WINNIPEG – Scott Arniel has a reminder of his ultimate goal beside the computer monitor in his office.
A six-inch miniature replica of the Stanley Cup. One that he looks at all the time.
He’s carried it around since joining the New York Rangers as an associate coach back in 2013-14, an idea that was inspired by one of his former players, Chris Drury. Drury, who Arniel coached with the Buffalo Sabres in the early 2000s, said that when he was with the Colorado Avalanche — who he won a Stanley Cup with in 2000-01 — they used to have pictures of the trophy around the locker room.
“I’ve been in this business now, professionally, since I was 18 years old. It’s been about 40 years. I’ve got Memorial Cups, I’ve got world junior gold medals, I won in the IHL — but that’s the one thing I don’t have,” Arniel told Sportsnet.ca in a one-on-one interview in his office on Wednesday. “I never miss a Stanley Cup final. To watch (Paul Maurice) hold that cup up, players that I know from over the years being able to celebrate — that’s a feeling I’d love to have.”
As would the city of Winnipeg.
But even with a league-best 17-4-0 start to the year, nobody’s planning a parade down Portage and Main just yet. This city’s seen plenty of regular season success in the post-Maurice era — with the Jets posting the fifth-best winning percentage (.625) in the Western Conference over the last two years — but the dark cloud of consecutive first-round exits looms large.
“The big area for us now, because of the lack of playoff success, is that we have to want to learn how to win in those hard, heavy games,” Arniel said. “Once the playoffs start, it’s different hockey. We’re trying to grow calluses and thicken our skin here.”
This season feels different than years past.
And really, it’s not so much about them being in the top three in goals for and goals against, along with having the best power play in the league. It’s how they’re winning games. And responding to adversity.
When their eight-game win streak came to a screeching halt when the Toronto Maple Leafs ‘punched them in the nose’, they followed it up with being night-and-day better during their ensuing seven-game win streak, which came against several high-caliber playoff opponents.
After getting shutout 5-0 by the Florida Panthers in Sunrise last Saturday, Arniel held a video session with his players to outline what went wrong ahead of a rematch against them.
“That session, without getting too deep into it, was about… we lost to the Stanley Cup Champions. They did things that showed us why they were the Stanley Cup champions. And all we did was look at it,” Arniel said. “It was about how they defended. How they won puck battles, How they got into the inside of the ice. How they got through the neutral zone.”
The Jets responded with a commanding 6-3 win over the Panthers on Tuesday. They were excellent on the forecheck, in the neutral zone and in one-on-one battles.
“Getting another crack at them, the next game, was the best thing for us. If we faced them again a month or two months later, it wouldn’t have had the same impact,” Arniel said. “Being able to get embarrassed one night, and then turn around and come back with that type of effort – that’s growth.”
And we’ve seen lots of that over the first quarter of the season.
MOST ENCOURAGING DEVELOPMENT: The Core’s Elevated Their Game
Many have wondered over the last few years if this team’s core was good enough to be a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.
“I think there’s been a lot of mud slung at the guys that have been here the longest,” Arniel said. “They’ve taken a lot of heat. There’s guys here that are frustrated because of the lack of playoff success. Maybe they thought they had a chance in (2017-2018), but since then, there hasn’t been that opportunity. It gets frustrating answering the same questions about it. At the end of the day, you start to get to a certain point where it’s like ‘okay, it’s all about the team. It’s all about what I have to do to help our team in a Stanley Cup.’”
Winnipeg’s nucleus has reached that point.
We’ve seen players like Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele demonstrate a higher compete level and play a more well-rounded 200-foot game. Josh Morrissey has quietly elevated his defensive play while continuing to be an elite offensive driver. Nikolaj Ehlers has been more consistent in all areas of the ice, too.
“When I was with the New York Rangers, I remember watching the Washington Capitals. They always had great regular seasons but never had success in the playoffs. All their best players — Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, TJ Oshie — changed their game and found a way to play playoff hockey. And then they won a cup,” Arniel said. “I’m not sitting here saying that we’re going to make the Stanley Cup Finals. But what I’m saying is, that’s an example of a team that bought into what it takes to play at that time of the year.”
MOST CONCERNING DEVELOPMENT: Dylan Samberg has a broken foot.
Before Saturday, you’d be hard-pressed to pinpoint legitimate concerns. But then Dylan Samberg broke his foot.
And boy, that’s a huge gut punch for this team.
Samberg has been excellent in his first year of top-four deployment, averaging 20:17 minutes a night while being a staple on the penalty kill. His 1.97 takeaways per 60 minutes rank him in the 92nd percentile among defencemen who have played at least 100 minutes this year, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
While Ville Heinola is nearing a return, the 23-year-old puck-moving defenseman brings a different flavour than the meat-and-potatoes blue-liner. It’ll be interesting to see how the Jets divvy up Samberg’s minutes.
TOP SIX FORWARDS GRADE: B+
Winnipeg’s top-six has rebounded from their early season struggles.
The team’s first line of Connor, Scheifele and Gabriel Vilardi has tightened things up in the defensive zone and in transition, leading to more offensive zone time. After being heavily outshot, outchanced and outscored during five-on-five play through their first nine games, that line has outscored opponents 12-4 and controlled 61.8 percent of the high danger shot attempt share over their last 12 games.
Meanwhile, the second line of Cole Perfetti, Vladislav Namestnikov and Nikolaj Ehlers is finding its way, too. Similar to the first line, they struggled to get through the neutral zone and they were out of sync in the offensive zone. But over the last 12 games, they’ve outscored opponents 7-4 and have found a way to develop rush chances consistently.
BOTTOM SIX FORWARDS GRADE: A+
Winnipeg has the best bottom-six in the entire league.
Honestly, the Nino Niederreiter, Adam Lowry, Mason Appleton line is one of the NHL’s most efficient lines. Period. They’re able to both shut down opponents’ top weapons while also creating quality chances of their own. It’s hard to disrupt them once they get cooking on the cycle.
The fourth line of Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari and Morgan Barron is potent enough to be a third line on most teams. Kupari’s elite speed as helped push the pace for Iafallo and Barron — two quick players in their own right who are excellent along the wall.
“If you go back and look at all the Stanley Cup champions, go look at their fourth lines and how important of a role they played,” Arniel said.
DEFENCE GRADE: B+
Entering the year as the team’s biggest question mark, Winnipeg’s defence has been rock solid so far.
Not only has the team’s blue-line been one of the highest scoring in the league, the team’s top-four, in particular, has become a driver for them.
“The Morrissey-Demelo pairing has quickness, great sticks and the ability to be really effective offensively, especially when playing with the top six forwards,” Arniel said. “And then the pairing of Samberg and Pionk is a bit different. They’ve got a bit more bite to them and play with more sandpaper,” Arniel said.
Colin Miller and his booming slapshot have provided some solid mileage on the bottom pair, too. Haydn Fleury has been serviceable when called upon and while Logan Stanley has some moments of promising play, the jury’s still out on whether or not the 6-foot-7 defencemen can be a positive contributor on a consistent basis.
GOALTENDING GRADE: A+
We’re running out of superlatives to describe the impact Connor Hellebuyck has on this team. The 31-year-old has shown no signs of slowing down anytime soon, posting a .924 save percentage and three shutouts to go along with a 14-2-0 record. He’s well-positioned to win his second straight Vezina Trophy.
Eric Comrie’s been an excellent reliever, giving the Jets a chance to win in all five games. While Hellebuyck wants to play every single night, Arniel should consider increasing Comrie’s workload before and after Hellebuyck departs for the 4 Nations Face-off. Winnipeg can’t have Hellebuyck burning out in the postseason again.
QUARTER MARK AWARDS
MVP: Connor Hellebuyck
Most Improved Player: Neal Pionk
Best Defensive Player: Dylan Samberg
from Sportsnet.ca
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