The Winnipeg Jets are serious Stanley Cup contenders

The Athletics’ Murat Ates joined Daily Faceoff Live to discuss the crazy season the Winnipeg Jets have been having and why they should be considered serious Stanley Cup contenders

Tyler Yaremchuk: Murat swings by once again and thanks for doing this. You’re covering a hockey team that’s one of the hottest in the NHL. They’re first in the West in points percentage and their schedule coming up has a lot of bottom feeders. If people aren’t considering the Jets a Cup contender now, they probably will be in a couple of weeks right? 

Murat Ates: I think it’s about time you consider them up there with the upper echelon of teams. They’re 10-1-2 in the month of December another win to the start of January and now heading out West. It’s funny because I think Sam Jose was the last team to beat Winnipeg in regulation so it’s not like they’re easy games this is the point of last season where Winnipeg went off the rails a bit and I think this is where they need to prove that there is something real going on and this team is better than last years. I think they should be considered among the top teams in the NHL.

Frank Seravalli: Murat, I think we can all agree that Connor Hellebuyck is the MVP for the Jets. But when you look at the forward group and how balanced the attack is what do you think has been the most positive development for the Jets this year? Is it that balance, is it the increased production from younger players, is it sheer depth with the three guys they got from the Kings? What makes the difference for you? 

Murat Ates: It’s interesting. The Jets have given up three goals or fewer in 26 straight games, which I understand is the third longest streak of that nature in the expansion era of NHL hockey, it’s freakish what they’re doing in terms of not giving up goals. Hellebuyck is a big part of Winnipeg’s success. Another aspect though is the depth and it’s not just being able to put Iaffalo or Kupari or Vilardi’s scoring surge, it’s also what Kevin Cheveldayoff did last year at the deadline getting Niederreiter for a second-round pick was a steal and Namestnikov has fit in real well. The biggest on-ice difference compared to last year is how all four lines back check well, forecheck well, all those gritty hockey sense items that make the team harder to play against, well you got someone doing that dirty work on every single line and it’s paying off well in terms of team defense. 

Tyler Yaremchuk: We just talked about how with teams in the East and the West you can poke holes in the teams, so what’s the the hole with the Jets? If you had to try and guess what a potential downfall would be, what is it?

Murat Ates: On paper heading into the season you’d look at that defense and say that’s not good enough to do what they’re doing. I think if you want to upgrade the teams and find another quality top-four defender, even if it means Nate Schmidt, who is crushing his minutes with Dylan Samberg that third pairing outscores its opposition, but if you could add a piece there, something mean and playoff ready I think that helps confidence a lot. Sometimes the Jets have struggled with is faceoffs, particularly on the powerplay and their second line is cooking but if you could add a second-line centre who can really impact both ends of the ice that really boosts the Jets too.

You can watch the full segment here…