This series now becomes a bit harder to do simply because the Jets were a hot mess on defence this past season. It’s not that they were not capable but things were not working well and injuries. There’s your explantion, not an excuse.
Tyler Myers is exempt from this discussion. His grade is incomplete as he missed far too many games to be measured in any meaningful way.
Josh Morrissey B+
Morrissey had an excellent debut as rookie this year. There were question marks about and around him. No one really knew, based on his previous pre-season attempt to make the team, what player would show up. Simply put the biggest questions was ‘is he ready’?
Morrissey proved the skeptics and the doubters wrong. In fact he probably exceeded the modest expectations of many, yours truly included. Playing alongside Dustin Byfuglien for most the season Morrissey was tasked with supporting and reading the unpredictable defence man while looking to not be a liability in his own right. That’s no easy task for anyone let alone a rookie.
Morrissey, when looking at his WOWYs, made his teammates better. When playing with Morrissey all of Trouba, Buff, Wheeler, Scheifele, Laine, Little and Lowry (the most frequent on ice players) were better when measuring possession. In fact with some of them it’s very noticeable on the drop off that happens when away from Morrissey.
What was missing from Morrissey was perhaps his physical side which like Trouba when first under Paul Maurice, was noticeably restrained. That’s not to say it won’t be seen again but Morrissey practiced what the coaches preached and was successful in doing so. When looking at his impact using some of the publicly available tools Morrissey fits in well as a top 2 pairing and should continue to be that for the Jets.
What the coach says: “Josh I know we asked you to settle your game down a bit. We did that with Trouba too and look at him now, a top pair guy who getting paid peanuts compared to his ‘real value’. That’s you too buddy. You’re going to have success in this league but we need you to move the puck a bit more and drive the offence too. Buff can’t be Buff forever right?…
Dustin Byfuglien B
Mr. Consistency? Is that what we should call him? Byfuglien hit for 52 points this past season with 13 goals and 39 assists. Right in line with the 53 points last year, 45 the year before, 56 before that, 28 in the lockout season and then back to back 53 point years from Atlanta to Winnipeg. Buff is what he is and he’s delivering his usual numbers again. So why a B? While the Jets had a slow start so did Buff, or is that the other way around. He’s a driving force on the ice and likely the ‘spiritual leader’ in the locker room but with salary come expectations and it appears there should be more from Buff. The main point was goals as this was down for the season but trending up in the latter half. However, the biggest sticking point for many with Buff is the reads and choices he makes within his own zone. The problem is those are the same problems he’s had for his entire career, what you see is what you get with him. Buff could be an elite defence man and an ‘A’ player but he’s not because to do so would be for him to be something he’s not.
What the coach says: “Buff baby, you make me jump up in excitement only to land and bury my head in my hands right after. Buddy, I know you are the prankster and guy in the room everyone loves but I need the fans to love you for being in front of our net. Hang on, if you can just get Huddy fired before you change your game that would be great. In fact go accidental full Gadzic on him in practice then we’re solid….
Jacob Trouba A
He’s the player so many Jets fans want to love but inside they resent him for not wanting to love Winnipeg. Trouba missed nearly 20 games due to his holdout with contract negotiations where he ultimately signed for two years. Trouba is the kind of player every team wants and the Jets are lucky to have him.
Drives play- check Plays huge minutes- check Scores- check Suppresses shots- check Plays tough- check (gotta have some retro metric right?)
The only thing keeping Trouba from being an A+ is he missed some games, which seems rather silly actually. Sign this guy Chevy, like lock him up at 6.5 starting after next season and make him happy. The Jets cannot afford to lose him.
What the coach says: “Jakey my boy, did you come back at the right time. Not only do you make Huddy look like a good coach (ask Buff how I really feel about him) I was almost going to have to start giving Stu regular shifts. Look Jacob, I’ve been in Toronto, Hartford, Carolina (twice) and Russia. Winnipeg is pretty damn good and to be frank I’m getting a contract extension and if you aren’t sticking around I’m going to have a really big problem keeping this team playing close to 8th like my last contract required me to do. I’ll talk to Chevy and see what I can do to help this….
Toby Enstrom C+
Enstrom has moved from a decent point producing defenceman in a slow decline to a somewhat puck-moving and shot suppressing player. Enstrom had to the lowest point total of his career and number of games played this past season. He’s still good enough to be in the the top four of the Jets but would he make the cut on many other teams?
The challenge for the Jets is finding ways to use Enstrom’s innate ability to suppress the play coming at him and move the puck while he diminishes a bit on the physical side of play and his durability. He’s entering the last year of his contract and he’s still useful but his offence has fallen off a cliff and he’s no where near as effective in that zone as he once was, at least when ti comes to production. Therein lies the challenge for the Jets, Enstrom has skill and ability that makes him valuable but also somewhat controversial in usage, particularly in the eyes of the fans. He could have been better this season, will he be better next season?
What the coach says: “Shooooooooooot! Oh hi Toby, sorry stubbed my toe there. Look you had to grind it out pretty hard this year with missing Trouba all the injuries on defence and then having to deal with Brian Strait. It was tough, I know. Can you put the puck on net a little more please? I know you read plays well can get the puck moving well and are great a suppressing shots against us but I need a bit more offence from you. Do you know that you had two seasons of 50 and 51 points while on that tire fire team in Atlanta? You can do it Toby, I know you can and this year you’re playing for a contract so go out there and give old Paul some love and get that value high for the trade deadline. Thanks man….