While it has been a whirlwind of a season for the Winnipeg Jets, no one has experienced more ups and downs than Mathieu Perreault.

The 29-year-old centre, who has been playing on the second-line LW of late, is not experiencing the consistency he has over the years. In his last three season, he’s scored at least 40 points, serving as an important asset and core member of the Jets’ scoring lines.

However, he has struggled greatly this season and has just four goals and 13 points through 33 games. Not only that, he is a minus-14 and is not playing the quality of hockey he usually boasts. He did have an undisclosed injury that held him out of the lineup for some time, and it’s clear that he is still shaking off some rust.

But then again, he has appeared to pick things up of late. He recorded two power-play helpers in Saturday’s loss to the Los Angeles Kings, marking his first multi-point game of the 2016-17 season. He has three goals and 10 points in his last 16 games and may be on the verge to finding his scoring touch again.

Perreault brings a lot to the Jets’ power-play unit, especially given Laine’s absence. He is starting on the first unit on the left wing and appears to find success when it comes to passing and setting up plays.

On the power-play this season, Perreault has four assists and five points. This shows his ability to thrive on special teams, given his skill when it comes to playmaking. He has great vision and on-ice intelligence, and this helps his hockey sense. Perreault is able to make plays on the fly and get the puck to his teammates, setting them up with quality passes.

His role as a playmaker is what helps him serve as one of the most important players on the Jets’ forward lines. A lot of his production, of course, lies in his assists. While he can also score goals, and has neared the 20-goal mark in recent years, a lot of his scoring ability lies in his ability to set up his teammates.

Overall, Perreault knows his role. He is a depth player who can thrive on the bottom-six and play either the wing or centre position. It is his job to carry his line and ensure scoring on the lower lines. Not only that, he’s an excellent man to have in the faceoff dot, and wins over half his draws.

With this in mind, Perreault is definitely trying to find his touch through helpers. However, he won’t be able to accumulate too many points by making pretty passes; he has to shoot the puck, too.

Not only that, he’s excellent when it comes to taking away the puck, and getting turnovers is essential to scoring. One issue I see in Perreault’s play is that he doesn’t shoot the puck as much as he should. He averages just two shots per game this season, yet 70 percent of his shots make it on goal.

Perreault is able to shoot with accuracy, and though he has a pass-first mentality, he’s likely to find success if he gets more pucks on net each game. This is one of the most common flaws in playmaker’s games. They spend so much time immersed in their role of passing that they will always dish the puck instead of electing to shoot first. Because of this, they can not only lose time, but complete scoring chances, especially if their linemate is two steps behind them.

Perreault has 68 shots on goal this season, and in previous years where he has put up impressive goal and point production, he has well over 100 shots to end the season. Eventually, a puck is bound to go in.

There is part of me that wants to argue that he’s lost some of his confidence. Let’s start off by picking up where we left off in the last section: looking at his shooting. Last season, he had 133 shots, but only nine goals. A lot of his attempts were blocked or completely missed the net; barely half of his shots made it on net. Because of this, I think there’s a lot of hesitation in his game when it comes to shooting the puck.

He is going to have to work to getting back in the mentality of realizing his full potential. He’s a solid two-way forward who can take away the puck, create scoring chances and get pucks on net. If he wants to return to his form, Perreault needs to ooze confidence and realize his ability, leaving out his struggles.