Stastny back after the breakup; ‘we’re fine,’ Jets coach says coolly By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 7:00 PM CST Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/01/2019 (2075 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was a question he likely knew was coming, and it generated a curious answer sure to raise some eyebrows around these parts and elsewhere in the NHL.

With Paul Stastny back in town Tuesday to face the Winnipeg Jets for the first time since taking his talents to the Las Vegas Strip, coach Paul Maurice was asked how much his team misses the veteran centre this season.

“We don’t,” Maurice shot back immediately. After a brief pause — perhaps realizing just how those two words were going to play if they were left to stand alone — he added a bit of a disclaimer.

“He’s a good man. A good player. We’re fine.”

Well, then.

It’s no secret then Jets made a big push to get Stastny inked last summer, even moving goalie Steve Mason and forward Joel Armia to Montreal right before the July 1 free-agent frenzy began to clear some much-needed cap space. But the 33-year-old opted to follow an even bigger pile of money to Sin City, as the Jets weren’t willing to match the three-year, $19.5-million contract offered by the Golden Knights.

Stastny admitted it came down to the almighty dollar following Tuesday’s morning skate at Bell MTS Place.

“It was close. The biggest thing was the business side of things, I knew it would be tough,” he said, pointing to then and future contract talks with captain Blake Wheeler and several other key pieces of the roster.

“I’ve been in the business long enough and my dad’s been in the business long enough to know that. I didn’t go in there kind of thinking I was for sure coming back. At the end, I had it down to two or three teams and (the Jets) were there,” he said.

Although the Jets won’t say it publicly — not showing weakness is right out of Coaching 101 — they were gutted by their inability to re-sign Stastny. They truly thought he was coming back. Losing a player they desperately wanted to the team that dashed their Stanley Cup hopes only a few weeks earlier was a tough pill to swallow.

And despite what Maurice said Tuesday, the fact is the Jets do miss Stastny. They have yet to fill the void created by his departure.

It may not be so obvious just yet, as the team continues to lead the Central Division and entered play Tuesday night with the third-best point percentage in the NHL behind only Tampa Bay and Calgary, but they will surely miss his presence down the stretch run as other teams load up, games tighten, and even the smallest advantage can make a huge difference.

“Fine” isn’t going to cut it when it comes to winning a Stanley Cup. Winnipeg, like all other contenders, will have to be a lot better than that.

That’s why you can expect general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff will do everything he can to land another impact player by next month’s trade deadline, someone who can be inserted into this already-talented lineup and make it even better. Whether it’s Matt Duchene, Kevin Hayes, Eric Staal, Brock Nelson or someone else, expect a veteran centre to be at the top of the team’s shopping list.

“He did a lot for this team when he was here last year. He was a big part of it. It was tough to see him go,” veteran centre Bryan Little said Tuesday.

It’s been Little who has stepped back into the No. 2 centre role that Stastny occupied following his acquisition from St. Louis last February. Stastny found instant chemistry with Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers, while Little slid down in the lineup to give the Jets even more depth.

Stastny had 13 points in 19 regular-season games, and then really turned it on in the playoffs with 15 points in 17 games.

They have no such luxury right now. Little is still trying to find that regular chemistry with Laine and Jack Roslovic, who moved up because Ehlers is out until mid-February with an injury. Not to mention other young, inexperienced players such as Mason Appleton and Brendan Lemieux are taking regular shifts. The lineup, as currently constructed, is not as deep as the one that came up three wins short of a Stanley Cup appearance last spring.

“I had a blast here and (have) nothing bad to say,” Stastny said. “I was only here for whatever it was, three months or four months, but it felt like we were here for four or five years. That’s the bond I had with the players on the team and the people away from the rink that my family hung out with. Nothing but praise.

“Obviously, this was probably the best stepping stone in my career, coming here (to Winnipeg), with the way (the Jets) treated me. It put me on a different platform than I was on before. That’s why I’m so thankful for the opportunity that I had.”

Of course, the Jets were hoping to be much more than a stepping stone.

It’s likely not a coincidence Vegas got off to a slow start this year with Stastny sidelined 30 games with a knee injury. They’ve been red-hot since his return, climbing to near the top of the Pacific Division and Western Conference standings. Stastny had six goals and seven assists in 18 games heading into play Tuesday night.

He was looking forward to seeing some old friends on the ice at Bell MTS Place and isn’t surprised to see the Jets are among the league-leaders.

“All of those guys have gotten better. When you have (Wheeler) leading the boat offensively. With (Wheeler) and (Scheifele), those guys continue to want to get better. And as a young guy, even when I got there, you follow their lead a little bit and it pushes you to be a better player,” he said.

“As a young guy in the league, I remember I always looked up to the older guys and the best players on my team. I know the young guys (on the Jets) there are all students of the game. They’re good players but they want to get better, whether it’s stuff they do off the ice or on the ice, little things like that. Each guy wants to maximize their potential and it starts with (Wheeler) and (Scheifele).”

As for choosing Vegas over Winnipeg, even Stastny admits the jury is still out on whether it was the right move.

“Was it the best fit for me? Who knows. Down the road I’ll look. Just going through the process, I’ve been through it before and I did it again. I had no regrets. It’s turned out good and everything that we hoped for has been happening. I’m having fun on the ice, my family is having fun away from the ice, so it’s been good,” he said.

And the Jets? They certainly hope things turn out fine.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg