The Winnipeg Jets defensive numbers took a step back last year after being one of the better defensive teams in the 2014-2015 season. Following a season in which they finished top 10 in goals against per game (GA/GP) at 2.56, the Jets got younger, and finished last season 22nd in goals against, with 2.88 GA/GP.

On paper, the Jets have a strong group of defencemen with an excellent combination of physicality and puck skills. Assistant Coach Charlie Huddy primarily works with the defenders on this squad, and it will be up to him make sure that the infusion of younger defencemen can capably overtake the ice time from some of the aging vets (ie. Mark Stuart), or from a particular restricted free agent that’s gone missing.

With Trouba’s absence and Stuart’s declining role, there figures to be 25-30 minutes of opportunity that someone will need to claim as their own.

The Core

Myers has taken time to live up to the hype surrounding his 2010 Calder year. Is this the season he truly breaks out? We think so.

Dustin Byfuglien, Tyler Myers, and Tobias Enstrom make up the core that the Jets sort their defenders around. Big Buff has committed to 5 more years in the ‘Peg, and his combination of size, puck skills, power, and finesse make him one of the most unique players in the league. A huge credit to the 6’5″ defender is his response to originally playing forward when Paul Maurice took over; he used to drive people insane with his lack of defensive awareness, but under Maurice, he’s blossomed into a no doubt top-pairing defenceman. Or at least, everyone but John Tortorella seems to think so. Buff does it all: he urges the crowd out of their seats with bone crushing hits, powerful one-handed net drives, and a cannon of a slapper.

Tyler Myers and Toby Enstrom have made an excellent duo in Myers’ one and a half seasons with the Jets.

Myers is nowhere near as physical as you’d like a 6’8″ man to be, but with a stick that’s more like a pole vault with a hockey blade, he clogs passing lanes effectively and forces opponents wide at a fantastic rate. Toward the end of last season Myers was getting involved offensively more often, and with that huge reach of his is able to drastically change the angle of the puck while stick handling. After a slow October and November (25 GP, 7 Pts, -6), from December onward Myers was +12 and put up 20 points over his last 48 games. Add in that he averaged 2 shots per game for the first time in his career, and the fact most defencemen hit their prime in their late 20s (Myers is 26), and we have a defender fit for an impressive season. If there’s a year where Myers can look like the 48 point Calder Trophy winner he was in 2010, this is it.

His partner in crime Toby Enstrom takes a lot of flack for being undersized and perhaps losing defensive puck battles, but he’s as steady as they come. He’s no longer a 50 point threat like he was in the Kovalchuk days, but he possesses what matters most in today’s NHL: a crisp first pass, and an active stick. Maurice and Huddy play Enstrom anywhere from 20 to 25 minutes per night for a reason, and I don’t see any reason to be minimizing that range for the 2016 campaign.

The Depth

Paul Postma ponders just what he has to do to play in more than 40 games this season.

Well, Jacob Trouba should be a part of that Core group, and this “Depth” piece should be covering 3 defencemen competing for 2 spots. However, with the absence of Trouba, we have 4 defenders competing for the 3 spots behind The Core.

Veteran Mark Stuart, oft-healthy scratch Paul Postma, future stud Josh Morrissey, and steady-as-she-goes Ben Chiarot will all be competing for the final 3 spots on the Jets roster.

By default, Postma has some edge: he’s the only right handed defender of these four, making him an easy pick for playing the right side on the 3rd pairing. He’s been patiently biding his time as the Jets 7th defenceman for the last few years now, and given his offensive prowess (116 points in his last 163 AHL games), it might be time for him to surpass his career high of 42 NHL games. He’s 27 years old now, and it’s time to either become an NHL regular, or accept his fate as a depth option.

Ben Chiarot dressed in 70 games last year, and should figure to play most of the season once more. He plays a steady, unflashy game that’s frequented him alongside the enigmatic Big Buff. He scored 10 points last year, and that figures to be where he ends up once more.

Josh Morrissey will be the lad trying to push Postma out of that last right-side spot, if anyone. Morrissey doesn’t give a damn which side he plays, so long as he’s on the team, and Maurice has mentioned that his ability to play both sides will only help him dress for games. As the season progresses I expect Morrissey to be the best defender on the third pairing, or to earn a spot alongside Myers or Byfuglien on the left side.

Mark Stuart has one more year on his contract after this season, and if things go to plan he may be on waivers before his contract expires. He has been a soldier for the Jets, blocking insane amounts of shots and bringing in some veteran know-how after he was acquired from the Bruins. However, with the speed of today’s NHL and his lack of puck skills, his NHL career looks to be dwindling . Look for him to play limited minutes on the bottom pairing, but still be a staple on the first penalty kill unit. Unfortunately for Stuart he’s great at chipping pucks off the glass, but not so much at connecting with a tape to tape pass.

Person of Interest – Josh Morrissey

It’s been 1206 days since Josh Morrissey was welcomed into the Jets organization. After a strong year with the Moose, he looks primed for a fine rookie campaign.

Last year, I wrote a small piece on Morrissey claiming he was on pace to develop into a top pairing offensive defenceman. My claim remains unchanged, and it’s time for the Calgary native to show us what he’s capable of in the NHL.

In his first AHL season, Morrissey finished with 22 points in 57 games, a solid stat line for a first year pro. But where the real optimism lies is by splitting the numbers. In his first 27 games, Morrissey tallied 6 points – the usual growing pains for a player playing against men every day for the first time. He found his stride in mid-January and over his last 30 games with the Moose, Morrissey amassed 18 points, a stark improvement from his first half. Even better, he put up 11 points in the 13 games prior to being called up to the Jets in early March. If not for injuring his ankle after his first NHL game last year, he would have gotten a larger sample of the big leagues.

“Last year he came in and played his first NHL game for us and then hurt his ankle the next day.” Paul Maurice said after making the roster’s final cuts on Monday. “We really liked that game.”

From what I’ve seen in 6 preseason games, I like his game too. He’s shown tremendous poise with the puck in our own zone to orchestrate the breakout, and has used his strong skating stride to evade danger.

“I think I was able to use my skating and get my pace up,” Morrissey said. “My defensive game has come along way, the coaches have been great.”

For a young defender in the NHL, the pace is typically what lengthens or halts a player’s progression from the minors. Having elite thinkers like Tarasenko or Seguin burgeoning down on you requires quick reflexes, with little time for decisions. Standing at 6’0″, he’s not undersized, but he definitely will need to show that his time in the gym this off season has paid off, and that he can fend off the league’s power forwards.

“He looks good,” added Maurice. “He’s strong, he’s fast, his pace is right, he’s always had the vision and the hands to move the puck well, just physically it took him a while to get to as strong as he needs to be to move as fast as he has to move to survive in this league”

It sounds like Maurice thinks he’s ready to plead his case. If Josh skates in 70 games or so, 15-20 points would be a solid start to his career. If he shows he’s ready to hop on the second power play unit, those numbers may increase slightly. Temper expectations for this season, but in the long run, Morrissey has all of the tools to be an impact offensive defender.

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Check out our Preview of the Jets Offence here!