Winnipeg Jets Preseason Takeaways with Kevin Sawyer
[Music] First things first, uh, we found that Villy Han and Walker Der both cleared waiverss just in the past 10 or 15 minutes, Kevin. Certainly good news for the organization, in particular in Villy’s case. Um, and much like we’re seeing what’s happening with Nikki Shibberov, he’s going to need to go hopefully stay healthy, play lots, play well, and put himself in an opportunity to, if he gets NHL time this year, make the most of it. and if not have something to build on next year when he’ll presumably have the choice of where he continues his career. I I see this kid getting a a real opportunity here early and that’s the game of hockey. That’s the NHL where injuries can dictate your future. I mean, if everybody’s healthy, it’s amazing how the picture here for Winnipeg was has changed and now they have to make some difficult decisions. And for me, it’s clear that they don’t want to elevate guys from the roster like I follow up to fill holes in the second line. I I think that they’re looking at guys like Lambert and Chberov saying this is where they have to play if they’re going to be successful in this league and help our team. So now you’re keeping guys that are waiver exempt of course and now you ask yourself, okay, what’s what’s going to happen with a guy like David Gustoson? Is he in the mix? If everybody’s healthy, maybe David’s the 13th forward. These are my thoughts. I don’t know that. But now it’s going to be interesting. Nice that Vill Villian have passed. Does it doesn’t surprise me at all. He just hasn’t had enough time, consistent time for him to have value around the league. Um so that’s a good thing for for the Winnipeg Jets. But as far as Nikita Chibberov, I see him playing some real minutes until he either proves that he can stay there or he’s not ready to play uh in a top six role. you know, he um like listen, he when he’s been in the lineup before, he’s been impactful. Um I I thought that his trend in training camp was I mean just like a stock going up. Every time that he was out there, he seemed to be more comfortable and he did miss the better part of the second half of the last season. But more and more game by game, it’s very clear that he’s caught the attention of the uh of the coaching staff. What? But in the past, Kev, we’ve often seen, for instance, when Taves was hurt, boom, they move up Natsnikov, move up Baron, kind of up the ladder. Why do you think Chipperov is getting the opportunity to go right into the lineup and it does to such an important spot uh with Taves and Nylist? Two reasons. Good question. Number one, I think that the Jets have built this roster, including guys like Tanner Pearson and Cole Keepky, to to create a a different identity here in the bottom six. I I think that the third and fourth line now can be higher scoring third and fourth lines than we’ve seen in the past for Winnipeg. And so I think that Scott wants to keep those six men, seven men, depending on who’s in and who’s out, together and let them start to build that identity. And so I think that’s a huge plus. Also with Taves and Nyquist on this roster, suddenly this is an old team, one of the oldest. It might be the oldest team in in the NHL. So it’s a balancing act here for for Chevy to make sure that they stay young and develop while they try to win. So bringing some youth into the team and then into the top six is an important thing. And on top of that, I think Chibberov, although not a speedster, he’s going to add more quickness to that line. And I I just want to add this already. This second line was going to be a challenge for Jonathan Taves because Nikolai Eers isn’t there and and he’s played this system for a long time. He’s got speed that’s unmatched. And so you have a question mark with Gus Nyquist. What’s he going to do? Can he fill that role? And now Cole Perfetti being injured. There’s just question marks right across the board on that second line. Now Jonathan Taves has a young guy that’s got to cut his teeth. three goals in his first three NHL games. He’s not going to sustain that. He’s going to make mistakes. He’s going to take some time to develop. It’s just a challenge here. It’s not going to be an easy thing. It’ll be interesting to see uh how this unfolds. The uh the big positive news coming out of the game in Calgary is that Jonathan Taves was back at practice yesterday and will be part of that group. Would have been a real downer, I think, for everyone if he wasn’t able to play in that first game. And this is going to be a big story not just here in Winnipeg but really around the league. Um but man tough break to lose Cole Perfetti and and that is going to stress both the line everybody on that line also the power play Kevin and I am interested to see where they decide to go with Perfetti being out. Do you just move a Taves or a Nyquist up and really load up on that top unit or is it a guy like Chibberov that maybe comes in and plays that perfetti role and they see how he can do? I I think that if they’re being I wouldn’t say bold, but it is a bit of a bold move to put the an unproven guy into a top six role on a team that’s trying to win a Stanley Cup. Give him some time. I don’t see why if they’re going to go that far and make that decision, which I agree with and I like if in fact that’s what ends up happening, why not put him in the in the same role on the power play and we know that he can shoot. We know that he can think. We know that he can score. So, but you’re right. I mean, already with Perfetti healthy that was new, right? He’s going to go to the topline power play. Uh this is adversity right in the face of the Jets, but no different than last year the way they started the season. They had a couple injuries, although these ones arguably more impactful, of course, with Samberg, Lowry, and now Perfetti. Uh, but you know what, the the Winnipeg Jeff Scardal have proven time and time again with setbacks or opportunities to get better. They won the President’s Trophy last year. It wasn’t easy. They had two guys out at times. They’re not starting great. This is a this is a tough one. There’s no doubt. You know, the the adversity that the team is going through right now, I it can go two ways. I mean, and I think back to a season. Gez, Kevin, I’m not sure whether you’re doing the games at this time. It might have even been the sheriff, but Dustin Bufflin, Tyler Meyers, it was right in and around that group where they were loaded and all of a sudden they were down four defensemen and they pulled guys up. Villi, I believe, played as well and they ended up winning a bunch of games. And you know, for for a lot of players, these are the sort of opportunities you wait for knowing that they’re not going to come that often. And when they do, you have to make the most to make the most of them. And you know, if you can survive losing those big players, there actually is some tangible benefits within the team, but you got to be able to still get the job done. You always want to start the year off in true form. You want to start the year off with what you’re going to look like uh and try to get some momentum there. I was thinking in the offseason, Chibberov, Lambert, and Salammonson have to get time and that’s not going to be an easy thing to do. If everybody’s healthy and this team is playing to the potential that that they know they can, then where do you get these guys some some development time, some runway to start becoming an NHLer? Well, there’s the positive. Boom. Now you’ve got it. You don’t want it off of the starting gates, but that’s the positive. Uh, and listen, the one thing this team has is an identity that they are going to be able to lean on, and that is winning from defense first mentality. And that’s the first thing that you always want to teach a young guy to play the game without the puck. So, here’s the opportunity. And he’s got mentors. Like I mentioned, it’s an old team. This is a veteran team. They’ve got guys that have been through this. I see that there being some growing pains with this. And it’s not going to be a 15-1 start most likely like last year, but I I see the Jets coming out the other side of this being a better team and a better organization all around. You know, uh Kevin, it it’s kind of funny in that the aftermath of the Perfetti injury. You know, we focus a lot on the second line. We’ve been talking about the second line as you just mentioned all off season long with the absence of Nikolai Eers and bringing Jonathan Taves in. Uh Gustav Nikas kind of was the quiet, oh, we’ll see how he goes. I would argue, and by the way, he’s looked pretty good in the preseason. He’s shown that he can uh get into some dangerous spots and do things offensively, what a boost to the team it would be if he in particular could be part of a good start for that line because he’s a guy on a one-year contract that is a lot to prove. And again, he is only two years removed from a career year and is certainly being put in a position where plenty of opportunities to uh do good things for Winnipeg. I see a veteran player that is going to be highly motivated and he’s put in position to to get the best out of him. I’m trying to think hustler maybe I can’t remember the last time anybody on the second line for Winnipeg has had 75 points. Nikolai Elers have has never done that. Now he’s been injured. He hasn’t played a ton of hockey over his tenure. He’s missed a lot I guess is a better way to say that. But if Gus Nyquis can get back to the form that he was in two years ago, put up 20 20 some odd goals, put up 65 70 points, now you got something. And and like you can look at last year for him. What do you have 30 points combined? Nobody in Nashville had a good year. So I I’ll go back to one play and I actually missed this on our broadcast in Calgary. We didn’t get the right views and the goal that he scored, he tapped out of thin air. I thought it went off his knee pad. Um that’s great. That was a great goal. And if you don’t remember, it was a shot from the point. He got inside body position, free to stick up. Rebound was in the air and he tapped it out of thin air into the net. That is a difficult goal to score. And for me in preseason to see a guy connect like that, make all those decisions and finish like that, I thought, okay, that’s a great sign. And a lot of things went into scoring that goal. So, I agree. I think that he’s gotten better getting used to the systems, getting used to his teammates. I don’t see why he can’t get back to the form that he was at two years ago. Uh Kevin Sawyer is with us uh from the golf course as we get ready to uh finish up golf season and begin hockey season on Thursday. Very jealous that you’re able to swing up today. Don’t judge me. Don’t judge me. This is the last round. I promise. Listen, listen. Nothing but respect if you can squeeze it in. I mean, we’ve had such nice weather around here. Still people getting out to the course, but we all know what happens on Thursday. Um Dylan Samberg won’t be there. Villy Han has been on waiverss. He’ll be with the Moose. So we know the group. How do you expect to see the blue line look when Scott Arneal fills out that lineup card on Thursday for the opener? I was uh not surprised but interested. I found it interesting that he had Stanley up with with Neil Pian um and and Flurry with Shen. Um, I think that the reasoning behind that was Shen’s not not a fast defenseman and they wanted a better skater in that matchup and then you got some size with with Pianc and it gave them an opportunity to see can this work. I think that Flurry is a better fit on the left side with Neil Pian. He had a lot of reps there last year with him. I know that the the analytics weren’t positive for Flurry when he was in the top four, but I thought like I’m not a guy that always reads analytics and says, “Okay, this this is how he played.” I thought that he played well. I thought he skated well. He made good decisions. I see Flurry being a better fit on the left side with Punk to start. And now you’ve got Shen a right shot, Miller, a right shot. Maybe those two guys are going in and out with Logan Stanley as number five and number six. And uh hey, I have no real inside track on what the decision will be, but this is again where the Jets are happy that they have the options, they have decisions to make on the back end. I just think that the way Flurry played in that game in Calgary, uh, he was he was the most noticeable guy in a lot of ways for the Winnipeg Jets and it was because of how swiftly he skated the puck and moved it. So, I see him in the top four. We’ll wait a few days and we’ll see. Yeah. And and certainly Kevin, I mean, I think we’ve seen the fact that they signed him to the deal in the offseason that they did with all like as crowded as that defense unit was going into training camp, I think shows you that there is a real level of confidence in Hayden Flurry. um you know whether it is on that third pairing, whether it is at times up in that top four, it does seem like they have the confidence in him maybe on a little bit of a higher level certainly that Stan has been in the past considering where he’s been used. I I would agree with that, but what’s clear is that the time that’s been invested with Logan Stanley and the development that he has shown, he hasn’t been great all the time, but he’s gotten better. There’s no doubt about that. So maybe there’s moving parts there where they kind of move that around in and out, continue to give opportunity for Logan to to play a bigger role. I just don’t think that’s going to be the way they start. And I don’t think that’s going to be something that’s going to be consistent from the beginning. I think the hope is that they get Logan Stanley to be that player. It’s been a long road. There’s no doubt about that. He’s gotten better, but I don’t think that he’s there yet where he just takes that I mean, you’re playing you’re playing big minutes against top players, simply put. And can you handle it at times? Yes. at times. No. So I I again I think that Flurry to your point two-year extension he earned a lot of trust and skating if he got nothing else but you can skate and make decisions you’ve got something and he can do both of those. Kev um just before we go overall I mean it seems I think it’s logical to have expectations dialed back a little bit because of how high the bar was set last year. But um what are your expectations for the Jets this season uh within the division? Are they a playoff team? And uh how important is it to get through this first month or so of the season with what they’re doing with if they’re going to achieve those goals? Yeah, they they have given themselves and they’ve earned the benefit of the doubt to me for in the hockey world. I I see this team I don’t think that they need to get to the level that they’re at last year as far as winning a president’s trophy. I see this team adjusting who they are playoff style of hockey if possible throughout the regular season as much as possible. I mentioned Kepky, Tanner Pearson, bigger, heavier. If those guys can chip in 10, 12 goals each in a bottom six role. You’ve got who could very well be a consistent uh placeholder on the Lowry line. That automatically is going to make that line more dangerous to score as well. Um you got Vladimikov as an option. Uh, I think that this team is going to win games, maybe not as many games, but I think they’re going to win games a little bit differently. I think that they’re going to take the lessons from round one, particularly how physical it can get and how hard it is to score. And I think it’s interesting, a quick story. I asked Paul Maurice this two years ago after they lost in the final before they won their first Stanley Cup. How do you take the lessons you learned about what you need to do in the playoffs and practice those in October and November when the rest of the league isn’t doing those same things? And and he he said it’s funny you ask. That’s exactly what we’re working on this week. And it’s about it’s about sometimes giving up easy offense to try to do the right thing, score the right way, attack in a playoff style. So, I see this team standing and sticking to a maybe a little bit of a newer mentality when it comes to Yeah, we want to win and get and become a playoff team and try to win our division, but we also want to make sure that we’re ready to to win in the playoffs when those time when that time comes. Hey, Kev, just on the way out, um I’ve been really impressed with Parker Ford. I thought he had another really strong game against Calgary. How uh how much heat is he putting on David Gustoson for that final spot on the roster? a ton. That’s a good question and all due respect to Gus because I think that he’s played solid when he’s been given the opportunity. Um, we all know how wellliked he is. Um, I think Parker Ford is is a an upgrade with all due respect because he’s got some touch. Uh, he he can score um in different ways I think, but I mean this guy wants to be the biggest pain in the butt. I think he enjoys it. I think the Jets need more of that. And he’s got that that dimension that I think the Jets are looking more for. So although he’s not a big man, he plays an agitator. He’s he’s heavy on his feet. He he can he can finish uh checks and and impact the game in that way. I I think that he’s got an inside track there. I’m not going to be at all surprised to see him spending some quality time with Winnipeg this year. [Music]
Winnipeg Sports Talk host Andrew “Hustler” Paterson is joined by TSN’s Kevin Sawyer to break down the biggest Winnipeg Jets preseason storylines heading into opening night.
They discuss Ville Heinola clearing waivers, Nikita Chibrikov’s promotion to a top-six role, Gustav Nyquist’s resurgence, blue-line combinations with Fluery, Stanley, and Pionk, and how the Jets can overcome early injuries to key players like Cole Perfetti and Dylan Samberg.
Plus, Sawyer shares his thoughts on how the Jets’ depth and identity have evolved under Scott Arniel — and which players are pushing hardest for roster spots.
Heinola & Duehr clear waivers (00:00)
Chibrikov earns top-six opportunity (01:00)
Jets balancing veterans and youth (02:15)
Perfetti’s injury and lineup adjustments (04:00)
Handling adversity early in the season (06:45)
Nyquist’s chemistry and scoring touch (08:10)
Jets blue-line decisions: Fleury, Stanley & Pionk (10:00)
Confidence in Hayden Fleury (12:20)
Expectations for the Jets this season (13:30)
Bottom-six identity and playoff-style focus (15:15)
Parker Ford vs. David Gustafsson for roster spot (15:45)
Closing thoughts (16:10)
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