Losing Wheeler, Scheifele shows Jets there are options when they return

In the past, the loss of Blake Wheeler or Mark Scheifele would have come with a certain caveat — as soon as both returned to the lineup, they’d regain their respective spots in the lineup.

That will ring true again when Mark Scheifele gets himself out of COVID-19 protocol. He’s the team’s topline centre and will assume the controls as such when he’s healthy and able, no doubt.

The real question is, with the past three games’ worth of context and a couple of seasons’ worth of people clamouring for it, will Winnipeg’s 35-year-old captain be afforded the same certainty?

With Wheeler in the lineup this season, the Jets scored four goals across their opening two games. It wasn’t as if their offence dried up, per se. They had plenty of chances against an incredible John Gibson and the Ducks. But the results weren’t there.

Connor had a goal, Wheeler had an assist and Scheifele didn’t have a point — with a reminder the latter didn’t play the first game due to suspension. It’s a small sample size, surely, but it brought up the question of whether Wheeler should still be a top-line guy, one that has permeated throughout the past couple of seasons. Since Wheeler has been in COVID-19 protocol, the complexion, and the success, of the offence have changed dramatically.

Connor has five goals and eight points on a line with Pierre-Luc Dubois, who himself is riding a four-game goal and point-scoring streak overall, with five points (three goals and two assists) since Wheeler has been out. Others, too, have stepped up to the plate having been handed bigger roles.

Andrew Copp, who was shifted to the first line with Wheeler out, has four points, including two goals. Paul Stastny, now on the top line with Scheifele in protocol, has the same stat line. The only person inside the top six that hasn’t benefitted yet is Nikolaj Ehlers, albeit not for lack of trying.

Tossing all these stats around isn’t to wag the finger at Wheeler. He takes no blame when it comes to his positive case of COVID and a subsequent 10-day bout with self-isolation, which he will remain in until Wednesday.

But it is to point out that the Jets have thrived with their new looks on forward. If nothing else, it answers a question for Maurice — his team can produce without Wheeler as his first-line rightwinger. And perhaps he can consider such a permanent move when Wheeler returns to the lineup, opting for a more dynamic setup than the linear one that began the year.

There’s solid evidence — some 16 goals across three games in Wheeler’s absence — for Maurice to give it a shot on production alone. Not to mention some of the growing chemistry.

Let’s make no illusions here: Wheeler won’t play any further down the lineup than to Adam Lowry’s right if Maurice decides to make a move. But that could still preserve the progress that’s been made so far.

But that might be the best place for him, next to Lowry and opposite of Stastny or someone like Jansen Harkins. Is it a demotion? Sure, in the literal sense. Does it improve the team? It appears it could.

Connor, Schiefele and Copp looked solid as a top-line together, even with the razorthin sample size of a single game. Connor, meanwhile, has looked tremendous with Dubois and whoever Maurice puts there as their rightwinger.

It’s hard to argue with the results, and those results have included Winnipeg’s first two wins of the season, and a third game in Minnesota that should have been in the bag if not for a third-period implosion.

Again, these are small sample sizes, and that includes the first two games of the season as well. The Jets won’t average two goals a game and they won’t average five either. But these unfortunate COVID diagnoses have given a look to something different.