The Winnipeg Jets’ crease has gone from thin to crowded in a hurry, and now the challenge is figuring out who actually gets the net.
Head coach Scott Arniel put it plainly when talking about his options: “I can only play one at a time,”
“This is all fresh and new. We’ll chat this one over a little bit.
We’ll see. Yeah, it’s tricky.
We’ve get three real good people and good goaltenders. Obviously, (Skinner’s) been off to a great start.
We’ll just go day-to-day on this one.”
That three-goalie mix now includes Stuart Skinner, Clay Stevenson and Nico Daws, the newest piece to land in Winnipeg as part of the Hellebuyck trade return from the New Jersey Devils. The situation looked very different not long ago. With Connor Hellebuyck refusing to report to training camp during the now-finished trade demand saga, the Jets had only Skinner available as an NHL-ready option until they picked up Stevenson on waivers a few days before their season opener.
Skinner and Stevenson have both settled in quickly and become fan favourites, in part because they are not Hellebuyck, and both have been steady enough to keep the Jets afloat. Skinner has posted a 2.60 goals against average and a .911 save percentage in eight starts. Stevenson has a 3.08 GAA and .893 SV% in three appearances, with his numbers weighed down by a rough outing against the Anaheim Ducks, when he gave up four goals on 16 shots.
Both are 27, both were born in Alberta, and the two seem to have developed a close friendship.
Daws changes the picture. He is 25 and from Germany, and while he was not the centerpiece of the trade return, Winnipeg did not need him to be. General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff had already protected the club from having to land a true No. 1 by signing Skinner and claiming Stevenson.
“Our goaltending situation has obviously changed I guess 133 per cent, or whatever you want call it, from where it was before,” Cheveldayoff said Friday.
Daws brings the most NHL experience of the group outside Skinner, with 59 appearances and 54 starts, all with New Jersey since being taken 84th overall in 2020. His career line sits at 26-26-1 with a 2.94 GAA, .897 SV% and one shutout. Like Stevenson, he has spent plenty of time fighting for NHL chances while also logging significant minutes in the American Hockey League.
The obvious move would be to waive Stevenson, simply because he is the least experienced of the three. But Winnipeg clearly likes enough about him to avoid risking losing him on waivers, which is why the club is prepared to carry three goalies for now.
That arrangement is not likely to last forever. Arniel probably does not want any of the three sitting too long, and he will need to sort out a usage plan with goaltending coach Wade Flaherty. Carrying all three also means one fewer skater on the roster.
There is another layer to this too: the Manitoba Moose have a pair of promising prospects pushing closer to the picture.
Domenic DiVincentiis and Thomas Milic are both off to strong starts in the AHL. DiVincentiis, a seventh-round pick in 2022, is 3-2-0 with a 2.02 GAA, .941 SV% and two shutouts. Milic, a fifth-round pick in 2023, is 4-0-0 with a 2.48 GAA and .922 SV%.
“That's it. I have your save of the year right here, @TheAHL
Thomas Milic, you are worthy of the Milly Magic moniker 🪄 pic.twitter.com/iYCigbNj49”
At 22 and 23, respectively, both goalies could probably use another full AHL season, but there comes a point in every development path when a player needs NHL work to keep moving forward. If they keep playing like this, they could be in the conversation for big-league minutes before long.
For now, Winnipeg is in a decent spot - just not a simple one. The club no longer has the clear-cut elite starter it had before Hellebuyck was dealt, but it does have options.
The complication is that none of the five goalies in this mix are signed beyond next season. DiVincentiis and Milic will be restricted free agents this offseason, Stevenson is headed for unrestricted free agency, and Skinner and Daws are both in the first year of two-year deals.
That means Cheveldayoff and the Jets will have some decisions to make. They may need to sort out which goaltenders are part of the future and which ones could be moved for help elsewhere in the lineup.
In Other News...
Coyotes Fans Should Watch This Sudden Goalie Situation In The West
The Jets are still waiting on one of their most important blue-line pieces, and the latest update offered at least a small step forward. Josh Morrissey will travel with Winnipeg on its upcoming road trip after missing seven games with an upper-body injury, giving the club a chance to see how he responds once the team is back on the road and back in game rhythm.
It is still unclear when Morrissey will be ready to return, which leaves Winnipeg with a familiar wait-and-see feel at a key point in the schedule. For a Jets team that relies heavily on his minutes and puck-moving ability, simply having him around the group is encouraging, but the real question is whether this trip finally brings him closer to playing again. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Special Teams Problem Is Getting Harder For Fans To Ignore
Special teams were in the spotlight again as the Winnipeg Jets dropped their sixth straight game, a 5-1 loss to the Florida Panthers that quickly turned into a long night. Florida struck early and often, scoring three times before the game was even out of its opening minutes, and two of those goals came with the man advantage, a familiar issue for a team trying to stop a skid before it deepens.
Adam Lowry provided the lone highlight for Winnipeg with a shorthanded goal, the kind of short-handed spark that at least offered a brief response amid the collapse. Even that moment came with a side note of its own, as the Jets captain moved into rare company on the franchise's all-time list, but the broader concern remains the same: the special-teams issues are no longer a small sample or an unlucky stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Depth Is Already Being Tested In One Key Spot
The Manitoba Moose are back in action with a morning game against the Chicago Wolves, and the early start comes with a familiar sort of AHL urgency for Winnipegs organization. Brayden Yager has settled back in nicely since returning to the Moose, and Henry Thrun has been one of the steadier producers on the blue line, giving the farm club a few useful signs as it tries to keep things moving in the right direction.
Even so, the bigger storyline is the one bubbling just above the AHL level. Winnipegs recall of Elias Salomonsson left another opening on the Moose defense, and the club moved quickly to bring in Jack Matier on a professional tryout agreement. For a depth chart that is already being asked to absorb change, the next few days should offer a good look at how much flexibility the Jets have in reserve. [Read more 🡒]