Drew Stafford and Tyler Myers meet 'tight-knit' Jets room
NASHVILLE – If you want a sense of the Winnipeg Jets locker room post Evander Kane, listen to some of the chatter by players.
There’s Dustin Byfuglien who during Drew Stafford’s intro scrum with the media before Winnipeg’s game at Nashville, yelled out, “Yeah Staff, f*&cking welcome bud … it’s the start of it all with the media,” to which Stafford smiled.
When forward Mark Scheifele walked around said scrum he smiled and said “that’s my (linemate).”
Kane was a good player for the Jets, and a dynamic young scorer. He added an offensive element and flair to the team that nobody else in the lineup possessed. But it seems – at least from the eyeball test – that he was kind of an outsider in the group, which ultimately contributed to his end in Winnipeg with a Wednesday trade to Buffalo that yielded a package that included Stafford and defenseman Tyler Myers. Zach Bogosian was also dealt to Buffalo.
“I don’t have to dispel any rumors because we’re comfortable with how things work in here,” captain Andrew Ladd said. “We have a really tight-knit group, it’s a non-issue for me. “
The Jets were a good team (66 points, seven clear of out of the playoffs) with Kane and some of the distractions that came with him. Losing a player of his talent isn’t exactly a replaceable-type situation, even if he opted to have surgery and were going to lose him for the rest of the year regardless. But they’ve gotten players in Stafford and Myers who can help right away and more easily blend into the locker room culture, which they at least see as a plus in the short-term.
“We always stuck together,” forward Mathieu Perreault said. “We’re a tight group and guys care about each other. And it has been that way all year for us and it’s part of our success, the fact that it’s like that … so these guys are going to come in and welcome them in and get them on board. “
But a hockey locker room is an interesting place. You don’t need to all like each other in order to win. Just because Kane was different didn’t mean he needed to be seen as some sort of castoff amongst the group.
No matter Kane’s personal issues with the Jets, he was a dynamic player when he was on the top of his game. And judging by the actions of some in the Jets room (cough, Byfuglien, cough) it seemed as if he was bullied out of Winnipeg to some degree.
Did this give either Myers or Stafford some cause for pause before coming to Winnipeg? That maybe this group was too cultish for different type of personalities?
“We haven’t spent that much time together, but all the guys have been helpful,” said Myers. “Anything we need or have any questions, they’ve been really good about fitting us in as quick as they can and that is really helpful.”
And if there is any worry of a locker room fracture because of Kane, the team was pretty quick to quell any issues.
“It’s over, we’ve moved on,” tough as nails coach Paul Maurice said.
“For me, we don’t have any issues here and they’ll realize pretty quick that they have a great group that loves working hard and playing hard for each other,” Ladd said. “I don’t think they’ll have a tough time fitting in.”
For Myers and Stafford, it must feel like they‘ve gone to Shangri La.
Buffalo was the worst team in the NHL and the organization had embraced a losing philosophy this year (whether they admit it or not) to get in position to land Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel in the upcoming draft with a top-two pick. Winnipeg is a playoff contending team.
“It’s definitely a welcome change considering the way the team has been going the last couple of years,” Stafford said. “We’re extremely excited to be in the hunt to get back to the playoffs.”
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
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