Express Laine – Winnipeg Jets 2018-19 Season Preview

Ryan Dadoun — Fri, 14 Sep 2018 14:22:27 +0000

REVIEW / STATE OF PLAY – The Winnipeg Jets entered the 2017-18 season as a team that looked dangerous offensively with a promising young group of forwards that featured Mark Scheifele, Patrik Laine, and Nikolaj Ehlers, but there was a lot of uncertainty about how they would fare at their own end of the ice.

A breakout performance from goaltender Connor Hellebuyck in 2017-18 elevated the Winnipeg Jets from being an interesting team with upside to a serious contender. He finished second in Vezina Trophy voting with a 2.36 GAA and .924 save percentage in 67 games. Meanwhile, the Jets had one of the league’s top offenses, led by a 91-point campaign by Blake Wheeler and a 44-goal showing out of Laine. Winnipeg had a 52-20-10 record in the regular season and made it to the Western Conference Final before the Vegas Golden Knights eliminated the Jets in five games.

TAKE TWO – Given that the Jets are a largely young group that took a major step forward last season, the summer was unsurprisingly dedicated to maintenance rather than additions.

Connor Hellebuyck

Hellebuyck, coming off a one-year, $2.25 million contract, was rewarded for his breakout performance with a six-year, $37 million extension. The Jets are taking a risk there given that Hellebuyck only has 149 total NHL games on his resume and his first two campaigns were a mixed bag, but he’s also just 25-years-old and that contract will look very good if Hellebuyck manages to stay at anything close to the level he showed in 2017-18.

Wheeler received the other big payday. He signed a five-year, $41.25 million contract that starts with the 2019-20 campaign. Wheeler is arguably one of the more overlooked stars in the league given that he ranks fifth in points over the past three campaigns with 243 in 245 games. Only Patrick Kane, Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, and Nikita Kucherov have outperformed Wheeler in terms of points over that span.

With those two locked up, the Jets now have six forwards (Wheeler, Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers, Bryan Little, Mathieu Perreault, and Adam Lowry), two defensemen (Dustin Byfuglien and Tucker Poolman) and their starting goaltender (Hellebuyck) all locked up through at least 2021-22. It’s a luxury to have that much of their core locked up, but the flipside is that the Jets have committed $47.25 million in cap space to nine players over each of the next three seasons and those nine don’t even include some of their potentially most expensive players.

WILL THERE BE A TAKE THREE? – Given that the Jets are still a relatively young team it seems odd to look at 2018-19 as a do-or-die season for them, but the reality of the salary cap does present that question, at least to some extent. It’s unlikely that the Jets will be a bad team in 2019-20, but could 2018-19 be their peak? That’s not an unreasonable question.

After all, this is the last season that Laine will be tethered to an entry-level contract. He already has 80 goals and 134 points in 155 games and when you look at the contracts that other star players got immediately following their ELC in recent years like Connor McDavid (eight-years, $100 million), Jack Eichel (eight-years, $80 million), and Leon Draisaitl (eight-years, $68 million), you can quickly get a sense that Laine’s payday will be massive.

This will also be the final season of Kyle Connor’s entry-level contract. He’s not going to get a contract close to Laine’s, but Connor had 31 goals and 57 points as a rookie in 2017-18, so he won’t be cheap either. Then there’s the question of defenseman Jacob Trouba, who has dealt with more than his fair share of injuries already, but is also one of the pillars of their blueline when healthy. He’s on a one-year, $5.5 million contract for 2018-19 and will be a restricted free agent after that.

Even if the Jets manage to keep all of those players without exceeding the cap, they will have to make sacrifices elsewhere. One of the first could be Tyler Myers, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019 and already looks like something of a longshot to re-sign given the Jets’ other priorities.

OUTLOOK – A big factor for the 2018-19 Jets will naturally be Hellebuyck. If he proves that 2017-18 was a sign of what he can do for years to come, then Winnipeg will be one of the league’s most dangerous teams this season. Even without him playing like an elite goaltender, the Jets will still be able to generate a ton of wins through offense alone, but another standout season from Hellebuyck is likely what it would take for the Jets to enjoy another long playoff run.

Fantasy Hockey Waiver Watch

McKeen's Hockey — Fri, 18 Oct 2013 03:40:12 +0000

The NHL season is closing in on the ten game mark and the injuries are starting to pile up. Max Pacioretty, Rick Nash, James Neal and Dan Boyle are just a few of the players currently injured. Chances are you have one or two players injured or even just under performing or demoted to the minors. Here are five players you should consider if they are available in your league.

1. Mathieu Perreault – Anaheim Ducks, Centre 37.5% Owned

Perreault was traded in late September from Washington to Anaheim for John Mitchell and a 2014 fourth round pick. While in Washington, he was a third liner and even a healthy scratch at times. In Anaheim, he is the second line centre between Teemu Selanne and Jakob Silfverberg. In six games this season he has two goals, three assists, is a plus-3 with 11 shots on goal. He is also a reasonably cheap player with a cap just over one million. Prior to the start of the season, he was only 8% owned, don’t hesitate to pick him up if he is still available as his position on the second line looks secure.

2. Andre Benoit – Colorado Avalanche, Defense 26.6% Owned

Benoit had his first real taste on NHL action playing as a regular for Ottawa last season. He played 33 games of the short 48 game schedule and quietly produced an impressive three goals and seven assists. Signed as a free agent in the offseason in Colorado he is now a top four defender. It is unlikely he will lose that spot once the injured Ryan Wilson returns. In seven games in Colorado, Benoit has three assists, is a plus -5, nine shots on goal and is averaging 18:34 minutes a game and 2:38 minutes on the powerplay. The Avalanche are off to a hot start, so Benoit will not be a secret for long.

3. Mike Santorelli – Vancouver Canucks, Right Wing 25.9% Owned

Santorelli has been a journeyman playing on four teams in four NHL seasons with a career year to date coming back in 2010-2011 with Florida when he scored 20 goals and 41 points in 82 games. He is off to a hot start with four goals and two assists in eight games and has even been playing with the Sedin twins. With the injury to Alex Burrows, it is conceivable that Santorelli continues to ride shotgun with the twins. If so, expect his fantasy production to continue. With a cap hit of $550K what have you got to lose?

4. Tye McGinn – Philadelphia Flyers, Left Wing 17.1% Owned

McGinn debuted last year with Philly scoring five points in his first 11 games. Unfortunately he finished with five points in 18 games. He started the season in the AHL but has been recalled and played in three games so far. He is off to another hot start with three goals, seven shots and five hits. His cap hit is a very comfortable $775K and so far has been playing with Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek since the Coaching change to Craig Berube. McGinn could be a steal!

5. Rob Klinkhammer – Phoenix Coyotes, Left Wing 11.9% Owned

A late blooming power forward, Klinkhammer is a big 6’3” and 214 pound winger with three goals and one assist in seven games. Klinkhammer has seen his point totals in the AHL rise steadily in the last three years up to 44 points in 53 games last year. He is playing on a line with Shane Doan and Antoine Vermette, so if he can hold that roster spot, he may continue to produce points. At $625K, it is a small risk to take.

Mathieu Perreault – McKeen's Hockey

Express Laine – Winnipeg Jets 2018-19 Season Preview

Fantasy Hockey Waiver Watch