Feb 25, 2016
Winnipeg: One step back, two steps forward?
TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button assigns his letter grades for the Winnipeg Jets at the three-quarter mark of the NHL season.
By Craig Button
The spring of 2015 was a delightful one for Jets’ fans as the team returned to the playoffs. This spring will not be nearly as rosy in Winnipeg. When you consider the team’s terrible triad of poor discipline, weak penalty killing and porous goaltending, there really shouldn’t be much surprise about the standing of the Jets. This earns them a D- grade as a team that has significantly underachieved.
Below are the Jets’ individual player grades.
Three factors were considered in assigning grades: performance, results and expectations, as framed by age, previous performance and cap hit/contract average annual value (AAV). Skaters must have appeared in a minimum of 25 games and goalies, 15, to be graded.
Spotlight Player Grades: Questions surrounded Dustin Byfuglien and whether he would stay in Winnipeg beyond the expiration of his contract. He answered with strong on-ice play and then found a way to assure he would be a key cog for the Jets for five more years. Call it win-win for all concerned. Byfuglien is as unique a player as you’ll find in the NHL. You can find a replacement for him, but you can’t replace what he brings. Despite a tough year on the ice, this could be a case of taking one step back to take two steps forward for a team the city of Winnipeg adores.
Editor’s Note: Follow TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button at @CraigJButton and join the discussion on his Interim Report Cards.
Grading System
A Excellent
B Very Good
C Satisfactory
D Poor
F Failing
Listed are the grades for player performance in the first quarter (1st Qtr) and the season so far (2015-16).
Jets' grades by player
| Goalies | 1st Qtr | 3rd Qtr | AAV | W | L | OT | Sv% |
| Connor Hellebuyck | B+ | $668 k | 13 | 11 | 1 | .918 | |
| Ondrej Pavelec | C- | C- | $3.9 m | 6 | 8 | 2 | .902 |
| Michael Hutchinson | C- | D | $575 k | 6 | 11 | 1 | .908 |
| Defencemen | 1st Qtr | 3rd Qtr | AAV | GP | G | P | +/- |
| Dustin Byfuglien | B | A- | $5.2 m | 59 | 15 | 37 | 7 |
| Tyler Myers | C+ | B | $5.5 m | 59 | 6 | 21 | 3 |
| Toby Enstrom | B- | B- | $5.8 m | 59 | 1 | 12 | 13 |
| Jacob Trouba | C- | C+ | $894 k | 59 | 4 | 14 | -1 |
| Ben Chiarot | C- | D | $850 k | 47 | 1 | 6 | -8 |
| Mark Stuart | C | D | $2.6 m | 55 | 1 | 3 | -10 |
| Forwards | 1st Qtr | 3rd Qtr | AAV | GP | G | P | +/- |
| Blake Wheeler | A | A | $5.6 m | 59 | 16 | 55 | -3 |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | B | B | $894 k | 59 | 13 | 27 | -3 |
| Mark Scheifele | B | B+ | $863 k | 48 | 14 | 30 | 10 |
| Bryan Little | A- | B- | $4.7 m | 57 | 17 | 42 | -13 |
| Andrew Ladd | C | C+ | $4.4 m | 59 | 17 | 34 | -10 |
| Mathieu Perreault | B- | C+ | $3.0 m | 58 | 9 | 34 | -10 |
| Chris Thorburn | C | C | $1.2 m | 59 | 5 | 9 | 0 |
| Drew Stafford | C | C- | $4.4 m | 55 | 16 | 29 | -15 |
| Adam Lowry | D+ | D+ | $828 k | 51 | 4 | 12 | -9 |
| Alexander Burmistrov | C- | D | $1.6 m | 58 | 6 | 12 | -4 |
| Joel Armia | D | $894 k | 28 | 2 | 5 | 1 | |
| Anthony Peluso | C | D | $675 k | 31 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| Andrew Copp | C | D | $925 k | 54 | 1 | 5 | 4 |