Jets Monday Morning Musings: The Base Is Set

Jets added to their strong prospect core with Patrik Laine at number two in June 2016.

What's a good base for a professional sports team?

A good base would be the players.

Poor players breed poor performances.

Poor coaching breeds poor performances.

Poor drafting breeds poor performances.

You get the picture.  If a team doesn't have that base, it's going nowhere.

But how to get that base?

Three things must be in place, in my humble opinion, to make a franchise even worth paying the price of admission to see.

It's three things I think the current Jets have got going for them.  Today will focus on the part we saw almost a month ago with the Jets taking away Patrik Laine at number two and Logan Stanley at number eighteen - drafting.

1. Positive, Effective Drafting

If we take a gander at the Winnipeg Jets 1.0, we see a flaw that really put the nail (I'll say nails) in the coffin for lack of success - a lack of success at the draft.

Sure, the home runs here would include Dale Hawerchuk, Teemu Selanne, Keith Tkachuk, Teppo Numminen, and other players that are already can't miss players.

Teams that win set themselves apart from the pack by making shrewd decisions after round one is over.

I would ask any armchair GM to do the first round for me most times because everyone knows the top names when they watch TSN right? (Thanks Bob McKenzie)

Take a look at Jets 1.0's first round picks from birth to death:

1979 -  Jimmy Mann (30 points in 293 NHL games) 19th overall

1980 - Dave Babych (723 points in 1195 NHL games) 2nd overall

1981 - Dale Hawerchuk (1409 points in 1188 NHL games) 1st overall

1982 - Jim Kyte (66 points in 598 NHL games) 12th overall

1983 - Andrew McBain (301 points in 608 NHL games) 8th overall

1984 - No First Round Pick

1985 - Ryan Stewart (1 point in 3 NHL games) 18th overall

1986 - Pat Elynuik (342 points in 506 NHL games) 8th overall

1987 - Bryan Marchment (2307 PIMs in 926 NHL games) 16th overall

1988 - Teemu Selanne (1457 points in 1451 NHL games) 10th overall

1989 - Stu Barnes (597 points in 1136 NHL games) 4th overall

1990 - Keith Tkachuk (1065 points in 1200 NHL games) 19th overall

1991 - Aaron Ward (151 points in 839 NHL games) 5th overall

1992 - Sergei Bautin (30 points in 132 NHL games) 17th overall

1993 - Mats Lindgren (128 points in 387 NHL games) 15th overall

1994 - No First Round Pick

1995 - Shane Doan (945 points in 1466 NHL games and still going) 7th overall

A few things jump out here:

First, the only players to play over 500 games (roughly just over six seasons) with the Jets would include Hawerchuk, Tkachuk, and Doan (last two mostly with Phoenix though).

When you make a first round pick, especially top ten picks, you want to make that player an essential part of your core.

Here's how the more famous of the first rounders went on to do as a  Jet:

- Dave Babych played with the Jets from 1980 to 1986 when they dealt him to Hartford for Ray Neufeld and a bag of pucks.  Probably the third most infamous Jets trade.

- Dale Hawerchuk played with the Jets from 1981 to 1990 when they dealt him to Buffalo.  For Scott Arniel, a player drafted by the Jets in the same draft as Hawerchuk in 1981.  Second most infamous Jets trade.

- Bryan Marchment played 37 games as a Jet before going to Chicago where he would then play out the rest of his 889 NHL games.

- Stu Barnes (yikes fourth overall) played 108 games as  a Jet and then went to Florida.

- Aaron Ward played no games as a Jet and went to Detroit.

- Teemu Selanne played only from from 1992 to 1996 until dealt to Anaheim for Oleg Tverdovsky, Chad Kilger, and a cup of coffee.  Most infamous Jets trade.

The Jets 1.0 maybe didn't have the appeal that Jets 2.0 may have - a newer arena, more money, a salary cap that can keep them more competitive.

Point of the matter is, drafting and developing works and drafting shrewdly is the best way to make sure it works.

Let's take a last minute look at some numbers:

- Of all players drafted in the Jets 1.0 era, only 27 players played over 500 NHL games.

- 11 players played over 1000 NHL games.

- 43 players played over 200 NHL games.

- 110 players never played in an NHL game.

- 17 players drafted after the first round played 500 or more NHL games.

It's unfeasible to compare that to Jets 2.0 due to the lack of stats, but the fact of the matter is Jets 1.0 had a terrible history especially in the late 1980's and early 1990's of making a shrewd, steal-like pick in the later rounds.

It is a different era in hockey and the comparables are maybe not as clear as we would like to think.  Still, the fact that a late round steal still is a good thing now as it was back during Jets 1.0 leads to an ability to compare in  a very slight sense.

So far, Jets 2.0 has had two players play over 200 games - Mark Scheifele (145 points in 227 NHL games) and Jacob Trouba (72 points in 211 NHL games), one over 100 games in Adam Lowry (40 points in 154 games), and two over 70 games in Nikolaj Ehlers (38 points in 72 NHL games) and Andrew Copp (14 points in 78 NHL games).

With Scheifele locked up for eight years and a verdict still pending on Trouba, we can only see Jets 2.0 putting their stamp on these young players and treating them the True North way - with professionalism, outstanding development, and a culture that breeds winning.

With top picks Kyle Connor, Patrik Laine, and Josh Morrissey waiting in the wings, the Jets have made at least one fan very confident in their drafting a strong base.

Next Monday morning, coaching.

What are the top things you would consider when building a sustainable, winning franchise?

Mark Scheifele: The Anti-Kane

Mark Scheifele is a Winnipeg Jet long-term signing an eight year, $49 million contract.

It's funny to be back writing this blog almost four years after it moved and became nothing.

Why?  Because four years ago, Evander Kane signed a six-year, $31.5 million contract and we were thinking he would be the next best thing.

Well that all went south in a hurry.

But not to worry, Mark Scheifele is the anti-Kane, if you will.

Aside from his on-ice production which has increased incrementally over his first three full seasons in the NHL, Scheifele has shown Winnipeg he is committed to the club that drafted him and to its future success.

From 34 points in 2013-2014 to his career year last year with 29 goals and 31 assists, Scheifele has embraced being the possible next face of the franchise.

Can't we all see that he still has the same baby face he had the day he was drafted so long ago?

But it's much more than that.

Scheifele is proof that moving forward the Winnipeg Jets have the right model to be consistent, to grow, and to succeed.

With Dustin Byfuglien, Blake Wheeler, and even Mathieu Perrault all locked up for three or more years, the core of this team is ready to win and to also mentor.

Was Evander Kane willing to be that when signed that deal in the summer of 2012?

No, he wasn't.

Buffalo was hoping he'd change but that tiger isn't going to trade in his stripes for spots anytime soon.

Kane showed what the Winnipeg Jets were not about and were not willing to put up with.  Kevin Cheveldayoff - one of the shrewdest GM's in the game - made sure that he got something for the player no one wanted around.

With players the Jets received in return - Brendan Lemieux and Joel Aarmia, not forgetting Drew Stafford and Tyler Myers - the Jets instantly became deeper and were built for the 2015 playoff run and for the future up front.

Adding in Lemieux and Armia, the up and comers in the Jets organization are big, strong, fast, and are going to make teams that are on the top right now - the Chicago's, St. Louis', L.A.'s, San Jose's - look like child's play when those teams time to shine comes to an end.

In the NHL, as in most sports today, most teams have a window in which they can win.  It is usually in a range of 3-5 years (that's flexible through debate) and it can be widened by the shrewdness of the franchise's GM, as Stan Bowman has shown in Chicago.

It's not easy to build a consistent winner.  Take a look at Pittsburgh.

The Penguins core still has the essentials - Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Chris Kunitz, Kris Letang - but they needed to have an almost revolving door of veterans - Eric Fehr, Matt Cullen - and young players on entry level or low budget contracts - Bryan Rust, Tom Kuhnhackl, Conor Sheary - to be able to be competitive.

To be able to take a championship team, flip them and put them back out with new parts adding to the core players is not easy.  It seems that Chicago, LA, and now Pittsburgh have managed to figure it out lately, but other teams seem to be deceived into thinking their time will come and it never shows up.

Mark Scheifele's first career goal in 2011-2012 versus Toronto.

For the Jets, I used to say that they were following a Nashville Predator like approach to draft and develop.  Well, now I hope they don't follow suit with a Weber for Subban like deal - especially involving Byfuglien.

But the point is, the Jets cupboards are stocked full and this year seems to be the most interesting year as far as training camp competitiveness will go and how roster spots will be filled.

It all comes back to Mark Scheifele's willingness to stay a Jet, to improve as a Jet, and the team is wise to sign him long term.

He is mature, a leader, and his work ethic is second to none - something that rubs off on his teammates.

He is the epitomy of everything Evander Kane was not.

Kane never got a letter.  Never was a leader.  Never wanted much to do with being a Jet.

Scheifele will get a letter.  He's going to be this team's leader.  He wants everything to do with being a Jet.

If Scheifele isn't named captain this season, there will be a letter on that jersey.

But we can wait.  Let's not rush things.

He's going to be here for another eight years.

Mark Scheifele: The Anti-Kane

Mark Scheifele is a Winnipeg Jet long-term signing an eight year, $49 million contract.

It's funny to be back writing this blog almost four years after it moved and became nothing.

Why?  Because four years ago, Evander Kane signed a six-year, $31.5 million contract and we were thinking he would be the next best thing.

Well that all went south in a hurry.

But not to worry, Mark Scheifele is the anti-Kane, if you will.

Aside from his on-ice production which has increased incrementally over his first three full seasons in the NHL, Scheifele has shown Winnipeg he is committed to the club that drafted him and to its future success.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">What an honour to sign with <a href="https://twitter.com/NHLJets">@NHLJets</a> for 8 years!! Dream come true and couldn&#39;t be more excited for the future <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gojetsgo?src=hash">#gojetsgo</a> ✈️✈️✈️</p>&mdash; mark scheifele (@markscheifele55) <a href="https://twitter.com/markscheifele55/status/751531517227233280">July 8, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

From 34 points in 2013-2014 to his career year last year with 29 goals and 31 assists, Scheifele has embraced being the possible next face of the franchise.

Can't we all see that he still has the same baby face he had the day he was drafted so long ago?

But it's much more than that.

Scheifele is proof that moving forward the Winnipeg Jets have the right model to be consistent, to grow, and to succeed.

With Dustin Byfuglien, Blake Wheeler, and even Mathieu Perrault all locked up for three or more years, the core of this team is ready to win and to also mentor.

Was Evander Kane willing to be that when signed that deal in the summer of 2012?

No, he wasn't.

Buffalo was hoping he'd change but that tiger isn't going to trade in his stripes for spots anytime soon.

Kane showed what the Winnipeg Jets were not about and were not willing to put up with.  Kevin Cheveldayoff - one of the shrewdest GM's in the game - made sure that he got something for the player no one wanted around.

With players the Jets received in return - Brendan Lemieux and Joel Aarmia, not forgetting Drew Stafford and Tyler Myers - the Jets instantly became deeper and were built for the 2015 playoff run and for the future up front.

Adding in Lemieux and Armia, the up and comers in the Jets organization are big, strong, fast, and are going to make teams that are on the top right now - the Chicago's, St. Louis', L.A.'s, San Jose's - look like child's play when those teams time to shine comes to an end.

In the NHL, as in most sports today, most teams have a window in which they can win.  It is usually in a range of 3-5 years (that's flexible through debate) and it can be widened by the shrewdness of the franchise's GM, as Stan Bowman has shown in Chicago.

It's not easy to build a consistent winner.  Take a look at Pittsburgh.

The Penguins core still has the essentials - Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Chris Kunitz, Kris Letang - but they needed to have an almost revolving door of veterans - Eric Fehr, Matt Cullen - and young players on entry level or low budget contracts - Bryan Rust, Tom Kuhnhackl, Conor Sheary - to be able to be competitive.

To be able to take a championship team, flip them and put them back out with new parts adding to the core players is not easy.  It seems that Chicago, LA, and now Pittsburgh have managed to figure it out lately, but other teams seem to be deceived into thinking their time will come and it never shows up.

Mark Scheifele's first career goal in 2011-2012 versus Toronto.

For the Jets, I used to say that they were following a Nashville Predator like approach to draft and develop.  Well, now I hope they don't follow suit with a Weber for Subban like deal - especially involving Byfuglien.

But the point is, the Jets cupboards are stocked full and this year seems to be the most interesting year as far as training camp competitiveness will go and how roster spots will be filled.

It all comes back to Mark Scheifele's willingness to stay a Jet, to improve as a Jet, and the team is wise to sign him long term.

He is mature, a leader, and his work ethic is second to none - something that rubs off on his teammates.

He is the epitomy of everything Evander Kane was not.

Kane never got a letter.  Never was a leader.  Never wanted much to do with being a Jet.

Scheifele will get a letter.  He's going to be this team's leader.  He wants everything to do with being a Jet.

If Scheifele isn't named captain this season, there will be a letter on that jersey.

But we can wait.  Let's not rush things.

He's going to be here for another eight years.

Kane Finally Shows Commitment to Jets

Evander Kane's 30 goals was a career high for the Jets budding star winger.
(Photo Courtesy Yahoo! Sports)

Go ahead, say it.

"It's about time."

If you are an impatient Jets fan that's your first reaction to the six-year, $31.5 million contract that 21 year-old Evander Kane finally signed late Saturday.

My first reaction was of sheer joy and then of even more sheer joy after hearing his press conference after signing.

Not only is he committed to becoming better and being a part of the Jets long term, there is no reason for him to not become a better player than he already is.

If he is still improving, 30 goals is only a stepping stone to his progress as the Jets premier power forward scoring machine.

Hold the phone though, why did it take this long?

Was it length of contract?

Was it money?

Was there hesitation on his part?

While negotiations were on-going between Jets brass and Kane's agent back in July, there was hope for optimism at that point that quickly died out leading into a stretched out August of back and forth with the NHL and NHLPA squawking at each other.

As a fan, I was worried that Kane would have too big of an ego to take such a base salary that the likes of John Tavares and Jeff Skinner had gotten earlier in the summer.

Kane wasn't afraid to drop the gloves on occasion.
(Photo Courtesy Yahoo! Sports)

While at the same time know that both Tavares and Skinner have accomplished much more in their careers than Kane - both have been All-Stars and both were nominated for a Calder Trophy which Skinner won in 2011.

My biggest concern was he was reacting negatively to the Jets fans after what was a roller coaster season for Kane on and off the ice.

Whatever was the case for his late signing was put aside in my mind and should put other fans minds at rest - Kane chose a six-year deal for a reason: he wants to be here.

If Kane didn't want to be in Winnipeg as a Jet, he would have either not signed and waited for an offer sheet of some kind or signed a short-term deal to be able to become a UFA sooner and make money elsewhere.

And that, in my mind, shows that Kane is progressing, not only as a hockey player, but as a professional.

And for our leading goal scorer, that's the most positive sign for the Jets future.

Jets All Out Top 25 II: #17 Nik Antropov

Nik Antropov scored the first goal Jets 2.0 history.
(Photo Courtesy Yahoo! Sports)

Nikolai Antropov, 32, C, 6'6, 245 lbs
Last Year's Ranking: #8
This Year's Ranking: #17
Difference: -9

With the largest demotion in the top 25, Nik Antropov's extremely sub-par 35 point season made him the goat in this ranking in 2012.

Though he did score the first goal in Winnipeg Jets 2.0 history, his 35 points (15 goals, 20 assists) in 69 games was the lowest career total for Antropov since the 2006-07 season when he had 33 points (18 goals, 15 assists) in 54 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and even then his points-per-game ratio was much higher.

For Antropov, his production continued to slide in 2011-12.

After a career year in 2009-10 with 67 points (24 goals, 43 assists) in 76 games in his first season in Atlanta, he followed that up with a 41 point performance (16 goals, 25 assists) in his last season in Georgia.

In Winnipeg, Antropov played at times uninspired and sluggish.

For Jets fans, he looked like he skated slow and didn't care to backcheck much.

But with his hulking 6'6, 245 pound frame it doesn't take long to cover the ice in his long strides.

However, that is not an excuse for Antropov's lack of offensive production in 2011-12.

Brought in by former Thrasher GM Don Waddell to be a big number one centre, Antropov contributed to that philosophy in his first season and has tapered off significnatly.

One reason could be the absence of Ilya Kovalchuk, who had 31 goals with the Thrashers that season before being dealt to New Jersey.  Ever since, Antropov has not been able to replicate those numbers.

With former linemate Alexei Ponikarovsky now in the mix and probably taking the wing on Antropov's side, Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff along with head coach Claude Noel are optimistic that Antropov will regain some additional offensive punch to the lineup in a third line capacity unlike a fourth line role which Antropov was demoted to last season.

All the Jets can hope for is that Antropov finds his game this season when it does start.

Jets All Out Top 25 II: #18 Grant Clitsome

Grant Clitsome made sure he left an impression on Jets brass.
(Photo Courtesy Getty Images)

Grant Clitsome, 27, D, 5'11, 215 lbs
Last Year's Ranking: Not Ranked
This Year's Ranking: #18
Difference: N/A

Word that come up to describe Grant Clitsome are versatile, steady, and an asset in the back half of the Jets blueline corps.

Claimed on waivers midway through the 2011-12 season to the Jets, Clitsome found relief by playing for a team in the midst of a playoff run that didn't pan out - but it was better than playing for a team in the basement of the Western Conference.

Though he split time with other sixth defenseman Randy Jones, Clitsome comes into the 2012-13 season with the opportunity to be in sole possession of that final defensive depth chart spot.

His competition will be the young up-and-coming Paul Postma to be sure, but Clitsome's 105 games of NHL experience does prove worthy of a closer look as well as his cap friendly salary which was a big reason Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff brought him to Winnipeg.

In 12 games his suited up for the Jets, Clitsome had three assists and a minus three rating.  He had finally made the Columbus Blue Jackets full time roster this season and had played 51 games for the Jackets with 14 points (four goals, ten assists) before the trade.

Throw in he was a -6 on a team that was the worst in goal differential at -60 and Clitsome was a bit of a steal in the waiver claim.

For Clitsome, though he is 27, his opportunity to make an impact is now and a strong camp and star of the season will be the only thing stopping him from again splitting time in the NHL or losing that spot on the blueline to the likes of Postma.

Jets All Out Top 25 II: #19 Antti Miettinen

A mid-December addition, Miettinen added depth to the Jets.
(Photo Courtesy Yahoo! Sports)

Antti Miettinen, 32, RW, 6’0, 190 lbs
Last Year's Ranking: Not Ranked
This Year's Ranking: #19
Difference: N/A

Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff made a shrew move to acquire Antti Miettinen via re-entry waivers after the Tampa Bay Lightning signed the 31 year-old Finn to a two-yeard deal.

However, the move wasn't as shrewd offensively at first with the former 20 goal scorer as he was hoping.

In 45 games in Jets blue, Miettinen scored 13 points (five goals, eight assists) - his lowest totals since he scored one goal in 16 games in 2003-04 with the Dallas Stars.

Add to that he didn't score a goal until his 34th game into being a Jet (only six points in the 33 leading up to that game) and his stock wasn't much of a factor in the Jets season.

But you can understand the move to grab the ex-Minnesota Wild/Dallas Star.

Despite his meager eight points in 20 games in the KHL for Ak Bars Kazan early in the 2011-12 season, in 2009-10, playing alongside Mikko Koivu, Miettinen notched 20 goals and added 22 assists - albeit on a supposed "first line" of a non-playoff team.

The move to add Miettinen to the lineup was a depth move as the Jets wanted to make sure they didn't have to unnecessarily rush any of their younger players to play in the NHL right away.

Miettinen got a mixed reaction from Jets fans on the whole - and a mostly negative reaction from me for this ranking.

If he had been more of an impact offensively, his ranking would have been much higher.

Though he was fairly more consistent in the last part of the season - five goals, four assists in the last 13 games, his lack of offensive production during the stretch drive was enough to keep him way away from the top 15 players on the Jets.

With a season up in the air, the best thing for Miettinen to find his scoring touch again would be to start the season in Winnipeg and see how things develop with a training camp in Jets blue instead of in Russia.