Trade Targets & Vilardi's Return
Welcome to the THW Winnipeg Jets Substack newsletter, with all the latest from our team of Jets writers.
In today’s edition, we have a packed lineup of articles. With everything from highlighting the past and upcoming month of hockey to trade targets and the impact Gabriel Vilardi will have in his return, along with much more!
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Now on to the good stuff…
Coach Rick Bowness: The Heart of the Winnipeg Jets
December 2, 2023 by The Old Prof
Rick Bowness is a long-time Canadian professional NHL hockey coach who’s had an extensive coaching career for several NHL teams. He was born on Jan. 25, 1955, in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, and began his coaching career in the NHL in the late 1980s.
Winnipeg Jets’ 3 Early-Season Trade Targets
December 2, 2023 by Connor Hrabchak
It’s early in the 2023-24 NHL season, but the Winnipeg Jets have shown that they have the potential to be a contender in the Western Conference with a few key additions. The Athletic recently released their first “trade board” of the season, (“NHL trade board 2023-24: The latest on all the top targets from Chris Johnston“) and with all three of these players near the top of the list, it becomes a higher possibility for the Jets if they were to make a move.
We don’t usually see any trade action until the Trade Deadline rolls around, but now is a good time to start keeping tabs on some players who may become available. Here are three trade targets the Jets should be keeping an eye on.
3 Keys to Winnipeg Jets Success in December
December 2, 2023 by Declan Schroeder
The Winnipeg Jets went 8-5-0 in November and enter the December portion of the 2023-24 season third in the Central Division with a 12-8-2 record. The team faces a crucial December, where they’ll play another 13 games — seven at home and six away — and attempt to maintain a playoff position into the new year.
Here are three key to success for the club this month.
Jets’ Top 3 Performers From November
December 1, 2023 by Declan Schroeder
The Winnipeg Jets were strong for most of November before losing the last three games of the month. They posted a 8-5-0 record despite missing head coach Rick Bowness until Nov. 24, With a 12-8-2 record overall, they sit third in the Central Division entering December.
The Jets, a much deeper team up front than in years past, played a sustainable brand of hockey and got contributions from up and down the lineup before their current rough patch. In fact, it’s difficult to single out just three players for success that was achieved as a collective.
However, three Jets stand out slightly above the rest as the top performers of November.
Winnipeg Jets Re-Acquiring Patrik Laine is not the Right Move
November 30, 2023 by Hunter Tycholis
In his first few seasons, Patrick Laine was an absolute stud who could score from the perimeter, beating a goaltender cleanly when the average player would have no business being able to do that. His ability to score goals and exuberant personality launched him into superstardom. Unfortunately, that’s not how things ended for Laine and the Winnipeg Jets.
Laine had the pre-draft hype, the eye-popping shot and great production in his draft year, playing against men in the Finnish Elite League and winning the 2016 World Junior Championship. While the consensus top pick was Auston Matthews, the Jets figured they had a star in the making with the second-overall selection.
Unfortunately, Laine has since been traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets where he has been struggling and was recently benched. The first thing that comes to mind for many Jets fans seeing him get benched is to speculate about his future and the nostalgia of the good times had with Laine in a Jets sweater. However, the right move is not to re-acquire him.