The Winnipeg Jets find themselves in an unenviable, and unexpected, position just past the midway point of the season.
But General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff still believes his team is capable of what would be a massive second half comeback — massive because the Jets are seven points out of a playoff spot, and trail five other teams for the final playoff berth in the NHL Western Conference.
“For us, the main focus has to be this stretch run,” said Cheveldayoff during an almost 30-minute question and answer session with the media following Wednesday’s option practice at Canada Life Centre.
“We’ve had a lot of games postponed, pushed into this second part here and we need to take advantage of it.”
With 43 games played following Tuesday’s 2-0 win over red-hot Minnesota, that leaves 39 — in what will be a 78-day span — to make up ground. A lot of it. And Cheveldayoff says that has to come from the players.
“The only people who can really effectuate things are the players. They’re the ones who go out there on a given night.” said the Jets veteran hockey boss.
“You want the coaches to put the right kind of game plan, the right thoughts. Sometimes you gotta give them a pep talk. Sometimes you might have to show them some video, maybe they don’t like.”
There have certainly been too many of those scenarios during the first 42 games, which produced a very average 18-17-7 record that left the Jets sitting 6th in the Central Division and 13th overall in the Western Conference.
That doesn’t come close to measuring up to the lofty goals the players very publicly set for themselves coming out of training camp and the pre-season. But Cheveldayoff feels a laundry list of COVID-19- and injury-related challenges — not to mention the shocking resignation of Paul Maurice on Dec. 17 — have also played a part in that underwhelming first half.
“When we transitioned we were three games over .500, now we’re two games over .500 so we need to find a way to make some progress,” said Cheveldayoff, who feels that all things considered, interim head coach Dave Lowry and his staff have done a commendable job in the face of all the roadblocks they’ve been forced to navigate.
“We’ve had 28 or 29 different people within the organization’s travel party, players, staff go through COVID. We haven’t been that team that had the massive outbreak, that had games postponed and shut down. I think the most we’ve had in one day is four, but it’s been that trickle effect.”
The end result has created a scenario where there have been 12 players who have suited up for both the Jets and the AHL Manitoba Moose this season. That number includes Mikhail Berdin who has been on the bench as a backup for eight games while Connor Hellebuyck and Eric Comrie were sidelined because of personal reasons, illness, or in COVID protocol.
But all of that is immaterial for a team that saw itself as a Stanley Cup contender when the curtain went up on the season in mid-October. And while it would be a considered low risk to bet on Winnipeg being on outside looking in come late April, Cheveldayoff has no interest in considering what the fallout might be from that.
And with six weeks and 20 games to play between now and March 21, the Jets GM is justified in his opinion that it’s way too early to determine whether he’ll be a buyer or seller at the deadline.
“I think you can fall into that trap very easily, of trying to look too far ahead,” was Cheveldayoff’s response when asked which of those buying, selling categories the Jets would find themselves a part of. But that doesn’t mean he’ll be content to stand pat either, because with Winnipeg being right up against the US 81.5 million dollar salary cap, any potential deals involving the Jets will have to be made on a “money in-money out” basis.
“For me, my whole focus throughout this time has been to try maybe to find hockey deals. A lot of the times they’re tougher to do during the season,” explained Cheveldayoff.
“Certainly our focus, full and foremost, is now. And if there’s way we can improve the team, or an area of the team right now, then we’re certainly going to look at that.”
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