Michael Frolik joined the organization as a defensive specialist with underwhelming hockey-card stats. Through 136 games in Chicago, Frolik managed just 34 points, deployed in his final season for fewer than 13 minutes a night with Bryan Bickell and Michael Handzus. Like so many players who managed to score in Florida (cough cough Jokinen), it seemed his…
It is a deeply enjoyable coincidence that I am assigned this player preview. I might be Byfuglien’s biggest fan when he plays defence, and was a staunch defender during the ‘Mystery Turnovers’ days. At the same time, his transition play as a forward is slow and haphazard and his defensive work from the forward position was…
During the season, we checked in a few times on the Jets’ prospects around the world. The last time was in December. I’ve never been accused of being a timely writer, but it’s still worth checking in on how the season finished for last year’s prospects and how the organization might currently see them. We’ll update our…
We recently took a look at the Jets’ depth chart, only to have the team add some bodies. Player previews will continue throughout the month, but the biggest question is always ice time and linemates. Inside we’ll look at a likely lineup for opening night and look back to years past for comparison.
Photo by Galatians Design With the announcement in April that Ondrej Pavelec would return as the starting goaltender for the Jets, the hope of a playoff birth for the Jets was effectively dashed. We’ve looked at him in every way imaginable, only to find that he’s simply not an NHL quality goaltender. It’s a serious problem and…
In the bizarro-season that was, a common theme was the refusal by Claude Noel to ice a ‘common-sense’ lineup. This was evident everywhere, including on the blue line where Bogosian started the year on his off-side even before the blender was turned on. By the end of the year, Mark Stuart was playing over 20 minutes…
Until last season, the Jets had employed a host of would-be centres and waiver wire additions in prominent roles on the right wing. Antropov, Wellwood, Burmistrov, Miettinen, and Santorelli all played significant minutes on the starboard while with the team. Perhaps it shouldn’t have been a surprise, then, that this position was a bit of a…
We continue our look at the 2014/15 Jets depth chart with an installment on the left wing. (Centre is here.) A year ago, the Jets hit October 1st without 4 natural left wingers, and with both Eric Tangradi and James Wright on the official roster sheet. That lack of depth caused all sorts of havoc throughout…
Photo by Bridget Samuels We start our examination of the Jets’ depth chart with arguably the most important skater position. Championship teams in the modern NHL are typically defined by their quality and depth down the middle, and whether we define success in hockey by goals, scoring chances, or shot attempts, controlling the middle of the…
Photo by Clydeorama It’s another sunny week in beautiful Vancouver, so I hope I can be forgiven for long delays. On Friday we looked at one defender in particular, and eons ago, we examined how the Jets used their forwards. Today we’ll look at the defence as a group and try to parse out who…
Photo by Kerri Polizzi The Avs accomplished a remarkable feat by going from the bottom of the Western Conference a year ago to the top of the Central Division with a whopping 112 points in 2013/14. The amount of change between those two seasons – behind the bench, in the front office, and in the dressing…
Mark Stuart is a divisive figure on the Jets blue line. Many fans love his rough-and-tumble style. The coaching staff appreciate his work ethic. We can all enjoy the absurdly square dimensions of his cranium. A select (and annoyingly vocal) few see him as a major liability to the club at 14 minutes per game,…
