The Winnipeg Jets are “paying a little bit of a price” for their lack of draft capital as the team sits last in the NHL, Kevin Cheveldayoff says.
The Jets’ general manager spoke to reporters Monday, 40 games into the season. The Jets, who hold a 15-21-4 record, are at the bottom of the Central Division, Western Conference and overall standings with just 34 points.
The team’s record so far stands in stark contrast to this time last year, when the Jets were 27-11-2 through 40 games played. They would eventually go on to win the President’s Trophy – awarded to the team with the best regular-season record – having finished 56-22-4 with 116 points.
“Your first job is to find a way to get into the playoffs and that comes with the ability to go through a season and earn your way to that point. Obviously, it’s been very disappointing,” Cheveldayoff said.
The Jets are currently on a nine-game losing streak, having last secured a victory on Dec. 13 against the Washington Capitals. Three of the Jets’ losses have come in overtime, while four regulation losses have been decided by just one goal.
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“We haven’t necessarily relied on our structure as our foundation here as much this year as we have in the past,” Cheveldayoff said.
“That hurts you not only defensively but offensively as well because you’re playing a lot in your own end and you’re expelling too much energy to try to defend as opposed to going on the offence.”
Except for the departure of winger Nikolaj Ehlers through free agency in the off-season, the Jets roster has largely remained intact. Cheveldayoff did sign Winnipeg native and NHL legend Jonathan Toews in the off-season; Toews had missed multiple seasons while dealing with long COVID-19 symptoms.
Cheveldayoff said roster changes through trades at this point in the season are proving to be tricky.
“You do look at different opportunities to see what’s potentially available, some of the things that if you look around the league, there’s been a handful of moves from a trade perspective, some of them involving currency that we don’t have, that we’ve spent,” he said.
“We’ve traded a lot of draft picks … and I think we’re paying a little bit of a price for that right now.”
Cheveldayoff said head coach Scott Arniel and his staff “feel the same disappointment that I do”and are trying everything they can to turn it around.
He added that right now, the focus is simply on one game at a time.
“The guys obviously are the ones that play the game. They’re the ones that go out on the ice and lay their heart and soul each and every day. My commitment to them hasn’t wavered; my commitment to ownership hasn’t wavered,” he said.
“Obviously, you’d like success to be instantaneous, and in a situation like this, all we can control right now is the next game in front of us. That’s got to be our mindset. I don’t think that group in there feels that they’re down and out of it. I think if you look at the way things have happened, even with some other teams in the National Hockey League this year, things can happen quickly the other way as well if you get on the right track.”
The Jets’ next game is against the Vegas Golden Knights Tuesday in Winnipeg.
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