Winnipeg Jets. Byfuglien NHL's first star of the week. By: Tim Campbell. Posted: 12:06 PM

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1 Winnipeg Jets Byfuglien NHL's first star of the week By: Tim Campbell Posted: 12:06 PM The NHL has recognized Winnipeg Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien as its first star of the week. After a week with six points in four games (3-3-6), Byfuglien was placed on top of the league's weekly star list, the first Jets player to make the grade since Andrew Ladd topped the list late in the lockout season. Since he's been moved back to defence six weeks ago, Byfuglien has steadied the injury-plagued Jets with hard-hitting defence and offence that has included 20 points in the 21 games he has played on the blueline. The league also announced today that Detroit's Tomas Tatar and New York Islanders Kyle Okposo were the second and third stars of the week. The Jets are off until Wednesday when the Columbus Blue Jackets visit the MTS Centre. Winnipeg Free Press LOADED

2 Winnipeg Jets Hockey world taking notice By: Tim Campbell Posted: 3:00 AM The axles on the bandwagon are starting to carry a load. A rather remarkable 11 days by the Winnipeg Jets has certainly pleased Jets Nation but elbow room is now shrinking because eyes from elsewhere in the hockey world have suddenly caught on. The Jets have been in a playoff position in the Western Conference since defeating the Nashville Predators at the MTS Centre on Nov. 4. Their record after a start didn't just happen in the last two weeks. But since last Tuesday, when Paul Maurice clicked up to the 500-win plateau as an NHL coach, attention has been building. Then the Jets went through Dallas and Chicago with wins last week, and Dustin Byfuglien was named the league's first star of the week at the end of the team's unbeaten string and Winnipeg in January -- yes, hard to believe -- is a sexy subject. The world had for some time been in love with the story of the Calgary Flames's start, but stories on the Jets appeared on ESPN and in one of Canada's "national" newspapers and even on Sportsnet's website. Next thing you know, Don Cherry is fawning all over the Jets on his Coach's Corner segment, and the Hockey Night in Canada crowd, which has always featured numerous unbelievers, suddenly had only rose-coloured lenses for the Jets. You're already starting to hear about some of the individual performances in Winnipeg that are sparking discussions in the awards picture, so on the occasion of the latest bandwagon load up, we bring you these most likely categories: James Norris Memorial Trophy Candidate: Dustin Byfuglien Byfuglien, once a forward turned into a defenceman who was sent back to forward because he was too much of a lightning rod for what was going wrong with the Jets, has undergone a miraculous transformation. Pressed into the latest position switch, back to the spot he has long said he prefers, defence, Byfuglien has scored 20 points ( ) and is plus-seven in the 21 games he has played on the blue-line since Dec. 5. This includes the nine points he has recorded in the last six games. He had 11 points in 25 games as a forward this season, complicating comparisons to rivals around the league as far as scoring goes. St. Louis's Kevin Shattenkirk and Calgary's Mark Giordano currently lead the scoring chart among defencemen, with 39 points in 45 games. Byfuglien's season chart is 31 points in 47 games, which would place him seventh on the list of defencemen. Byfuglien's mixed-position stats complicate things for Norris Trophy voters, who have shown a penchant in the past to be over-focused on the scoring stats alone. There is no arguing with Byfuglien's impact, however, and more of that in the 37 regular-season games that remain would make the big man a serious candidate. Other candidates: Giordano has received immense attention, but is he any different than Byfuglien in that he shouldn't be a serious consideration if his team fails to make the playoffs? Shattenkirk is a blossoming elite player. Some perennial contenders, such as Nashville's Shea Weber, Chicago's Duncan Keith and L.A.'s Drew Doughty are heavy competition. If any of them played in the Eastern Conference, the regular voting bias would already make this race over. Jack Adams Award Candidate: Paul Maurice Where Maurice has guided the Jets today would make him a contender for the NHL's coach of the year award. There's a lot of season left and good starts or good halves alone rarely get the job done. The thing to keep in mind in this discussion is the award is almost always determined by performance against expectations, so it's very difficult for the coaches of elite teams to have a major groundswell of support. Maurice, who passed win No. 500 last Tuesday and has quickly bumped his total to 503, has given the Jets clarity, and after a stumble out of the gate, the team hasn't lost three in a row since. Other candidates: At this stage, you'd have to think Peter Laviolette in Nashville is the front-runner, with the Islanders' Jack Capuano and Tampa Bay's Jon Cooper, a runner-up last year along with Detroit's Mike Babcock, garnering much support. Calder Memorial Trophy Candidate: Michael Hutchinson In his 20 appearances, Hutchinson has posted numbers that have been major assets to the Jets -- at record, a 2.00 goals-against average and a save percentage of.932.

3 Today, his average is third-best in the NHL among those considered regulars, and his save percentage can be anywhere you want between first and eighth depending on how you sort out those who don't play very often. (It's the best among goalies with 20 games or more.) The contributions are undeniable but given Hutchinson doesn't play every game, some voters just won't go there, which most likely makes him just a candidate, not a contender for the award, at this point. Other candidates: Nashville's Filip Forsberg, with 15 goals and 39 points so far, and plus-23, is the hands-down favourite to win. He'd have to have a disastrous second half to even fall into a race. Florida's Aaron Ekblad gets some love because he's playing a difficult position, defence, and Calgary's Johnny Gaudreau, for his slickness alone, will get votes. L.A.'s Tanner Pearson was a contender earlier but his significant injury absence, fair or not, will hurt his case. Winnipeg Free Press LOADED

4 Winnipeg Jets Carcillo gone for six for cross-check on Jet By: Tim Campbell Posted: 3:00 AM THE NHL has taken a dim view of the cross-check that caused injury to Winnipeg Jets left-winger Mathieu Perreault, suspending Chicago Blackhawks forward Daniel Carcillo for six games. The league's department of player safety announced the sanction Monday afternoon after Carcillo had his hearing via phone with league officials. Carcillo had waived his right to an in-person hearing. It's Carcillo's ninth suspension. This one costs him more than $40,000 in salary. Perreault has already missed one game due to an injury to his left arm or back. The Jets rarely reveal details of injuries and sometimes mislead fans about those situations. On the weekend, one RDS report said Perreault had no broken bones from this incident and another from Sportsnet suggested he had a torn ligament in his arm. '...This is not a hockey play in the sense that it has nothing to do with the puck' -- NHL spokesman Patrick Burke Jets coach Paul Maurice has only said he had no "expectation" Perreault would play Wednesday against Columbus. The league's decision, released with a video explanation, pointed out Perreault was "unsuspecting" in this incident, because the whistle had been blown when he touched the puck in the corner, with just more than nine seconds left in the second period. Perreault was being called for a slashing penalty, having knocked the stick out of Chicago defenceman Duncan Keith's hands. But Carcillo zoomed in on the Jets' player and gave him a forceful blow with his stick. In the video explaining the league's decision, Patrick Burke of the department of player safety said: "Though always illegal, cross-checking is a fairly common infraction that almost always is sufficiently punished by a penalty on the ice. However, in this case, several factors combine to cause this cross-check to merit supplemental discipline. "First, this is not a hockey play in the sense that it has nothing to do with the puck and the blow was delivered after the whistle had blown the play dead." This is a sharp rebuke for Carcillo, who was quoted Saturday as saying he thought the check was a "hockey play." The video continued: "Second, because the whistle has blown, Perreault has no reason to expect to be hit in any way and therefore cannot protect himself. He visibly relaxes upon hearing the whistle. "Third, coming up from behind the unaware Perreault, Carcillo is entirely in control of what happens. After hearing the whistle, Carcillo chooses to deliver a forceful cross-check that strikes Perreault in an unprotected spot on his arm, below the shoulder pad and above the elbow pad. "Finally, and in heightened significance in this case, Carcillo has been suspended or fined 11 previous times during his nine-season NHL career." Carcillo missed Sunday's game vs. Dallas but will be eligible to play when the Blackhawks visit Winnipeg, Feb. 6. Winnipeg Free Press LOADED

5 Winnipeg Jets WINNIPEG JETS Notebook Posted: 3:00 AM Tim Campbell Columbus - Winnipeg - Jan. 21 at 8 p.m. THE NHL has recognized Winnipeg Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien as its first star of the week. With six points in four games (3-3-6), Byfuglien was placed on top of the league's weekly star list, the first Jets player to make the grade since Andrew Ladd topped the list late in the lockout season. Since he was moved back to defence six weeks ago, Byfuglien has steadied the injury-plagued Jets with hard-hitting defence and offence that has included 20 points in the 21 games he has played on the blue-line, and is plus-seven. The league also announced Detroit's Tomas Tatar and New York Islanders Kyle Okposo were the second and third stars of the week respectively. The Jets are off until Wednesday when the Columbus Blue Jackets visit the MTS Centre. Penalties part of being competitive: Maurice NOT only will you not be hearing any apologies from the Winnipeg Jets for the number of penalties they've taken in the season, they're starting to wear it almost like a badge. Winnipeg is the NHL's most-shorthanded team this season, 193 times as of Monday, and has played shorthanded 333 minutes 29 seconds, more than 53 minutes more than the next most short-handed team. "The only penalties we don't like are caused by being out of position," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "We take penalties that maybe you don't like but put them in a compete category. "Finish your check, do you job, compete as hard as you can and sometimes things get away from you." Some would describe the Jets' brashness as undisciplined. Maurice is adamant it's all about being competitive. He even said last week he was reluctant to talk to his team anymore about the number of penalties being taken, that when he's done so twice recently, the Jets didn't play very well. Maurice was asked on the weekend how he viewed Anthony Peluso's instigator penalty Friday in Chicago. The response was unapologetic. "That was Anthony's read on the game," he said. "Thought it was a pretty good read. I didn't have a problem with the hits, they're clean, but clearly they were making a statement that they were coming out to be more physical in the first period and Anthony made a statement that we were willing to do that." That discussion then rolled around to something the Jets have been involved with both ways recently -- clean, hard checks starting fights. "So much of it is the time of year," the coach said. "You get into the playoffs, everybody takes hits and everybody gives them. But this time of the year, you need to feel certain players have to have protection in the way that they play. Score of the game's important, where you're at is important. Sometimes you've got to take those, and you don't like it, to get the win. Sometimes you've got to make sure everybody knows you won't take those. "Oh it's far more peaceful now. In the last three or four years, there's been a stretch of games where, it was early in the year maybe two or three years ago, where it just seemed that there was a fight after every good, clean hit. And that seemed to cause a big problem. "But 15 years ago, there would be consternation if there wasn't a fight after that hit. It's a far more peaceful game, a kinder, gentler world." Did the coach actually blame it on the time of year? Turns out he was being a bit sarcastic. "Right, it's that time of year," he said. "Maybe you close it off around Game 50, 60, 82. "You are who you are as a team and you have to be true to that. So we're trying to build that connection with our players in the locker room, that team-ness, and when you're in that process where everybody takes care of everybody, I think you see it a little more and we're fine with that." -- Tim Campbell

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7 Winnipeg Jets Pressure of playing in Canadian market helps turn Winnipeg Jets around By Paul Friesen First posted: Monday, January 19, :56 PM CST Updated: Monday, January 19, :00 PM CST So the rest of the NHL finally noticed what we here in the Colonies have known for a while: that Dustin Byfuglien has been one of the best players in the loop, of late. The Jets super-charged hybrid was named the NHL s first star of the week, Monday, after a four-game set in which he produced three goals and six points. It s the first such recognition for the home side this season, and just another example of how the Jets are no longer flying under the radar. Four straight wins, their longest positive streak of the season including a third straight win in Chicago seems to have grabbed people s attention. The Jets are becoming Canada s feel-good story of the year, The Little Team That Could, if you will. There s general agreement on the No. 1 reason for the about-face: head coach Paul Maurice. There s been no shortage of platitudes for the man in this space, either. But what about the role of the media? I know what you re thinking Friesen s completely lost it this time but the public scrutiny this team faces every day has played a role. Players have said more than once they were tired of answering the same old questions about what was wrong, why they were so inconsistent. They had their leadership called out, their toughness questioned, their very character second-guessed in this space, and elsewhere, over the last two seasons. Every time they under-achieved, you could feel the here-we-go-again vibe in the dressing room as the media entered for the post-mortem. Remember Blake Wheeler s rant about being bogged down by all the negativity in February, 2013? Maurice has said it more than once: playing in a Canadian market, not just Winnipeg, adds a level of day-to-day pressure. There are a few ways players can respond: tune it out, go into hiding or change the narrative by winning. At some point you have to say, Screw it, and forget all that outside influence, and the stuff we feel from the inside as well, Wheeler concluded that day, nearly two years ago. And just go out there and play the game. It s just one of those never-ending cycles until you consciously stop it. It took a while, but the Jets finally got fed up with it. With the losing, and the fallout. In Atlanta, they got a free pass. The city wasn t as invested and, by extension, the post-game and post-season questions weren t as hard for the players, coaches or management. That all changed with the move. The honeymoon lasted a season and change, and then we expected better. Better effort, better commitment, better results. The questions became more pointed, the opinion pieces more edgy. Somewhere along the way, the core players Wheeler, Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, Bryan Little, Zach Bogosian, Ondrej Pavelec had had enough. Maurice sensed it when he took over from Claude Noel: this group was willing to do whatever it took to turn things around. So he asked it to do what it never had: get in top shape over the summer and come back willing to skate its collective rear end off. Leave its comfort zone and start hitting on every shift. Forget about personal glory and pretty goals, and just concentrate on shutting down the other guys. The leaders have done all that, and after a stumble out of the gate they ve pulled this thing through the muck all the way into fifth place in the Western Conference. The transformation has been remarkable. The Jets have fun while working their tails off in practice. They take their nasty pills the morning of every game. And Maurice gives them more days off than they ve ever seen Monday was another both a reward for all the effort and an energy-saver for the next battle.

8 As a bonus, they don t have to answer as many questions from the media. Funny thing is, those questions aren t nearly as loaded as they used to be. They don t have to be. Winnipeg Sun LOADED

9 Winnipeg Jets Rugged, hard-working Winnipeg Jets getting lots of love outside of 'Peg By Ted Wyman First posted: Monday, January 19, :28 PM CST Updated: Monday, January 19, :56 PM CST Those who have been watching the Winnipeg Jets on a daily basis could see this was a much better team than many people anticipated heading into the season. Now that the Jets are climbing in the standings, working harder than their opponents on most nights and competing with the best teams in the league, the rest of the hockey world is taking notice. The Jets are a hot topic these days. They were recently featured in the pages of the nationally distributed Globe and Mail, on Sportsnet s website, on ESPN, even getting mentions in Sports Illustrated. And of course, they got a whole heaping of love from Don Cherry on this week s instalment of Coach s Corner. The Jets are now tied with the Chicago Blackhawks for third place in the very tough Central Division with 58 points and are drawing rave reviews for their attention to defensive detail, goaltending and ruggedness. Many pundits are now not only predicting the Jets to make the playoffs but looking at them as a team that could do some damage in the post-season. Don t forget this is one of the youngest teams in the NHL (fifth youngest at with an average age of 26.7). Sports Club Stats says the Jets now have an 85.2% chance of making the playoffs, for what that is worth. The fans in Winnipeg are daring to get excited about this team. They may as well, because everyone else is. They just have to hope the team s propensity for blowing leads in games doesn t apply to the standings late in the season. STREAKING JETS The Jets are currently riding a six-game points streak, marking the third time this season they ve had streaks of at least that length. The Jets had two eight-game points streaks, one from Oct. 26 to Nov. 11 and one from Nov. 25 to Dec. 13 earlier in the season... Six weeks ago, the Jets were one of the lowest scoring teams in the entire NHL, even giving Buffalo a run for its money at the bottom of the league. Thanks to a recent offensive surge they are up to 2.70 goals per game which is good for 17th in the league. The last six games have been the most impressive offensive stretch of the year. The Jets have averaged 4.33 goals per game during that time, while going With their impressive recent run, the Jets are now tied for eighth overall in the NHL standings with Chicago and Pittsburgh (both have played at least two fewer games). But one area of concern for the Jets is their regulation and overtime wins total. The Jets ROW total is 21, which leaves them tied for 15th in the league. ROW is the first determining factor for breaking ties to determine playoff position at the end of the season. Right now the Jets have the same number of ROW as the Calgary Flames, but fewer than Nashville, St. Louis, Anaheim, Chicago, Vancouver and San Jose. They have a couple more than Los Angeles and Dallas, both teams chasing them for a playoff spot. While the Jets have been winning most of their games lately, allowing Phoenix and Los Angeles to come back on them before they won in shootouts were costly in terms of the ROW column. AWARDS CONTENDERS It would not be a stretch to say the Jets have three legitimate candidates for post-season NHL awards: Dustin Byfuglien for the Norris Trophy, Michael Hutchinson for the Calder and Paul Maurice for the Jack Adams. All three will be in tough to win as they are up against other great candidates, but they are surely in the conversation. Byfuglien has been a monster for the Jets since moving back to defence and has the combination of physical ability and offensive prowess that voters love. He ll be hard pressed to beat out Mark Giardano in Calgary, Kevin Shattenkirk in St. Louis, Drew Doughty in L.A., Shea Weber in Nashville or P.K. Subban in Montreal but if he keeps playing this way, he ll have to get some votes. Hutchinson, with a sparkling record, 2.00 GAA and.932 save percentage, is up against Filip Forsberg in Nasvhille (39 points), defenceman Aaron Ekblad in Florida (25 points) and Johnny Gaudreau in Calgary (33 points) in what has been a very good year for first-year players. Maurice may have the best chance to win coach of the year. There are others who have done great work this year, but Maurice s job with the Jets has been absolutely stellar... When the Toronto Maple Leafs were in Winnipeg on Jan. 3 for a game against the Jets, both teams entered the contest with 45 points and were sitting in playoff positions in their respective conferences. Including a 5-1 win that night, the Jets have picked up 13 points since that time, while the Leafs have just two. The Leafs have been shut out in three of their last four games and have spiralled well out of the playoff race, prompting this response from captain Dion Phaneuf when asked about the team s morale: It feels awful. Absolutely terrible. I don t know what more I can say. WESMEN FUNDRAISER Kudos to Winnipeg Wesmen guard Stephanie Kleysen, who is not only one of the top women s basketball players in the country this year but is also devoting time to organizing a fundraiser to help adults with intellectual disabilities. The fifth-year kinesiology student has organized the Community Matters, Pass it On fundraiser, set for this Saturday at 2 p.m., as part of her team s game against Brandon Bobcats at the Duckworth Centre. The fundraiser includes a halftime event featuring Winnipeg Blue Bombers players taking part in a shoot-out.

10 Pre-sold tickets are $10 and 100% of the funds collected will go to the cause. If tickets are purchased at the gate, 50% of the proceeds will go to the fundraiser. Time for Winnipeg fans to step up and give Stephanie an assist. TWEET OF THE DAY If you watched the CHI-WPG GAME On Fri,you witnessed 1 of the most vicious cheap shots in my memory. CARCILLO, from behind,of course, right on the unprotected tricep. Mission accomplished. CARCILLO has cost Perreault at least 3 weeks of a very promising season. -- Former NHL executive Bill Watters Winnipeg Sun LOADED

11 Winnipeg Jets Blackhawks Carcillo gets six-game suspension for cross check on Jets Mathieu Perreault By Paul Friesen, Winnipeg Sun First posted: Monday, January 19, :27 PM CST Updated: Monday, January 19, :54 PM CST The NHL has suspended Chicago s Dan Carcillo six games for his cross-check on Winnipeg Jets forward Mathieu Perreault, Friday. Carcillo, who received a minor penalty on the play, cross-checked Perreault on the arm, from behind, late in the second period of the Jets 4-2 win in Chicago, knocking Perreault from the game and forcing the Jets hottest scorer to miss Sunday s game against Arizona. Perreault s status for Wednesday s home game against Columbus is also up in the air. Carcillo, who sat out one game while waiting for the decision, will return just in time for Chicago s trip to Minnesota and Winnipeg in early February. The Blackhawks visit the Jets Feb. 6. After the game, Jets head coach Paul Maurice called the hit a vicious cross-check to an unsuspecting player. Carcillo saw it otherwise. "I didn't think it was very, like, malicious or anything, he told reporters. It was just kind of a hockey play. It was at the end of the shift... I must have just caught him between some padding. I've been hit there before too. It hurts." Winnipeg Sun LOADED

12 Winnipeg Jets Winnipeg Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien named NHL's first star of the week By Paul Friesen, Winnipeg Sun First posted: Monday, January 19, :32 PM CST Updated: Monday, January 19, :36 PM CST Defenceman Dustin Byfuglien is the NHL s first start of the week, after recording six points in four games. Byfuglien scored three goals and added three assists as the Jets won all four games, including Sunday s home-ice shootout win over Arizona. The converted forward began the week with two goals and an assist as the Jets throttled Florida, 8-2, last Tuesday. He recorded two assists in Chicago, Friday, and scored again against the Coyotes, bringing his season totals to 12 goals and 19 assists in 47 games. The Jets play one more game before the all-star break, at home against Columbus, Wednesday. Byfuglien will be Winnipeg s representative at all-star festivities this weekend in Columbus. Winnipeg Sun LOADED