Petan will stay, but where should he play?
After last night’s game against the Ottawa Senators, Winnipeg is buzzing about the play of Nic Petan. He made an impression with the fans and the coach as he was used around the line up after starting on the 4th line with Copp and Thorburn, this even included the overtime period.
The Jets took a long time to get in the rhythm of the game giving the Senators a 3-0 lead when the third period started. The locals were restless but the Jets came back with a quick score 26 seconds in from Blake Wheeler tipping a Ladd shot. They moved closer when Drew Stafford knocked a puck in off his skate from Nik Ehlers, or was that Ehlers knocking it in off Stafford? Finally the captain made a slick deflection of a Myers wrist shot from the high slot to tie the game with less than a minute to play.
It was the OT period that had every one buzzing as the Jets seemed extra cautious of Erik Karlsson but managed to capitalize on one of the odd-man rushes when Scheifele put one five-hole on the Hamburglar as Ehlers waited as decoy for the pass. Joy had returned to the rather dour MTS centre this pre-season.
That’s not what fans were talking about though, it was all about Ehlers who showed that given the chance he can play almost anywhere within this line-up. The question becomes that if he sticks, where does he play.
First off, he should stick, at least for the short term of 10 games. Seeing as Lipon and Raffl can be sent up and down as needed due to waiver exemption it’s all about whether the Jets want to burn a year off Petan’s deal. The salary is irrelevant as they will be paying someone, within a couple hundred thousand dollars, to be on that line. It’s likely Peluso so why duplicate Thorburn’s role with a 4th line skill ceiling guy when you could use Petan?
Petan had 4 more minutes of ice time compared to Copp and Thorburn last night as he was used in OT and on the PP. He could fill in as the lines were juggled when Blake Wheeler was in the box. He added an extra dimension to the 4th line and made Thorburn look dangerous, no small feat.
The question becomes: what more does Petan have to show to prove he belongs?
The answer to that is probably ‘sustained level of play’. He has to be able to do that for longer than a few pre-season games and that’s a fair expectation but one that can’t be answered until the player is given the chance. It would be nice to put some statistical evidence in favour of Petan but his games played is still too small to be meaningful.
To make that chance happen the Jets have to be prepared to lose a year of his entry level contract even if he plays 20-30 games. But that should not be a concern because any player signed like him would cost them the same. Consider that Tlusty is making $800k in New Jersey, he’d be just as expensive as using Petan. The casualty is probably Pelsuo to the AHL and he would have to clear waivers- that’s a risk but one worth taking as if he’s claimed it’s almost like winning twice.
As for where Petan plays is probably up to him but he is better suited to the 4th line than Ehlers unless Maurice wants the other rookie to log some time doing the grunt work. That’s not always a bad thing for a young player’s learning curve but it has to be tempered. That being said, if last night was any indication there should be lots of opportunity for Petan to earn extra minutes if his play is good and the situations present. That’s the good news and why keeping Petan up is a no-brainer at this point.