Drop The Rhetoric

With Mark Scheifele being the first pick of the new Winnipeg Jets in 2011, the one thing that the franchise promised was a "draft and develop" process whereby younger players would spend time in the minor leagues to gain some important experience before graduating to the NHL level where it would be expected that they could step in and contribute. The Jets have seen a handful of younger players enter the lineup and make impacts, but it's hard to explain the number of draft picks who have moved to other teams after not getting an opportunity to make the Jets' roster. Draft and develop? All the Jets seem to be doing is developing players for other teams and leagues.

I say this due to the breaking news that Jets' 2022 first-overall pick Rutger McGroarty has informed the team that he will not sign with the Jets. The news exploded onto the hockey media circuit after the 32 Thoughts podcast, hosted by Jeff Marek and hockey insider Elliotte Friedman, reported that Kevin Cheveldayoff was examining the options when it came to trading McGroarty's rights. If this shakes the earth for the Jets, it might be the wake-up call this franchise needs when it comes to their prospects.

I say that because there have been obvious successes in the Jets' draft history, but there are significant shortfalls as well. While Mark Scheifele and Adam Lowry are the most tenured Jets to have been selected by the team, there are cases like Jacob Trouba and Jack Roslovic who are now doing quality work for other teams. No one is faulting the Jets for moving players who wanted out or for trying to improve their teams, but the number of young players who have expressed a desire to leave after seeing their careers stall in the minor-league system should worry Jets fans.

If you're wondering who has expressed a desire to leave, consider all of McGroarty, Nathan Smith, Kristian Vesalainen, Leon Gawanke, Mikhail Berdin, Sami Niku, and Logan Stanley have all made it clear over their time skating for the Jets organization that they wanted out or wouldn't sign with the club, and there were cases where the Jets simply moved younger players who didn't fit into their immediate plans like Nic Petan, Chase De Leo, Jansen Harkins, Nelson Nogier, and Declan Chisholm. That's an incredible amount of players since 2012 who the Jets spent draft picks on only to watch them play somewhere else or wanted to play somewhere else.

Again, no team keeps all their picks, but what should noted is that five of the players listed above were picked in the first 50 picks. Those are highly-regarded players who are considered as some of the best players in their draft classes, and the Jets have convinced them that there's no room for them in Winnipeg. I agree with with source who told Scott Billick of the Winnipeg Sun, "It's not a good look."

I respect that the Jets have had seasons where they've pushed for first-place in their division where the acquisition of a veteran scorer or defender that could push some of the less experienced players to the pressbox or the AHL. That's expected in the high-stakes NHL where experience still rules over youthful exuberance.

Where I struggle, however, is when you look at the production some of these players have shown while skating with the Jets only to be removed for those experienced players. Cole Perfetti might be the best example of this most recently where his 38 points in 71 games (0.535 ppg) was parked in the pressbox for four of five playoff games while Mason Appleton (.439 ppg) skated in all five games. The Jets likely should have gone with more scoring against the Colorado Avalanche, but I'd argue that Perfetti's defensive awareness is also better than Appleton's awareness which should have put him in the lineup. Yet Appleton skated in all 82 games in the regular season and all five playoff games as the Jets took a first-round exit.

This isn't the first time that the franchise finds itself trying to defend itself from the howls of fans over playing the kids either. In 2015, there was a cry for Nic Petan to play more. It was hard to explain why Ville Heinola wasn't playing with Jets in 2021, and it's even harder today. In 2022, fans wanted more of Morgan Barron playing in a middle-six role. The demotions down the lineup for Perfetti were difficult to watch and harder to explain.

In 2017, Kevin Cheveldayoff told reporters,

"Very fortunate to have the ownership group that we have that shares the same philosophy on how we were going to do this. We were patient with the development of some of our young players. In today's day in age you can't rush them.

"We feel that's going to help them in the long run."

Again, I understand the sentiment here, but the 2017-18 Manitoba Moose produced five NHL players from the group under 25 years-old. Namely, only Mason Appleton skates for the Jets. The others include Brendan Lemieux (CAR), Jansen Harkins (PIT), Tucker Poolman (VAN), and Eric Comrie (BUF). Based on what Cheveldayoff said in December 2017, the Jets are not a "draft and develop" team when it comes to filling gaps on their own roster. Not even close.

2019 saw the Jets develop Logan Stanley into a player who is widely regarded as an NHL seventh defenceman at best. 2020 saw the Jets develop Jack Roslovic (NYR) who was part of the Patrik Laine trade. 2021 saw Cole Perfetti, Dylan Samberg, and David Gustafsson become semi-regulars by 2024, but Declan Chisholm (MIN) is no longer part of the equation. 2022 saw the Jets develop Morgan Barron, but Mikey Eyssimont (TBL) is playing against Winnipeg. 2023 had Kevin Stenlund (FLA) in the Moose lineup, but he is now skating in the Stanley Cup Final with Florida. While all of these players have skated for Winnipeg at times, the fact of the matter is that the Jets developed six players out of the 14 players who ended up as some of the better Moose players. And if you're reading the names, none of the players the Jets developed and promoted play on their top two lines in 2024.

Do I blame McGroarty for wanting to go to a team where his skills might be more appreciated? Well, if the Jets re-sign Sean Monahan which sounds like their plan, I don't. McGroarty is not a fourth-line center, and I doubt he's going to want to compete for ice time with the likes of Cole Perfetti, David Gustafsson, Rasmus Kupari, and Morgan Barron. That likely means he's going to play in the AHL with the Moose, and it seems that McGroarty is asking for real consideration for a roster spot with the Jets rather than accepting his predetermined fate as the top-line center for the Moose. If that's the plan at Canada Life Centre, I don't blame McGroarty for looking for other options.

You can make the case that McGroarty is putting himself ahead of the team, but that argument is ridiculous in today's day and age where players hold more power to determine where they play than ever before. If he signs an ELC with the Jets, they hold most of the control when it comes to where he plays, and it seems like the AHL might be where we see him. This is the reason why a lot of young players want out of Winnipeg - the chances of cracking the roster simply aren't there, and the Jets have proven time and again that they'll hold a younger player back in favour of a lesser-skilled veteran.

You won't convince me that an Ehlers-McGroarty-Perfetti line wouldn't be absolute chaos for opposing teams to contain in the offensive zone. You can't tell me that a Connor-McGroarty-Lambert line wouldn't be an analytics nightmare for opposing teams. Even a Connor-McGroarty-Perfetti line would be scary despite some of the defensive challenges they'd cause for the Jets, but that's why playing the kids at the NHL level wouold give everyone a better idea at what can be improved and what would send fans clamoring to the ticket booths to buy tickets.

Remember this when you look at the likes of Wyatt Johnson Logan Stankoven on Dallas, Brock Faber and Marco Rossi on Minnesota, Logan Cooley and Michael Kesselring with Utah, Luke Evangelista with Nashville, and Scott Perunovich with St. Louis. All of those players were rookies this season, and they all had outstanding seasons as they became regulars for their teams. We'll see a lot of them next season when they pass through the Canada Life Centre, but one has to wonder if we'll see any of the players the Jets drafted as their next stars.

It seems one player we won't see is Rutger McGroarty which is an absolute shame, so it's time for the Jets to drop the "draft and develop" rhetoric because they might be the worst team in the NHL at practicing what they preach.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!