Perreault, Stafford injury updates coming

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1 Winnipeg Free Press html?cx_navSource=d-top-story Perreault, Stafford injury updates coming THE next update from the Winnipeg Jets' infirmary -- and the status of Mathieu Perreault and Drew Stafford -- won't be officially made until today. The Jets did not practise Tuesday and a club spokesman said a report on the two Jets forwards, both of whom left Monday's 5-4 shootout win over the Edmonton Oilers with injuries, will be provided by coach Paul Maurice after practice today. Perreault was injured less than five minutes into the game after taking a hit along the boards from Oilers defenceman Jeff Petry. He had to be helped from the ice by teammates and training staff and was not putting any weight on his left leg. Perreault is fifth on the Jets in scoring with 36 points in 56 games and trails only Bryan Little and Andrew Ladd in goals, with 18. Stafford, meanwhile, left the game just 21 seconds into the third period after a faceoff and seemed to be favouring a hand or shoulder. He has been solid since joining the Jets in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres last week, scoring one goal in three games, being promoted to the top line with Ladd and Little and scoring the shootout winner in Saturday's win over the Detroit Red Wings. Immediately after the game, Maurice told reporters: "I don't have an answer. They may both be in, they may both be out. I just don't know." The Jets were already thin up front before losing the two forwards against the Oilers. The team carries three extra defencemen in Paul Postma, Adam Pardy and Jay Harrison and GM Kevin Cheveldayoff was said to be looking for more help up front in advance of the March 2 trading deadline. The status of Perreault and Stafford might put even more pressure on the GM in the next few weeks. The Jets could again move Dustin Byfuglien up front, but if they dip into the system for help, some options in St. John's include Patrice Cormier, who has been called up and sent down already this season without seeing action, John Albert (second in scoring with 13 goals and 34 points), Carl Klingberg (first in goals with 15), Eric O'Dell (24 points in 34 games) or the recently acquired Joel Armia, who was part of the Evander Kane/Zach Bogosian trade last week with the Buffalo Sabres html?cx_navSource=d-top-story Straight shooter

2 Second-generation Lemieux proud to play the game like his dad By: Ed Tait Brendan Lemieux doesn't speak in hyperbole or cliché. Ask him a question and you get a straight answer. He's thoughtful, articulate and to the point. And so, in many ways, the Brendan Lemieux in interview mode is the same as the Brendan Lemieux on the ice -- no shortcuts, no turning away from the action. "I'm your prototypical power forward," began the Winnipeg Jets prospect in a telephone interview from Barrie, Ont., on Monday. "I saw (TSN's) Craig Button give his input on the trade last week and I like the way he said it: I go in straight lines, north-south." Lemieux was one of the key components in the blockbuster deal completed by the Jets and Buffalo Sabres last week that saw Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian, along with goalie prospect Jason Kasdorf, head to western New York in exchange for Tyler Myers and Drew Stafford along with Lemieux, Joel Armia and a first-round draft pick. In the aftermath, it was GM Kevin Cheveldayoff who said Jets fans are going to fall in love with his game. "The trade definitely came out of the blue... it's not something you're expecting, that's for sure," said Lemieux. "But sometimes stuff like that just happens. "It's not like I felt bad. I've been in the game and around the business long enough with my dad to know that these are all business decisions. If a kid is having a good year it just raises his value. My value had been raised. "To be a key part of an Evander Kane trade... I'll tell you, that means a heckuva lot to a kid who hasn't played a regular-season game in the NHL yet." Lemieux, FYI, is the son of longtime NHLer Claude Lemieux, who won Stanley Cups with three different teams and cut a large swath along the way with a style of play that was called hardnosed, dirty, spirited, invaluable... and all things in between. Some of the descriptions, it's worth noting, aren't suitable for a family newspaper. "You know, I've been around other players' sons and I never really understood why some kids feel the need to separate themselves from their dads," said Lemieux. "I'm proud of my dad. I'm proud of what he did as a player and the kind of person he is. I look up to my dad. I want to play the game as hard as he did and have as much success in the playoffs as he did. "When people ask me about him, it makes me feel good. The more I'm compared to my dad, the better I feel like I'm playing. If they think I'm hard to play against or getting under people's skin or clutch in the playoffs, then I'm doing well, I'm doing my job. That's the way I want to make people feel." Cheveldayoff and the Jets have already done their bit to make Lemieux feel welcome. The Jets boss took in the Barrie Colts-Plymouth Whalers game last Friday with Jimmy Roy, the coordinator of player development. Roy also watched Lemieux a night later against Saginaw.

3 He has also heard from Mark Scheifele who -- along with Bryan Little, Michael Hutchinson and Barrie head coach Dale Hawerchuk -- are part of a growing Jets-Colts connection. "I played with Mark in my rookie year and he's one of my best friends," said Lemieux. "He called me a couple of hours after the trade. He's really a mentor for me. I've said it before: I think Mark's a better person than he is a player and obviously he's a great player. I'm so happy to be joining a franchise that he's a part of. "We joke about the Jets-Colts connection. But my coach, obviously he's a big part of it and I think they just trust his opinion. Dale, as a hall of famer, just has that eye for talent." Finally, as much as Lemieux understands being traded is part of the business, there is also a competitive fire in his belly. And he can't wait to prove some hockey types right... and a few wrong. "I'm not in the same boat as a lot of kids now," Lemieux said. "I'm unique in this, having been traded before I've played in the NHL. Now I've just got to go prove that Winnipeg fans right and the Sabres fans wrong at this point. "This is all I've ever wanted: to play somewhere that people cared about hockey. As long as people keep showing up, I'm happy to play. And I couldn't be more happy to play for a Canadian team, quite frankly." THE FARM REPORT THE AFFILIATES ST. JOHN'S ICECAPS (AHL) Record: ; 53 pts; last in Atlantic Division; 12th in Eastern Conference (heading into Tuesday's action). ONTARIO REIGN (ECHL/SHARED WITH LOS ANGELES KINGS) Record: , 65 points; 2nd in Pacific Division, 3rd in Western Conference. ICECAPS A look at some of the Jets prospects in Newfoundland: Connor Hellebuyck, G: He's handled just about every test the IceCaps and Jets brass wanted to throw at him, especially an increased workload. He's with a 2.44 GAA and.925 save percentage and has quickly made the transition to the pro game. It's not a matter of if he makes it to the NHL, but when. Joel Armia, RW: Has appeared in two games with the IceCaps since the big trade, but has yet to register a point. Lots of skill (10 goals, 25 points in 33 games in Rochester before the deal) and may get a look from the Jets with their thin forward depth.

4 John Albert, C: Second to D-man Will O'Neill in IceCaps scoring. Has had look-sees from the Jets before but is 25 now. J.C. Lipon, RW/LW: Has just one goal this season, but continues to be the IceCaps sandpapertype player. Eric O'Dell, C: Has 24 points in 34 games this year, but was injured a couple of times the Jets needed to dip into the system. Has the window closed? Scott Kosmachuk, RW: His game has come on since Christmas, but still comes in the fits and spurts expected from a player in his first pro season. Carl Klingberg, RW/LW: Leads the IceCaps in goals with 15. When he's on, he's solid on the forecheck. And when he's not, he's too much on the periphery. Patrice Cormier, C: Clock is ticking. Plays a heavy game, can play wing or centre and is decent on the draw. But his call-ups are always brief and his opportunity limited. Brenden Kichton, D: Much better offensive numbers a year ago when he had 48 points in 76 games. He's got six goals and 17 points this season and his path to the bigs is blocked by the blue-line depth with the Jets. CHECKING IN ON THE KIDS An update on how Jets draft picks have started off the season: 2014 CLASS NAMERoundPos.Team /overall Nikolaj Ehlers1/9LWHalifax (QMJHL) Superb numbers with the Mooseheads with 28 goals and 74 points in just 37 games. Ready to take the step to pro, but still with junior eligibility left. Set club record Tuesday with points in 30 straight games. Jack Glover3/69DU of Minnesota Has played12 games with the Gophers and was the team's extra D-man on the weekend. Lots of growing left in his game. Chase De Leo4/99CPortland (WHL) Continues to rack up gaudy offensive numbers with the Winterhawks with 29 goals and 64 points in 51 games. Nelson Nogier4/101DRed Deer (WHL)

5 Was traded by Saskatoon to the Rebels. Ironically, tonight is Nogier Bobblehead night in Saskatoon as the hometown boy returns home to face the Blades. C.J. Franklin5/129LWMinnesota State (WCHA) Has seven goals and 23 points in 29 games for the Mavericks as a freshman. Pavel Kraskovsky6/164CLokomotiv (KHL) Played well for Russia in the Subway Series, but did not make the world junior team. Played in the Russian junior league all-star game after posting 22 points in 29 games for Loko. Matt Ustaski7/192LWUniversity of Wisconsin Has four goals and eight points in 22 games in his first year with the Badgers. OTHER NOTABLES D Josh Morrissey, Kelowna Rockets: Almost seems bored with junior hockey now after a run with the IceCaps and camp with the Jets. Has 13 points in 15 games since being traded from Prince Albert. Was solid during the world juniors and may get inspired again in the WHL playoffs. C Nic Petan, Portland Winterhawks: Same old, same old: massive offensive numbers with 54 points in 38 games. Outstanding work at the world juniors, too. G Eric Comrie, Tri-City Americans: Canada's No. 2 netminder in their goal-medal junior run. Putting up good numbers save percentage, record -- on a Tri-City team that is last in its division. C Jimmy Lodge, Mississauga Steelheads: Leads the team in scoring, but now serving a suspension from the OHL. C Andrew Copp, University of Michigan: Considered pro ready right now. Centres the Wolverines' top line, but is out now after suffering an upper-body injury and is doubtful for this weekend's games against Ohio State. G Jamie Phillips, Michigan Tech: A Hobey Baker candidate; having a spectacular year with a record,.934 save percentage and 1.76 GAA. LW Brendan Lemieux, Barrie Colts: Has 37 goals, 54 points and 130 penalty minutes in 49 games. Lots to like. Winnipeg Sun Did Friesen jinx Jets? Injuries piling up for Winnipeg at worst possible time

6 By: Paul Friesen It s all my fault. The Winnipeg Jets have been hit by the injury bug, and you don t have to look further than this space for the source of the infection. I know this because Jets fans are telling me, screaming it in my face, actually. Such a wonderful job on reporting about what injuries can do to Jets. You are such an idiot, a fan calling told me via Twitter, shortly after the Jets squeaked past the Edmonton Oilers in a shootout, Monday night. My sin? These lines in my column in Monday s Winnipeg Sun: The only thing that can keep the Winnipeg Jets out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season is injuries. This team is remarkably healthy right now, and while it could stand a hit on the blue line, where it s deeper than it s ever been, the same can t be said for the (forwards). What happens against the Oilers? Five minutes in, second-line winger Mathieu Perreault goes down with what looks like a foot or ankle injury he left the rink in a walking boot. Mathieu Perreault injured. Damn fan Chad (@TheChad204) tweeted. He s right. I should burn in hell for this. This is no small loss, as Perreault is third on the team with 18 goals. If he s out an extended period, the Jets playoff chances are fried. There a couple things you just don t say out loud, commenting on the health of a healthy team one of them. It doesn t matter if it s true or not. Your article today on injuries was akin to saying something about a shutout w/ 2:00 left in a scolded in another tweet, adding #moron for emphasis. I should be strung up by the hashtags and hung from the Golden Boy in a Jets sweater. Later Tuesday came another: thanks for screwing over the jets, it took one game, It s not like I scoff at superstitions, either. I knock on wood with the best of them, ever since that day a couple summers ago, on the way home from Grand Beach.

7 Approaching Scanterbury, I turned to the Mrs. and commented on how reliable the old 70 Cutlass had been all these years, taking us to and from the beach probably a couple hundred times without a hiccup. Literally minutes later, the old girl (the car, that is) began sputtering, and by the time I limped into Wavers gas bar and popped the hood, steam was coming off an over-heating motor. Ever since, I ve been religiously knocking-on-wood, saying Hail-Mary's and sprinkling holy water. And what do I do in Monday s column? Grow horns and a tail and curse the home team. Oh sure, I suggested readers reach for the nearest piece of lumber for a place to rap their knuckles. BUT I NEVER REACHED FOR ONE MYSELF! It got worse Monday night. Less than two minutes into the third period, Drew Stafford, one of the two players who ve added so much enthusiasm after being acquired in a trade with Buffalo, got hurt, too taking a faceoff, of all things. What are the odds? It was the only faceoff the winger took all night. This was the Hockey Gods piling on. Never, ever, tempt fate. Write only safe things that won t hurt the home team. Or else spark the Jets Jinx. I heard it via , too. Way to hex the Jets, nice! fired Derek, Tuesday morning. And on the comment board at winnipegsun.com: the last time the sun wrote an article about the jets and playoffs, it sent the jets on a season high 5 game losing skid. let s not count our chickens before its hatched, wrote wpgjetsunfan. I may have to slaughter a few chickens and hang the carcasses in my office to keep more evil spirits from showing up. Because an apology to the Hockey Gods probably isn t good enough. Come to think of it, that I have these evil powers at my disposal has been quite a revelation So excuse me while I retreat to my den of darkness, with my voodoo dolls, pins and potions, and decide how I might next want to use them. No team is safe.

8 Shootout wins are nice but Winnipeg Jets falling behind in important ROW category By: Ted Wyman For all the excitement the Winnipeg Jets generated over the long weekend with shootout wins over the Detroit Red Wings and Edmonton Oilers, there's still some nagging concern about how such results affect their overall playoff chances. As former Jets coach Claude Noel used to say, the Jets needed a clean two points, particularly in the home game Monday night against last-place Edmonton. Shootout wins are entertaining and the two points are meaningful, but they are not as meaningful as regulation and overtime wins, of which the Jets have just two in 11 games since the all-star break. If you check out the ROW category in the standings on NHL.com, the Jets have just 24 and are tied for 10th in the Western Conference. That is not a good stat at this time of the season, especially considering ROW is used as the first tie-breaker if teams are deadlocked for playoff positions at the end of the regular season. Teams chasing the Jets in the playoff race, like Vancouver (30), Calgary (29), San Jose (27), Minnesota (26) and Los Angeles (25) all have more regulation and overtime wins than the Jets. On top of that, the Jets have played more games than all of those teams. No question, the shootout points earned by goaltender Michael Hutchinson and goal scorers Drew Stafford and Blake Wheeler on the weekend were valuable, especially considering the alternative. Those points will be huge down the stretch. But as the Jets push toward the playoffs and it's a push that's likely to be hotly contested until the final days of the regular season they need to find a way to win games before the shootout and get that ROW number in line with the other bubble teams in the conference. It would be an awful way to miss the playoffs if they do so because they do not have the tiebreaker. TIME TO RIDE HUTCHINSON Now, having said the Jets need more regulation wins, it's also obvious they need to ride Michael Hutchinson as their No. 1 goalie as much as possible the rest of the season. Hutchinson has not been as good lately as he was early in the season when he was putting up out-of-this-world numbers, but he plays like a money goaltender. Case in point, his flawless performance in the shootouts. Even though he gave up eight goasls in two games on the

9 weekend, Hutchinson was still a big part of both wins because he's unbeatable in the penalty shot competition. He has faced 14 attempts in his NHL career and has never given up a goal. Meanwhile, Ondrej Pavelec is 3-4 in shootouts this season and has a.654 save percentage. He hates shootouts and Jets fans hate seeing him in them. They shouldn't have to worry, because unless he starts performing terribly or gets injured, the Jets should be getting all they can out of Hutchinson from here on in. The games, and even the shootouts, are just too important. STILL LOTS OF WORK TO DO The Jets have 70 points and have 23 games remaining on the schedule. To be assured of a playoff spot, they are likely going to need 26 points in those 23 games, or the equivalent of 13 wins. Make no mistake, the Jets are in a great position right now, but have tons of work left to do to get to the post-season. And it's a daunting schedule, with 15 games against teams currently in playoff position (St. Louis, 4), Vancouver, 2), Washington, 2), Nashville, San Jose, Tampa Bay, Calgary, Chicago, New York Rangers and Montreal. The other eight games are against Toronto, Dallas, Ottawa, Los Angeles, Florida, Edmonton, Minnesota and Colorado. Right now, sportsclubstats gives the Jets a 67.3% chance of making the playoffs. That number will likely go down once some of the other bubble teams start making up their games in hand in the next couple of weeks. JETS FOLLOW LEADER ON BAD PENALTIES The bad penalties have got to stop or the Jets will find themselves out of the playoffs. Not to say I believe that they will stop, because the NHL's bad boys have not been able to curtail their ways to this point no matter how much is said about the subject, but the rash of minors is going to end up costing the Jets somehow. In fact, it already has.winnipeg is now just 16th in the league in penalty killing at 80.9% and the number has been dropping rapidly. The Jets lead the league in penalty minutes (829) and minor penalties (285) by a large margin. Only one other team the entire NHL has as many as 700 penalty minutes (Pittsburgh, 781) and thes Penguins, with the second most minors, have 43 fewer than the Jets. Truth is, a team plays the way its leaders play. Dustin Byfuglien leads the entire NHL in minor penalties with 36, Jets captain Andrew Ladd is sixth with 26 minors and assistant captain Blake Wheeler is tied for 26th with 20. Ladd and Wheeler are the biggest offenders here though as many, if not most, of their penalties come in the offensive zone. Ladd, who took another bad one late in the game against Edmonton Monday, leads all NHLers in holding penalties with six and is third in slashing minors with five.

10 Ladd is a solid hockey player who rarely misses a game and is one of the Jets most consistent performers, but his penchant for bad penalties is a major flaw in his leadership abilities. TSN.ca Jets taking risk by bringing in Myers By: Travis Yost By now, the seven-player trade between the Buffalo Sabres and Winnipeg Jets has been carefully dissected from most every angle. Much of the attention has been focused on the big name, Evander Kane, and whether or not Buffalo gave up too much to acquire the 23-year old forward. What s fascinating to me is that the most glossed over part of this deal the de facto swapping of defensemen Zach Bogosian and Tyler Myers has been glossed over quite a bit. From a Winnipeg standpoint, the exchange of the defensemen had an obvious financial benefit. While the cap hits are similar (Zach Bogosian s at $5.1-million; Tyler Myers is at $5.5-million), it s important to remember that Bogosian s deal is back-loaded, and Myers deal front-loaded. Bogosian s due $28-million more through ; Myers is due just $15.5-million, and his contract expires one year earlier. That s a fair bit of savings on the books for Winnipeg, no question. But, I still think that the Jets are acquiring considerable risk in the acquisition of Myers, especially since this is a Winnipeg team that desperately needs talent on the roster now to realize that post-season berth. One of the biggest red flags surrounding Tyler Myers is that he doesn t really seem to be able to drive play from a territorial standpoint, which is a dangerous proposition when you re talking about a twenty-two-minute-per-night defenseman. To illustrate this, we can peel out his Corsi% numbers over the past four seasons with Buffalo, and can repeat it with ScoringChance% numbers to complement our investigation. Here s how Myers looks since his rookie season. Ideally, we want to see the blue-line (Myers) consistently above the red-line (the team without Myers). First, Corsi%: Aside from a nice stretch last season, Myers has either been around the team-average or worse from a Corsi% standpoint for years now. This year has been an unequivocal down-point the Sabres have been measurably better with him off of the ice. Do the scoring chance numbers legitimize what we see above? ScoringChance% seems to mirror Corsi% here, which is what we tend to expect. And, this is really the concerning part: Myers, since that fabulous rookie season, has meant nearly twopoints worse in Corsi%, and nearly two-points worse in ScoringChance% over 200-games.

11 We can perform a bit more intricate analysis from a possession standpoint on Tyler Myers over the years, looking at common linemates/pairmates and studying how the duo has performed with one another, and without one another. For the sake of this piece, I ve compiled with/without numbers via HockeyAnalysis for six regular teammates four forwards (Drew Stafford, Tyler Ennis, Cody Hodgson, and Marcus Foligno), and two defensemen (Josh Gorges and Henrik Tallinder). Outside of Gorges, obviously, all of these players have been with Buffalo for years. Again, we want to see that Myers is pulling the player in question around and not the other way around. This graph is rather persuasive, and the green bars should really get most of your attention. That s where you ll see how the player in question performed away from Tyler Myers. In every case except for Marcus Foligno, the player was better from a Corsi% standpoint without Tyler Myers. In the case of Marcus Foligno, the together/player apart Corsi% was virtually identical, though Tyler Myers Corsi% away from Marcus Foligno was measurably worse. Now, it s worth noting that the player who departed Winnipeg Zach Bogosian didn t really identify himself as a brilliant possession-driver either, and Winnipeg s getting something of a financial discount in the process of the swap. Still, for a Jets team that (a) gave up, indisputably, the best player in the trade; and (b) is looking to reach the post-season for the first time since the team relocated from Atlanta, it s a bit of a curious move. It s also worth noting that Tyler Myers is just 25-years old, and a change of scenery alone could render him salvageable. After all, it s not as if Myers who has played his early Winnipeg minutes with Tobias Enstrom has really had a skilled puck-moving defenseman on his hip in the past. Perhaps Enstrom is exactly the guy who can elevate Myers back to what he used to be in But, ultimately, this situation comes down to risk and reward, and banking on Enstrom whitewashing thousands of average to ugly minutes for Myers over the last few years is a dicey proposition. It ll be worth seeing how Paul Maurice monitors Myers minutes and deploys him over the stretch run, and whether or not he can resuscitate his game before Game 83. NBC Sports Jets come out of Evander Kane trade as big winners (click link for video discussion with Bob McKenzie & Liam McHugh) Bob McKenzie joins Liam McHugh to discuss the Evander Kane trade and why it was such a risk for Buffalo with Kane's recent behavior. McKenzie also explains why this was a very solid deal for the Jets.