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Jets Preview: Defence Edition |
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With the recent waivers (Niku, Nogier) and then the injury of Stanley this is what's left on the roster...
Byfuglien
Trouba
Morrissey
Myers
Poolman
Kulikov
Chiarot
Morrow
That's 8 players and Maurice has come to say he does not want to carry 8 defensemen if possible but he has also said that he might determine pairs based on home and away games. We are truly entering strange times.
So if its 7 players carried who goes down? A player likely to slip through waivers and probably some one who does not have a huge salary perhaps?
That probably means Tucker Poolman as he matches both criteria above. Add to that he is also a RHD which the Jets have many so it seems he's expendable. Now things get interesting.
Morrissey Trouba
Morrow Byfuglien
Kulikov Myers
Would seem to be the opening six with Chiarot as the variable with Morrow. Paul Maurice believes there is more for Kulikov to give and he also wants to get more minutes to Myers. This is a tough position to be in. According to Ken Wiebe the lines at the morning skate were Chiarot Byfuglien and Kulikov Myers with Stanley and Poolman bring up the rear.
So what's the away roster and what's the home one for defense?
It would make sense that Paul Maurice, somewhat dedicated if not stubborn, wants to use Myers on the LHD with Byfuglien on the right as he tried in pre-season. For those who don't remember it was a disaster. A. Total. Disaster.
The only possible reasoning would be to give the pair preferable zone starts and opposition. At home he controls last change and can roll out who he wants when he wants. The risk of having that pair trapped deep with the long change on the road is minimized while it allows Myers more ice time. This is hardly a solution.
This is a bigger concern because the team is built around Trouba-Buff as the 1-2 pair so why hold on to Myers this long knowing there is not enough ice time? The other aspect to this reasoning that does not seem talked about is why is Byfuglien a 'sacred cow' when it comes to positioning?
While he's natural on the right side he's also a roamer and a rover in his style of play- would he not be better suited to changing to the left side if you have to move Myers up for minutes? If Maurice is open to experiments why is this one not on the table?
This is where some of the issues with Maurice's view of the team arise and how Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has managed the roster creation. In some ways they are both guilty because Maurice's trust issues with Chevy's excessive talent on the right side have made a perfect storm for imbalance and overpaying. The Jets are at 29.25 million for the blue line, the most in the Central Division and second behind the San Jose Sharks in total cost by only $600,000.
The result is a juggling act and it will be interesting to see how this is all resolved. Some tough choices will have to be made and Maurice is going have to be firm in what is best for the team not just individual players. The Jets can afford to lose players but not for nothing. This is the reason that the Tyler Myers speculation will continue until it is resolved one way or another.
The one thing that has not been talked about though is the loss of Toby Enstrom. Watch how this affects the transition game and the overall play. I'm betting there are many who may long for Enstrom once they see what's left in his absence.
Winnipeg Jets Blogger •Winnipeg Jets Writer • 
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