JN AirMail: Never Too Much Hendricks Talk

It’s time to dig into the weekly mail bag and see what pressing questions you have for us to answer!

This week we ponder a possible Jets trade involving Michael Hutchinson, we give our thoughts on the NHL’s playoff format, and talk a little more about Matt Hendricks because if we’re being completely honest, he’s one Jet no one has talked about since his arrival in Winnipeg. Sportsbooks  like Youwager weren’t big on the Jets coming into the season, but the team has been solid thus far.

As always, if you have pressing Winnipeg Jets questions, if you have hockey related queries, or if you just want to know how some of us survive watching our baseball team put us on a roller coaster of emotions during the World Series (heaven help me if the Jets ever make the Stanley Cup final) then @ reply us on Twitter with the hashtag #JNAirMail and we’ll answer every Monday!

And here… we… go….

Art: I think the Jets are happy with what they have right now but extra forward depth would be ideal. I know some questioned the idea of getting an NHL caliber player for a Hutch, but the truth is the Jets are not in any rush to make a deal, other teams are going to have to sweeten the pot to get Hutch or a d-man from the Jets.

Kyle: I think the only piece the Jets are really looking for is a proven depth forward. Someone who has been in the league a while, and can consistently produce. Hutchinson is completely expendable, and teams know that, so his value is nowhere near that of a solid depth forward. Trading a defenseman is risky given the injury histories of Myers and Kulikov, I want as much depth at defense as possible given the way last year went.

Cassie: Hutchinson is expendable and I think they’re hoping for just depth players at this point. I disagree that his value is low, just based on injuries and how well backup goalies have played thus far this year. He’s not a world beater in terms of value, but he could bring back a bottom pairing defenceman easy enough.

Art: I think the format as is isn’t bad. The issue is you want to have a reward for regular season success for top teams, but you want to make sure the 16 best teams qualify. That said, I’d love for them to try a “top 16 in the league” format where say the six division winners get the top six seeds, but then the 10 next best teams qualify regardless of division or conference. Oh and then stop re-seeding the teams after that.

Kyle: The format is fine as it is, but I struggle with the fact that being first in the league doesn’t really give any advantage starting in the second round. I would like to see the top 16 teams in the league make it, regardless of division or conference. Then being number one would actually being advantageous.

Cassie: I like the format the way it is. I think the only change I’d like to see is a possible re-seed for the second round, allowing the top teams to get a better advantage. It does what it intended in creating rivalries and drama, which is something I love.

Art: I don’t know if Hendricks really brings that much more leadership to the club or if he filled any kind of void in leadership or that the Jets even had a void to begin with. When you have multiple players come out during the summer and publicly state “hey, now or never” in terms of the playoffs, I think that suggests they already had plenty of leadership.

Kyle: I am totally fine with the current leadership group for the Jets. I think Wheeler is a great captain, and Scheifele complements him well. I don’t really buy into the whole ‘winning’ culture idea. If the team starts winning games because they actually play well the team will be perceived as having a good winning culture. I don’t see this as an issue for the Jets and if they make the playoffs, everyone will start to think they have this so called ‘winning’ culture anyways.

Cassie: I think PoMos love for Hendricks stems more from being attached to an old school system of play than a leadership problem. The current leadership group is perfectly fine and strong enough. Not all leaders have to be rah-rah, they just have to be accountable. I think winning culture is just a thing that comes with winning, not based on leadership.