Craig Button on the Winnipeg Jets’ 3-1 Start

Craig Button on the Winnipeg Jets’ 3-1 Start

It is always a treat when we get a chance to welcome in Craig Button to the program. Let’s start off with the home team. Jets had that tough night. Uh really letting the game get away from them in the home opener against the Dallas Stars and now have rebounded with three straight victories. Uh we’re very earlier in the season, but we knew this was going to be challenging for Winnipeg without Preretti, without Samric, without Adam Lowry. 3-1. What have you thought about the Jets performance overall through four games, Craig? My my my first comment is good teams don’t capsize when they lose players. Now, you just mentioned good players. I mean, you you you talk about uh Dylan, you talk about Adam, you you certainly talk about Cole. I mean, they’re all good players, but at the same time, when you’re a good team and you’re a good functioning team, and I want to put that word in, functioning, you you know, you you want you want to be as strong as you possibly can be, and you’re going to be stronger with those three players in the lineup than out, but you can still function as a team. That first game against Dallas, I mean, it was 2-1 going into the third period, I thought Halleuck was was keeping them in and, you know, we’re doing the game and I’m thinking like Hellob’s going to be the story here if they find a way to get the right side of it. So the four minutes in the third period gets to be 5-1, but then the Jets come back, storm back to make it 5-4. Get back to the game. That is their game. Get back to their strengths. Kevin Sawyer mentions this continuously on the broadcast. Know who you are. Play to your identity and your strengths. I think in the last three games, that’s exactly what we’ve seen. They gave up five goals in the first game. They’ve given up six in the past three. I mean, they stifled the the Philadelphia Flyers in the in the third period uh on Thursday night. The Flyers fans were booing it. It was It was But that’s what a good team does. I I I I think that when I watch the Winnipeg Jets, anybody that was sleeping on the Winnipeg Jets coming back and being one of the league’s strongest teams this year were were out to lunch. Like seriously. And if you’re sleeping on the Winnipeg Jets not having a good season this year, then you you’re just not paying attention because you have a superstar goalender, a superstar defenseman, a superstar center, and a superstar left wing. And then you have balance through the lineup. Gus Nyquist, how good has he been? Morgan Baron, who who’s just really elevated his game. How good has he been? Logan Stanley, I mean, a first round pick, you know, the ins and the outs. I mean, he’s played really well for them in the absence of Dylan Samberg. So, and Nino need Ryder. I mean, I could go on. I mean, we know that Shelley and Connor are brilliant players, but you start to go through this lineup again. Vlatty Domestic, who I just love the way what he does. I mean, I can I can go through all the different parts of this team. It’s a really strong team. It’s a It’s a Stanley Cup contending team. I’m not backing off of that because they’ve given me no reason based on what I see, what I believe for me to think otherwise. Well, hey, speaking of going down that list, the one guy I specifically wanted to ask you about is Jonathan Taves. And uh I mean, this week we’ve been I mean, coming out of that that the game that he had against the Islanders on Monday, I mean, we’re sitting here going, “Okay.” Hey, like I mean everyone was trying to coach any expectations of what this guy would be able to do. Uh we’re seeing him get better each and every game, be an impactful player for Winnipeg and um I mean to me we were hoping maybe he’d get to this at some point sort of mid-season. We’re a week in right now, Craig. I mean what were your expectations for Jonathan and what have you thought about the way that he’s looked in his comeback? Whatever my expectations are or whatever the fan base’s expectations are, Jonathan Jays has high expectations. Yeah, he sets the bar as high as anybody. And you know, I don’t know how many times we can talk about details, the the the intelligence he plays the game with, how he just settles things down. If you go back and watch the empty net goal, the one that Tanner Pearson put in the net, just watch that sequence. Watch how Jonathan Tays understands where he’s going to push the play where he’s going to push the play out. He He might not touch the puck, but because his brain is so good and his understanding of the game is so strong, he he just pushes that play out. Well, now the play gets turned over. Philadelphia runs out of space up the wall. Boom. Tanner Pearson into the net. Jonathan Taz I I felt was coming to a to an excellent spot shifully in front of him. When Adam Lowry gets back, Adam Lowry gives him, you know, it sounds funny to say Adam Lowry gives him backend support, but you know, that support where Jonathan can settle in. Nomesticov has been good. Baron’s been good in in the middle of the ice. So now Jonathan can go find his way. I’m a huge I’m of the huge belief that Jonathan Taz if he wasn’t interested in winning, he wouldn’t be playing. And he he chose the Winnipeg Jets. It’s a beautiful hometown story, but he looks at that team and says, “I can win here.” And for him at this stage of his career to come in and try to say, “Here’s what I want to try to do. Here’s where I want to try to influence the team and the group.” Because he’s wired to win. Jonathan Ta is not one of these guys that’s I’m just going to go play and it’ll be nice to be in the NHL for another year. He didn’t like, you know, what he went through, but he’s come back. He’s worked hard at it. And and I think it’s only going to get that much better. And when Adam Lowry gets back and they get their full health, it just becomes a stronger lineup with respect. The other thing I want to talk about really quickly when it comes to Jonathan and and and it speaks to the Winnipeg Jets overall, the collective IQ of the players on that team, the individual IQ and the collective IQ on that team. I don’t know if there’s I I don’t know if there’s any team that’s better than that when we talk about the way they think the game and the individual IQ that leads to a collective IQ that’s just brilliant. You know, Craig, we uh you know, just speaking about the center ice position. Um I mean, Morgan Baron a star again last night. He’s got three goals. I mean, he is playing so well. And that line, I thought Parker Ford had a ton of jump last night. He really stood out to me. Going to be tough to take him out of the lineup. But at some point, I mean, you’ve got Vlad playing in the middle and he’s been indispensable for the club. Jonathan Taves, Mark Shley, and Morgan Baron. When Adam Lowry returns presumably to center ice, um, is it Vlad? Do you think about moving Morgan Baron considering how good he’s looked in the middle of that fourth line? How do you think they handle the return of Lowry when it comes to the center ice spots? Well, I I mean, the way I would look at it for now is I I believe that Adam Lowry along with the other player that has the initials AL, Anton Lundelle in in Florida, are are the two best third line centers in the National High League. I’m not taking Adam Lowry out of his strength. I mean, he’s a Selfie Trophy candidate. He’s brilliant. Uh, and and you know, Morgan showed that he can play in the middle of the ice and and and he can play on the wall. When I start to look at the Winnipeg Jets and and and this goes back to Vlatty, Vlatty is so versatile. He can play left wing, he can play right wing, he can play center, he can play on the fourth line, he can play on the second line, he can play on the third line. If you’re Scott O’Neal and you have these options at your disposal and and and it’s not just options that he has, it’s a willingness of players to do different things in different spots in the lineup. And again, that speaks to IQ that and and it also speaks to a willingness and a desire to find ways to contribute. I I I said this last night on the broadcast. If if if you’re not watching Vlatty Nestnikov on a night in night in basis, you you can’t possibly appreciate him because what he does in all the areas of the game is phenomenal. Now, he’s not the only one. So, what I would say is Glatty can play on the wing, but if you put Morgan Baron on the wing, depending on what your matchups are, you you can work so many different areas of the game. I I’m going to give you an example. Sydney Crosby is one of the greatest centers that’s ever played the game. Last year at the Four Nations, he went to the left wing with Nathan McKinnon. I would expect that Sydney Crosby is going to play on the left wing on the Olympic team. Now, that speaks to not only a willingness by Sydney Crosby to do different things, but also flexibility for the lineup that gets another player into that. And I think that that’s exactly what the Winnipeg Jets have. Morgan Banner, if you go ask him to play left wing, he he he’ll play really well. glass valley to play second line center or third line right wing. I just think the flexibility is so phenomenal for a team because I think you need it. I think you need it when you go when you go through it. Brad Marshian was a left winger his entire career. He went and played in Florida as a right winger on the third line. Players that are dialed in to win that are smart, they’ll go and be flexible. And the Winnipeg Jets have a lot of players like that. Uh Craig, we uh get Nashville for the first time. They were incredible disappointment last year. Um have you seen much of them this year? And I mean, do they look much different than the team that was so underwhelming last season? Uh well, I mean, they started out so poorly that they were just digging themselves out of a hole, but they go into uh Toronto the other night and they were awful. I mean, it was just it was awful. I mean, it wasn’t like Toronto was world beaters. Nashville was loose and not very good and you know they have some skill and everything. They go into Montreal last night and they uh you know they have an opportunity. They’re they’re playing pretty decent. They have Sorrowos back in the net and they can’t close out the game. They’re not better than Montreal and Winnipeg and and and and so and and Montreal is not better than Winnipeg. If if Winnipeg just goes in there and just puts the puts the press on and plays to the plays the game the way they can, they no game is easy in this league. And I’m never going to downplay an opponent. But the National Predators aren’t in the Winnipeg Jets class. And so you go out and you you you make sure that you kill their spirit early and and beat them. But I’m not impressed with the with the National Predators. I’m not impressed with them. They’re a non-playoff team and they’re not showing me any reason to believe that they will be anywhere near a playoff spot. Uh Craig Button’s with us, TSN hockey analyst on Winnipeg Sports Talk. Former Winnipeg Jet Nikolai Eers is now a Carolina Hurricane. The team is 4-0. He’s been on the top line. AO scoring, Jarvis is scoring, and yet Eers has uh no points so far in the season. Um, we often talked about how some players had a difficult time playing with Eers. He wasn’t the easiest guy to play with just because of the the uniques package that he brings in. Somewhat unpredictable. How uh do you think this is going to be a difficult transition to a new team for Eers? Uh Craig, I think it’s already shown it’s a difficult transition. I I’ve watched some of the game that they played against San Jose the other night. I’ll be straight forward with you. Nikolai Eelers was unnoticeable. I watched the last half of the game last night versus Anaheim. I’m noticeable. I’m gonna say this about Nick Leers and I like Nicki Nicola Eelers and I think we all appreciate what he does. To me, he’s a second line player. He’s a second line right winger that has uh an individual bent to his game. So, he needs somebody really smart to kind of get him the puck on the move so he can do his thing because his thing is pretty special and his thing is good. I don’t want to diminish that. But, you now have him playing on a top line. Sebastian Aaho is one of the smartest players in the game. And so and and so Sebastian Aaho is trying to figure out, okay, how’s Nick going to play? And Nick gets on these fays where he’s just like kind of a a whirling dervish. He he’s he’s he’s everywhere and he’s nowhere and then he’s somewhere and then you get these flashes of of this brilliance and he’s a good player, but I I think the adjustment is both for the Carolina Hurricanes with Nick there and for Nick there too. I when they put him into that spot when when Valardi came in the line, they put him that he just settled in. He didn’t have to take on the role of being the number one guy on the top line with Schifley and with Kyle Connor because trust me on this players like Nikolai Elers frustrate smart players because they’re trying to figure out what the hell he’s going to do and Nick doesn’t know what he’s going to do. So you need a little bit of a simpler type of thing to do it. I thought Scott Arneal used them really well. I thought Rick Bonus used him really well. I think Paul Ree used him really well. And there was always this oh Nick. Nick Nick is Nick and and and what you like in Nick you like and it’s good. But I think you have to put him into a spot where he he he’s not the frontline guy and he can come behind the front line guy to be at his best. That’s how I see Nikolai Elers and definitely there’s adjustments going on in Carolina. Uh yeah, and it’ll be interesting to see how that goes. I mean, obviously a lot of people pulling for him. Gave us 10 great seasons here. Yes. Um, but you know, you look at this team, the Jets right now, and you wonder, I mean, man, if Nikolai Eers had stuck around. I mean, maybe you’re not able to do some of the other moves, but um, I mean, the the Jets right now have seen other guys step up. And listen, Gustav Nyquist, I don’t think a lot of people really understood what they were getting in Nyquis because he did have a down year last year. But Craig, this man is two years removed, like two seasons from a 70point career year right now. And I got to tell you, I’ve been really impressed with him at five on five. And I think between he and Tav’s impact on the second power play unit, um, they’ve looked dangerous as well. I mean, this is a guy that I think Winnipeg fans are sort of realizing that, you know, on a lowcost one-year deal, um, this is some money well spent by Kevin Shovel in the offseason, 100%. So, let’s talk about that. And Nino’s on that second power play unit as well. Takes the pressure off the top power play unit, right? And and I think that that’s something that gives you balance in your lineup. You know, sometimes your top power play unit isn’t going to but it also forces opponents now who who are we going to defend? Who are we going to defend against? How are we going to how are we going to defend against this group? You you give opponents a lot more to think about in terms of their penalty killing and and how they plan for it and everything. So, it’s been great. But I think Gus Nyquist has shown that he’s got, we talk about IQ and exceptional hockey sense. Gus Nyquist has exceptional hockey sense. So he can fit in and do the things with other smart players and be really functional. Like is he the same Gus Nyquist today that he was seven years ago? No. But when you’re smart and you can still skate, you still compete, you still have a level of skill, and you don’t have to be a frontline guy, I think it’s a beautiful fit for the Winnipeg Jets. And I think the Winnipeg Jets fans are going to appreciate Gus Nyinquist as time goes on much in the same manner that they appreciate Vladimoff. Yeah, really looking forward to seeing what that line will be capable of once Cole Perfetti’s back in the mix. And of course, that’ll be at uh some point in the future. But in the meantime, you got to win with who you got. And the Jets have done that three times in a row after the opening game. [Music]

TSN’s Craig Button joins Andrew “Hustler” Paterson on Winnipeg Sports Talk to break down the Winnipeg Jets’ 3-1 start to the season.

They discuss Winnipeg’s response after the opener, the impact of missing key players like Cole Perfetti, Dylan Samberg, and Adam Lowry, and why Button believes the Jets are a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

The conversation covers Jonathan Toews’ return to form, Morgan Barron’s strong play, Vlad Namestnikov’s versatility, Gus Nyquist’s underrated addition, and how the Jets’ hockey IQ sets them apart. Craig also weighs in on Nashville’s struggles and Nikolaj Ehlers’ transition to Carolina.

Intro (00:00)
Jets bounce back (00:30)
Button: Jets are Cup contenders (01:20)
Jonathan Toews’ return (03:00)
Jets’ hockey IQ (05:40)
Barron & centre depth (06:40)
Namestnikov’s impact (08:30)
Predators struggles (09:40)
Ehlers in Carolina (10:40)
Gus Nyquist’s fit (13:00)
Final thoughts (14:50)

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