They’re critical to the team but none are part of what anyone would say is the ‘core’ or the inside group of the Jets. Perhaps they are not social outsiders but they are the ones who do not fit as key cogs. Although some may become more important in due course.
Aside from Thorburn and Stuart are these pieces/players the best accessories the Jets can ice?
Stafford was thought to be an accessory piece in the Kane Bogosian deal, one that would probably be elsewhere once his deal last expired at the end of last season. He was re-signed for two years this past summer but is he anymore than Jokinen was when he signed a two-year deal with the Jets? Once could ask again if Stafford is anything more than short-term placeholder for the youth that should arrive? He certainly is not a core piece of the team, but how valuable could he as an accessory?
Anthony Peluso has new deal again, albeit a short and inexpensive one, but does he really fit in any meaningful way? He’s a 4th line grinder and fighter, a throwback enforcer in a time when they are being weeded out of the game. He does a dangerous job without much fanfare but he also does not bring much more to the team, at least when on the ice.
Ben Chairot rose from the AHL St. John’s Ice Caps last season during the injury plague of last November that gripped the blue line. He stuck around and earned a new 2-year deal but he is like many of the Jets defence corps, maybe a 4-5 at best and not long-term. That could change and of the ‘outsiders’ so far, he may have the best immediate chance becoming something more than accessory pieces.
There is a look to the future in the ‘Outsiders’ with Andrew Copp. He signed a pro-deal last year and joined he Jets at the end of the season much like Jacob Trouba did in 2013. Comp played in 1 game but appears to be the heir apparent to Jim Slater as the fourth line centre on the Jets. Like Trouba, Scheifele and Lowry, Copp would seem to be the next part of the wave of youth that is washing over the Jets. What Copp can become is far from certain but he marks the first true change for the Jets since Trouba made Hainsey expendable.
Adam Lowry became a fan favourite very quickly in his rookie year and like Schiefele is a product of draft and develop. Seasoned in the AHL for a year Lowry played with a physical edge and manner of confidence any coach and GM wants to see. He should be part of the future but will he secede from the third line? Perhaps that’s where he goes when Stafford is finished his current deal?
The player who is garnering the most attention from fans and media is Nik Ehlers. The probable rookie is likely to be on the 3rd line on the other side of Burmistrov and Lowry if that is indeed where a spot opens up. In fact the spot may be open and Ehlers only has to show he is not ready for it. With nothing left to prove in the CHL, Ehlers needs a new challenge but due to age cannot be sent down the hall to the Manitoba Moose. Does he stay and begin what most believe and hope will be a journey to the top flight of the Jets or is he going have to develop more?
The other person who draws attention from fans and media alike is Adam Pardy. A player who has become a favourite for his deft hands at the most unexpected times seems to never draw in for anything close to significant time. While hardly a key piece, he’s one of the depth defence, Pardy provides a bit of everything but far from master of some. Why is he kept around? because like any good accessory, he can be used in more than one situation and not look too out of place. However, like Stafford he may be one of the last types of these players seen on the Jets.
For the Jets the difficulty is breaking the trend of using placeholders and perhaps this season we see the beginning of the end. There will never be a time when GMs are not using players for short-term needs but consistently rounding out a roster with them is probably a sign of depth problems not savvy acquisitions. The Jets could be on the verge of finally using the depth within their organization to to fill the roster. Judging by the lack of PTOs offered to veterans for the upcoming training camp it appears that is the GM’s intent. Whether that turns out to be successful timing will be determined but what fans will be watching is who comes from the outside and moves to the inside core part of this team over the coming years.