COLUMBUS — A perfect 10? Not quite, but you have to give the Winnipeg Jets extremely high marks for the way they have rushed to the head of the hockey class so far this season.
They are not only the top team in terms of wins (nine) and points (18) as the calendar flips to November, but they also have the league’s most potent power play (44.8 per cent), are scoring more goals-per-game than anyone else (4.6) and have the best goal differential (+22) heading into action Thursday night.
They are also among the stingiest defensive clubs (2.4 goals against per game, fourth-overall) and the penalty kill has become an asset, not an anchor (81 per cent, 13th-best).
Jeff Roberson / The Associated Press
Kyle Connor has been on a heater since opening night of the NHL season.
In other words, there’s not a whole lot to complain about.
“We’re appreciative of what we’re doing and what we’ve done but there’s so much hockey ahead of us,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said following Wednesday’s 6-2 victory in Detroit to kick off a two-game road trip that ends Friday evening in Ohio.
With both the quantity of games (14) and quality of opponents (Florida twice, Tampa twice, Dallas, Minnesota, Vegas, New York Rangers, Los Angeles, Colorado, Nashville, Utah, Pittsburgh, Columbus) set to pick up in November, here’s 10 takeaways from the best October in franchise history:
1) Kyle Connor is a man on a mission. He has seven points this week alone and is among the top offensive producers in the game right now. With a team-leading nine goals and 17 points, there’s no reason to think Connor, who has one more year left on his contract, can’t challenge for 50 goals and 100 points this year.
“He’s an elite player in this league. We like to keep him as our little hidden secret, but I don’t think that’s going to happen anymore,” Arniel told the Free Press after Connor registered career point No. 500 (along with 501 and 502) in his home state of Michigan Wednesday.
2) The Jets are once again getting production from everyone. There are already 12 skaters with at least two goals, which is impressive. Winnipeg also have five players averaging at least a point-per-game, and six more who are close (between 7-9 points). They come at you in waves, and there are no shifts off against this extremely balanced lineup. Winnipeg had a dozen players hit double-digits in goals last year, and they’re on track to match, or maybe even better that this year.
3) Neal Pionk has shaken off a nightmarish 2023-24 season and is off to a strong start with 12 points (three goals, nine assists). Only the great Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche has more production from the blue-line so far. Save for one ugly game against Toronto, in which he had plenty of company, the pending unrestricted free agent has been fantastic. Which begs the obvious questions of what his next contract looks like — and is it with the Jets or another club?
4) Offence from the defence. The Jets have 34 points so far from defenceman, which is the best in the NHL. All-Star Josh Morrissey (11 points) is right behind Pionk, while Colin Miller (two goals, three assists) and Dylan Samberg (two goals, one assist) have chipped in more than most expected.
“It is something we’ve been stressing, that offence has to come from these three and four-man rushes and those guys (on D) being a part of it,” said Arniel.
5) Connor Hellebuyck has his Vezina form once again. We likely take the netminder for granted around here, with the expectation level set at “greatness” every season. Hellebuyck is on track for the best year of his incredible career, with a 7-1-0 record, a 2.12 goals-against-average and a .923 save percentage. Spelling Hellebuyck off and not burning him out will be key, and so far backup Eric Comrie has two wins in two appearances, with a third coming as early as Friday.
6) Gabe Vilardi is coming on strong. It was a sleepy start for the young forward, but all three of his goals have now come in the past four games, and he seems to really be finding chemistry with linemates Connor and Mark Scheifele.
“He was stressing a little bit, trying to get himself going and now he seems to be up and running,” Arniel said Wednesday night. “That line looks fast, they’re cohesive and they’re doing things together. When you have chemistry like that, they’re going to create the offence. They’re a line we look to every night to score goals.”
7) The second line isn’t quite clicking. Cole Perfetti, Nikolaj Ehlers and Vlad Namestnikov have all had fine moments, but that trio is still a work-in-progress. Perhaps Namestnikov isn’t ultimately the best fit as 2C and general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff (once again) looks for an upgrade around the trade deadline. Given Winnipeg’s great start the organization can preach patience and let things continue to play out.
8) The early returns on revamped special teams have been excellent. Winnipeg’s power play under new assistant coach Davis Payne has 13 goals and looks like a legitimate threat to score every time, which is quite a refreshing change from a year ago. The PK under new assistant coach Dean Chynoweth is much more aggressive and effective in the early going.
9) Five-on-five play needs to improve. Winnipeg has largely just been treading water at even strength, with the majority of their offensive damage coming when they have a man advantage (power play, delayed penalty, goalie pull, overtime). At least until they faced the Red Wings, where they had a 5-0 advantage at five-on-five. That’s an encouraging development for a group that was elite in that department last season, yet struggled on special teams. Go figure.
10) Arniel gets an A-plus so far, but more tests are coming. We’re curious to see how the first-year bench boss handles the blue-line once Ville Heinola is back to full health, which seems to be just a couple weeks away. The Jets are going to face some NHL beasts this month, including two very tough upcoming road trips. So far, they’ve only had to navigate a single losing “streak” of one game, which was followed up with a terrific response.
“Everybody in that room knows that it’s not going to be easy. Just look at our division. Our division alone is going to be a mountain to climb here,” said Arniel.
Sure, the Jets are looking down on everyone else, but right behind them are the 7-2-0 Dallas Stars and the 6-1-2 Minnesota Wild, who have the second and third-best point percentages in the NHL so far.
“We’ve got to bank the points when we can. We want to make sure that we’ve got a style of play that we’re trying to build. The hockey’s going to get tougher and tougher every month.”
mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca
X: @mikemcintyrewpg
Mike McIntyre
Sports reporter
Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.
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