fine going anywhere. Uh he you ask uh what his offseason plans are, he’s like, “Yeah, I’m just chilling with my dog and my girlfriend.” So, um he’s uh he’s seemingly already adapted to Winnipeg life. And I think it’s it’s nice to sort of relax. You don’t have to stress about it. And for both parties, I think the deal works really well. Still plenty to talk about with Harrison Lee, the host of Locked on Winnipeg Jets. Mentioned a couple of names. One big name coming in, one big name going out. Now, we’ll talk about that next here on Locked on NHL Game Night. You ever decided at the last minute you want to head to the ball game with friends or family? Maybe it’s game day and you suddenly realize you want to be in the stands. Well, that’s exactly where Game Time comes in. 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Redeem the code locked on NHL for $20 off. Download the Game Time app today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. We are continuing with Harrison Lee. He is the host of Locked On Winnipeg Jets. And uh talk some more about the offseason moves. you mentioned him very momentarily, but uh Jonathan Taves uh certainly future Hall of Famer, member of the NHL 100, multiple Stanley Cup winner in Chicago. Uh coming off missing uh over a season because of the long COVID issue uh results from that. Um I wonder if seeing Gabriel Landiskogs come back maybe inspired him a little bit, but he’s coming back in the NHL. I thought there were two landing spots that made a lot of sense. One of them was maybe Anaheim with his old coach Joel Quinnville. Uh the other was going back home to Winnipeg where he’s he’s obviously from and he chose to go back to Winnipeg. Uh certainly a big name. Don’t know what he’s got left in the tank. I think we’re all very curious to see. Uh Harrison, what are your expectations about what Jonathan Tes can bring to you? Uh yeah, that’s a question where I I sort of throw my hands up. Um we don’t really have any sort of track record. I mean the postco era this is the most notable case I can even think of of somebody going through uh first off a non-traditional uh treatment plan and rehab process in India. Um coming back two years off he was already kind of slowing down before he left the league and now he’s coming back after two years off. Um he himself has said the the feet haven’t quite caught up yet and I just don’t think that’s going to be a thing for a while. Um, you know, it’s one thing to get yourself back in practice gates, but getting up to game speed and stuff, it’s going to take him some time. I think my big concern with him is that the Jets are looking to him to probably be their 2C option. And I just don’t think that’s going to work. Um, I could be very wrong and maybe he comes in and he, you know, the two years off has really done him good, but I just have a hard time with how the game is moving, the skill barrier, how fast everything moves. I feel like the best position for him is probably at the fourth line. Um I think he’s got the leadership and and you know skill and and certainly uh the experience, but in terms of how this team is constructed and what you really need from him, I think asking him to do that top six duty, it’s going to be a lot. And maybe some of the bonus structure sort of hints at this. uh he gets bonuses for the amount of games played, which I don’t know if that’s a reward so much as it is them not really sure how many games he’s actually capable of playing coming off of all this rehab. Um but I’m I’m setting my expectations very modestly. If he does well, great. You know, obviously it was a very lowrisk signing. Um but I I just I think the Jets are are really relying on the marketing stuff here and some of the you know, leadership qualities more so than they’re guaranteeing that he’s going to be, you know, a tour of to force. I I don’t think that’s going to happen. Uh I think the Jets have a lot of questions around their center depth. Um Lowry being injured and coming back from hip surgery. It’s it’s a bit of a dicey situation. So Taves is kind of going um from a proverbial a frying pan and into a little bit of a fire, but he’s definitely hungry to do it. I think he wants to do it. And so we’re just going to have to get out there and hope that he can keep up. One thing that I am curious about is I’m just keeping it in terms of the Jonathan Tase conversation is because there are people that are looking at this and saying, “Well, he’s the Jonathan Tes of old. He should come in. He should be able to produce right away.” And I’m like, “Hm, not so fast.” Cuz my thought process is this. You mentioned it. He’s been gone out of the NHL two years. I’m sorry. Two years ago, the NHL versus now, the game’s gotten faster. Jonathan T has gotten older. This is not a knock against Jonathan Taes, but let’s be real. I’ve always cautioned against people who have high expectations for a guy that is coming back into the NHL for the first time in two years. And in terms of numbers, offensive production, and you talked about it briefly about the the idea that he could maybe be the second center, and I’m like, I look at TA as a bottom six player at this point in his career. Harrison, is that a fair assessment to make given where he’s at now in terms of his age and as well as in terms of being realistic in terms of what to really expect because the truth is we just don’t know how like you know how many games he’s going to be able to ultimately play this upcoming season. Yeah. You know, I I I sort of think in an ideal world he would have been, you know, either a 3C or a 4C. Um, I think the Jets not really landing some of the big trade targets and free agents that maybe they were hoping for so far has kind of pushed them in a bit of a different direction. Uh, Taves, I imagine, is probably not 100% feeling like the two seed spot’s going to be where he finishes the season. Um, so, you know, I I I think that there’s probably some stuff here where Winnipeg’s just kind of making do. Um, I think we’re just going to have to throw stuff at a wall and see what happens. I would imagine the Jets are going to be comfortable using Nomesticov at 2C. He’s not really a 2C either, but he’s also been playing the last few years, and you’re not worried about a guy having literal health issues uh with with Vlad. So, they already have kind of their fill-in option if things really go pear-shaped. Um I don’t know that it’s going to reach a really bad point, but I think to start the season, we’re definitely going to see some funky stuff. Um and preseason’s going to have to be the biggest test of what Taves can do. Uh again, even towards the end of his Chicago career, he was definitely slowing down. Uh the two-way game that he used to be known for wasn’t quite there. And so I I I wish I had an expectation, but he’s what, like 38 now. Um I I don’t really feel like the impact is going to be crazy. And you know, the Jets as a team are slow. So, I guess that’s fine because he’s probably not going to be um the fleetest of foot, but you look at all these top contenders and stuff, and I just have to imagine, you know, against these teams, I would think you’d probably want him on your third or fourth line uh in a in a real perfect situation. Well, a big name comes in, another big name goes out, Nikolai Elers decides to test free agency and ends up signing with the Carolina Hurricanes. Um, how surprised were you when he decided to go? Was this something that you were always thinking about that that was going to be a possibility or were you kind of confident he was going to stay? What how did the As someone who obviously follows the team very closely, what was your feeling on what he was going to do once the season came to an end? I got a lot of push back from people on Twitter and and YouTube and stuff because I’ve been calling for his departure for years now. Um, I think a lot of us expected it. Uh it it really is a shame the way that it’s kind of ended. And I don’t think it’s necessarily hard feeling so much, but the reality is Nick’s always been underused. Um when somebody gets demoted or pushed down to the bottom six, it’s usually him. The top line doesn’t get broken up very often. Eers is usually the one to feel the brunt of this. And he might play as many shifts as a lot of other guys, but his ice time is always a good two to three minutes behind. If you look in the playoffs against the Stars, uh Mason Appleton had more 5v5 minutes than Eers did. And if you’re trying to win in the playoffs, that just really can’t happen. Um so for me, not a shock. Uh I’m I’m disappointed that it came to this, but uh I I do think the Jets gave him a nice offer. I’ve heard it was around 8 by8. So certainly no slouch in terms of the guaranteed cash. He would have had more money as a Jet than he does as a Kane. But this was just about a a change of scenery, a fresh start, and probably a chance to be used the way that I think he believes he should be. One thing that I wonder about in terms of the Winnipeg Jets, but for the upcoming season is the culture. I like what I saw from from first year head coach Scott O’Neal and as well as Adam Lowry, the captain, in terms of leadership, the leadership style and the intangibles that he brought to the locker room. Harrison, when you when you look at both the head coach and the captain and you assess the leadership and as well as like some of some of the the intangibles that most particularly Adam Lowry brought cuz I thought like his leadership really shined in the playoffs, especially in the situation where um where Mark Shley sadly loses his father unexpectedly. How would you assess the leadership and the quality of leadership um with the Winnipeg Jets and as well as how it has grown as the season has progressed for this organization? Lowry, just off the bat, one of the best captains we’ve ever had. Um he’s really a leader on and off the ice. I mean, the guy has always been very involved in the community. Uh he’s a great brand ambassador. He has the sort of bluecollar grit that really connects to to Winnipeg fans. Uh, and I think, you know, in terms of wearing the the the captaincy, it was a natural choice, right? Everyone loves him. He’s always very outspoken. Uh, during moments of a lot of pressure and stuff, he’s always handled as cool. You know, he’ll drop the gloves if he needs to. And in terms of his play on the ice, he’s always giving you 120%. Uh, apparently the surgery that he had this off season was for something that has been bothering him for like two or three years now, which is crazy. Um, I can’t imagine playing through like a really serious hip injury, especially in the kind of play that he does. Um, and yet this guy is just an absolute warrior. So, I think, you know, everyone sort of remembers the Jets from a few years ago where Wheeler gets the captaincy stripped. Uh, there are rumors that it’s the most toxic room in the league. You have L getting pissed off and wanting to leave. Um, it’s just it’s come a long way since then. Uh, I would say this is probably one of the tightest, most uh, familial sort of approaches to to locker rooms that I’ve seen from this Jets team um, in forever. And I I really do give Bonis a ton of credit. He took a situation that was just a real cesspool. He turned the team around in terms of um, that connection and bonding. Um, and I really feel like this team leadership wise and and in terms of the locker room is probably in one of the healthiest states it’s ever been in. All right, up next we’re going to look ahead towards next season. Also look to a big contract that the Winnipeg Jets are going to need to uh pay out on. Uh we’ll do that next here on Lockton NHL game night. We are wrapping it up with the host of Locked on Winnipeg Jets. That is Harrison Lee. And Harrison, I’m going to throw a little graphic up here for you to look at. It’s the projected lines. We talked about it a little bit. You touched on it. uh and just get your thoughts on if this looks about right to you or if there’s some changes that you expect to see uh for the upcoming season. Uh we’re looking at right now a top line of Shifley, Valardi, and Connor. We t you talked about Taves being uh a bottom six forward most likely, but this uh projected lineup from Puckedia uh has Jonathan Taves as a second center with Perfetti and Nether Rider. You’ve got Nomesticop, Ayafalo and Lungquist. And then a fourth line of Baron Pearson and Keepky. The defensive pairs, uh, Moresy and Dlo, Samberg and Pian, and Flurry and Shen. And then a goalending tandem of Helluck and Comry. Uh, any any thoughts on how accurate this is or things that you expect uh that that are different from what we’re seeing here? There may be one or two changes. Um, it’s really going to depend on what happens in camp and preseason. I think ideally, you know, the Jets would probably have uh Shipperov in somewhere in the bottom six. Um Chipperov, had he not broken his ankle last year, probably would have been in the Jets during the postseason run. Uh he’s very talented. He has some defensive liabilities, but in terms of a relentless sort of offensive motor and finishing talent, I would think Perfect World, you might have him on your third line. Uh, Nyquist might slide down towards um the the the fourth line maybe. Uh, and I would imagine like this particular lineup is probably arranged for the start of the season. Once Lowry comes back, I would not be shocked if they go back to Nita Ryder, Lowry, and uh, somebody on that right wing, maybe Chipperov. Um, I think to start the season though, this is probably pretty close to it. The only guy that might be sitting is either Kepka or or Pearson uh, for Chibberov. And then Lambert is kind of like an X-factor. Lambert for me has kind of had a tough go of it with the Moose. Uh but the Jets have also been asked about their foot speed issues and the first guy that they talked about was Lambert. So Brad might be coming a little bit later in the year and he would probably have to do some stuff with the Moose where he’s unmissable. Um but at least to start the year, this is probably not far off. Uh in terms of the defense, I mean, it’s probably just about that. I I really don’t know that they even care about the third pairing. Uh we will probably see Logan Stanley again, which Lord knows for my own sanity. I tend to uh tend to have some qualms with, but otherwise, you know, this is this is about as good as it gets. And it’s probably why I’m maybe expecting a little bit of a step back to start the season. When you look at the Winnipeg Jets and you you talk about what is one player that you look at this roster and and you say that’s where success begins and ends with in terms of their aspiration winning the Stanley Cup and that is Connor Hel because when I start to look at the upcoming season and I look think I’m already thinking ahead to the Stanley Cup playoffs. I know it’s crazy. It’s late July 2025 and I’m thinking ahead to 2026. Whoops. Sorry, not sorry. But when you think about the Jets and Connor Habibel because the thing that I look at and I was most critical about last stand up playoffs was that this was a team when when Kahal Buck he’s great in the regular season but in the postseason his struggles have been pretty magnified and for a team that has not gotten to the Western Conference Finals and correct me if I’m wrong it was since I believe 2018 when they play against have been the Vegas Golden Knights, but they haven’t been back since. So my question to you is for Kyle Hellabuk from the mental side of things, what is he going to have to do in order to change things up this off season in order to ensure that the Winnipeg Jets ultimately are able to finally get to the Stanley Cup finals? You know, I I don’t know how much more he can actually do. Um, I think what we saw, especially in the first round against the Blues, Hella Buck is a big and boring goalie, uh, which is one of the the hallmarks of what people love about him. And I think during the regular season when you’re playing a very grindy forcheing style, that’s fantastic. Big and boring. Soak up the shots. It’s great. You notice that when you get to the postseason, a lot of the top cup winning goalies tend to have really quick reflexes, a lot of really rapid lateral motion. Um, and Heli in particular struggles with screen traffic. So, if he can find a way to handle some of those screens a little bit better, uh, and maybe read those a bit cleaner, which is asking a lot and not really fair of him, but that’s just what he’s going to have to do. You know, I don’t know how much more he can possibly prepare. Uh, I think he did turn a corner against the Stars. Um, and he did have a couple of moments during the Blues series where you you saw the old helluck, but I just don’t know how much more he can possibly change. you know, he’s he’s 30 now. Uh I don’t really imagine him adjusting his game too much. I think he kind of is what he is. And for me, it it really comes down to the team around him uh needing to elevate to a level that we we really haven’t seen even during some of these recent postseason runs. Harrison, I obviously have to ask you about Kyle Connor uh big UFA uh after this coming season. Obviously, there’s a lot of bigname unrestricted free agents as it stands right now. We’ll see how many of them actually uh you know go to market or not. I’m guessing it’s not going to be very many. But uh Kyle Connor’s name certainly is on that list. Um will this get done before the season? Now that Nikolai is gone, I assume this is if it wasn’t already a huge priority and are you expecting that this will in fact get done? And how much will he get, do you think? Yeah, I I have to imagine it’s at least 12. Uh if they get under 12 mil, I’d be shocked. Um, I think the Jets want to do this before the start of the season. I think if he starts game one and he doesn’t have an extension in place, there’s like red alarms going off in Winnipeg. Um, I don’t think that they want to go through this whole thing again where there’s, you know, another season with a player uh, one of your biggest forwards about to go to UFA. And from everything I’ve heard, KFC is pretty happy to to come back to Winnipeg. Um, I don’t really think that there’s any concern about that. And I know the Jets have made it a priority. He always gets top billing in Winnipeg. I I just don’t see a reason why he doesn’t extend. Um if they find a way to do it for like maybe 11 and a half to 11.75 by 8, I think you can live with that. New cap, it’s going to be proportionally not too crazy of a raise compared to what it was the past couple of years. Um I guess my only concern with it is what version of KFC we get because if it’s the version that we saw this past year, you don’t worry about it. But, uh, with his game, it’s always been a little bit of cheating on on offense, uh, to to make things happen. And so, it could be a very expensive contract anchor. You know, he’s almost 30 now, but I I don’t think the Jets care. I think they look at him as one of their their their banner guys, one of their faces of the franchise. And I think if they go to the start of the season without a contract extension in place, somebody is going to be losing their minds in Winnipeg. Shu, anyone final question for Harrison? Yes. One last question I was going to ask you. Um so so the Jets signed defenseman um like Hayden Flurry um to a two-year contract extension. And I just wanted to ask you like what what does Winnipeg see in terms of Flurry’s development as a defenseman that that that was able to that was a big part of as to why they were able to ultimately um like come to an a contract essentially keep him as a member of the Winnipeg Jets. He skates fast. That’s uh that’s probably about the uh the easiest thing. Uh you know, I think the Jets have cycled a lot of guys on the third pairing. They like their taller, bigger guys. Um you know, Villy Han, for whatever reason, I I know that his ceilings probably declined as a prospect, but I think he would have been fine over the years had they trusted him. They didn’t. They wanted these guys who skate well cuz like Stanley can’t really move the puck super well. Um especially from a standstill. So Flurry, he looks nice. It’s a It’s an attractive game. Is it actually effective? Not really. But in terms of what the Jets have sort of prized recently visually, I guess for them it’s fine. And it was cheap, so I guess they don’t really care too much. Uh but yeah, I mean, in terms of what his game is, it’s it’s it’s not really improving much. He he kind of is what he is, but he has a couple of big hits every now and then. He skates fast, so uh they love it. Well, the Winnipeg Jets will open up next season, October 9th, against the Dallas Stars, the same team that they ended the season with last year. So, that’ll certainly be interesting to open up against Dallas. He is Harrison Lee. He’s our local expert of the Winnipeg Jets. And if you’re a Jets fan, you need to subscribe to Locked On Winnipeg Jets for all the best news and opinions on the team during the offseason and during the season as well. Harrison, appreciate all your insights. Thanks for doing this and good luck next season. Catch you guys later. All right, that’ll do it for this edition of Lock That NHL Game Night. We also want to get your thoughts. If you’re watching on YouTube on the Winnipeg Jets, you can put your comments in the comments section below. Please like and subscribe to the channel. Uh Shu and I along with our friends Cam Stewart and Tyler Feldman continuing to give you these offseason looks at all 32 teams leading up to the next season. If you missed any of our past offseason previews, you can check them out anytime, wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. I’m Eddie Garcia. Shukri writes, “Thank you for listening and watching Locked on NHL game night, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your teams every day.
Are the Winnipeg Jets ready for a deep playoff run? Will Kyle Connor be signed to an extension before the season starts?
Eddie Garcia and Shukri Wrights discuss the Winnipeg Jets offseason and more with Locked On Winnipeg Jets expert Harrison Lee. We talk Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele and more on this off season episode of Locked on NHL GameNight.
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