Winnipeg Jets Morning Papers

Note:  Jets training camp gets underway today and here is the Jets schedule and roster.  To hear from Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff, coach Paul Maurice and a number of players check out Day 1 of Training Camp.

Note II:  Ahead of training camp the team announced that defenceman Dustin Byfuglien has been granted a leave of absence.  By way of an update coach Paul Maurice and GM Kevin Cheveldayoff were on TSN 1290 this morning and both said that Byfuglien needed “time” but that he and his family are fine.

Note III:  The big news on Thursday was that the Jets announced that they have locked up defenceman Josh Morrissey to an eight-year contract extension.

Note IV:  The Jets will hold their Fan Forum tonight and we will get a look at the new Heritage Classic uniform they will wear against the Flames at the Heritage Classic in Regina.  Here is concept art which reportedly is pretty close to what we will see tonight.

Jets news:

Winnipeg Free Press:  Jets’ scorers dangerous from ‘safe’ areas of the ice.  (Paywall).  Interesting that Scheifele and Laine are able to generate from areas not particularly known for goal scoring.  

TSN:  Ehlers turns focus inward in bid for bounce-back season.  While it will certainly help him it also apparently is impressing his teammates as Bryan Little’s comment today would suggest when told about Ehlers watching all 62 of his games from last season would seem to indicate “He’s a guy that cares a lot and that wants to be better every day and I can totally see him sitting down, watching games all summer long and studying it.  He doesn’t get talked about a lot but he loves to watch hockey and he’s definitely one of those kids who is a student of the game and likes to learn. That’s pretty cool to hear that and it shows how much he cares and wants to get better.”.  

The Athletic Winnipeg: Five key questions the Jets need to answer heading into training camp. (Paywall).  Ken’s five questions include: 1) When will the RFA deals get done? 2) Who is the second-line centre? 3) How will the defence pairings shake out?  4) Which rookie will make an impact?  5) What’s the optimal number of starts for Connor Hellebuyck?

The Athletic Winnipeg: Dissecting the value in Josh Morrissey’s contract and how it helps the Jets. (Paywall). Murat dissects the contract that everyone is talking about.  Begins with the contract structure, then he looks at the player and his underlying numbers.  

Winnipeg Free Press:  Veteran forward Letestu eager to contribute in Winnipeg.  (Paywall).  Hockey really is a small world.  Great story by Mike on one of the newer Jets.

Winnipeg Free Press:  Jets defenceman makes long-term commitment to team, city.  (Paywall).  Mike provides his take on the new contract.

Winnipeg Sun:  Jets lock Morrissey up for eight years.  Scott wrote about the new deal.

The Athletic Winnipeg:  Josh Morrissey’s eight-year extension with Jets shows commitment to core that remains.  (Paywall).  Ken provides his thoughts on the deal.

The Hockey News:  Why Morrissey’s eight-year, $50-million extension is a home run for the Jets.  The reactions are coming in fast and furious on the extension the team announced for Morrissey.

Sportsnet:  Why the Winnipeg Jets need Josh Morrissey now more than ever.  It certainly adds some stability to a backend with quite a bit of uncertainty surrounding it.

Sportsnet:  Kyle Connor is a wanted man.  Normally I’d say it feels late in the game for teams to still be contemplating this type of move but the summer of 2019 has proven to be chaotic so I guess anything could happen.  And reading the article the last team to check in was over a month ago.  So I’d put this in the ‘I still don’t see this happening’ but ya never know.

The Athletic Winnipeg:  David Gustafsson is a player to watch at first NHL camp.  (Paywall).  He is certainly a player that many folks are curious about.  Ken has more on the Jets 2nd round pick from 2018.

Jets video:

TSN: Jets should take different approaches to Laine and Connor. The Jets still have to sign RFAs Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor. Dave Poulin and Dave Reid explain the different approaches the Jets should take when trying to come to terms with the two young stars.

TSN: Cheveldayoff’s deal with Morrissey shows Jets’ RFA’s he’s not waiting around. Dave Poulin joins Tessa Bonhomme to explain why he believes Josh Morrissey’s extension is a good deal for both the player and team. He also says this is Kevin Cheveldayoff showing his RFA’s that he’s not waiting around for them.

Jets audio:

Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press joined Andrew Paterson and Rick Ralph on the Afternoon Ride. They discussed Josh Morrissey’s eight year contract extension, the RFA status of Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor and Blake Wheeler’s comments in his interview with Sara Orlesky.

Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey joined Andrew Paterson and Rick Ralph on the Afternoon Ride. They discussed his new eight year extension with the Winnipeg Jets, how he plans to celebrate, how the deal came together and why it’s a perfect fit. They also touched on the changes to the Winnipeg Jets defense and the upcoming season.