Jets Nation Report Card: Losing is the New Black

The Winnipeg Jets are in the middle of a heated race, just not quite the one we all wanted it to be at the beginning of the season. 

While the lucky teams are gearing up for a playoff run, the Jets find themselves in the race for the Auston Matthews sweepstakes with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers. 

Shout out to The Leafs Nation and The Oilers Nation. Let the worst team win. 

After finally putting one in the win column Saturday night against the Montreal Canadiens, the Jets dropped the following three games in regulation. 

Because, Jets. 

The Jets currently occupy the 29th position in the NHL with 59 points, only being worsted (that’s probably not a word) by the Maple Leafs’ 55 points. The Oilers are also in the sweepstakes race being just two points better than the Jets at 61 points. 

Hey, us Canadian teams have to stick together. 

The way this report card could go really depends on the individual’s perspective. If you support the tank, than everyone but Mark Scheifele is passing with flying colors. If you still want to see wins, than it’s the opposite. 

We’ll stick with the optimistic view for now. Let’s get started. 

Dean’s List: Mark Scheifele

Scheifele continues his hot streak, scoring four goals and recording two assists int he last four games. He’s been just one of very few bright spots for the Jets as of late. He’s already crushed his goal total from last year, recording his first 20-goal season, and is on pace to surpass his career-high point total from last season. All this while missing significant time due to injury this season. At just 22 years of age, Scheif will be an elite player for the Jets for years to come. 

Honor Roll: Tyler Myers, Marko Dano

I’m not the biggest fan of Myers, but he has been playing extremely well as of late. Using his size to his advantage, strong positionally, and showing off some nifty offensive skills. 

Marko Dano was listed on academic probation last week. This week, he’s stepped up and starting to play better and feel more comfortable with his new team. Dano recorded his first points, including his first goal, with his new team since joining the Jets at the trade deadline. He still has a long way to go, but he’s at least starting to pay dividends right now. 

Academic Probation: Mathieu Perreault, Blake Wheeler

Perreault has been pretty invisible as of late offensively and getting caught defensively a couple times as well. He had a much better game last night against Detroit, but he was held pointless the three games prior and was a -3 overall. 

Wheeler hasn’t been exactly invisible. He’s still making things happen out there and playing well enough away from the puck. However, he has just two assists in his last six games. The Jets rely on him for much more than that, and a player of his caliber should be producing more. We all have our cold streaks though, and he should snap out of it sooner than later. 

Failing: Matt Halischuk 

I know Halischuk is just a depth player and is not necessarily expected to produce points. However, you need to bring something to the table. As of late, Halischuk hasn’t been doing much of that. He’s down to averaging just 7:10 in ice time the last four games, recording no points and just four shots on goal. At this point, he’s just a jersey filling a roster spot. 

As always, if you have any opinions, questions or ideas for the report card, comment below or tweet me @Vincanity18. Heck, you want to vent about something, talk about dogs or food (two of my favorite subjects), hit me up. My door is always open.