Jets’ Morrissey and Dubois Relish Chance to Play With, Not Against, Niederreiter

The Winnipeg Jets are an absolute mess.

Now losers of five of their last six, the team is in shambles as it awaits the March 3 trade deadline.

Back on February 16, Winnipeg was one victory behind the Dallas Stars for first place in not only the Central Division but also in the Western Conference. Fast forward just 10 days and the team has completely fallen out of the Central’s top three and is battling for a place in the Wild Card.

Following a brutal 5-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on home ice on Friday night, the Jets came out and laid another goose egg, this time a 4-0 shutout loss at the hands of Bo Horvat and the New York Islanders. The game was Winnipeg’s second defeat to the Isles in a span of just four days.

The #NHLJets have just nine goals in its last six games – five of which are losses. In those five losses, five total goals for.

And in terms of goals against? 19 by their opponents.

Not good.

— Carter Brooks (@CBrooksie84) February 26, 2023

Even prior to Sunday’s game, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff knew something was up, and he made swift work of it, bringing in veteran forward Nino Niederreiter in an intra-divisional trade with the Nashville Predators. Chevy sent a 2024 second-round draft pick back to Nashville for the services of the 30-year-old winger, who just so happens to be under contract for this season and the next.

“No player can win the Stanley Cup alone, but he’ll definitely be a good addition to this team,” forward Pierre-Luc Dubois said.

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When asked about his Niederreiter’s characteristics as an opponent, the rough and tumble centreman gave a candid reply.

“He’s a great player,” Dubois said. “He’s hard to play against. He can play offence and defence. Shoot the puck. Big guy. I have not enjoyed playing against him throughout my career. Being able to play with him will be really fun and comes at a perfect time where, you know, it can be a big boost for this team.”

Although Dubois has never faced off against Niederreiter in the postseason, the newcomer has faced the Jets in the playoffs before. He and his former Wild teammates fell in five games to Winnipeg in 2018 in what was the Jets’ deepest playoff run since returning to the city. Both Dubois and Bowness weren’t on that team, but Morrissey was. And he’s ready for another strong postseason push.

For the 27-year-old defender, the overall idea that Chevy is pursuing trades for what he hopes to be a banner year is the right message to be hearing at this point in the season.

“Clearly, he’s making additions and not subtractions, so that’s a statement right there,” the eight-year veteran said. “Teams go through funks; we’re going through it right now. We haven’t loved our game for a little while, but we’re still in a decent position. It’s a great time of the year to find your game and find your peak performance in this last stretch, to get into the playoffs and then let that roll. We are going to keep working here and it’s nice that that organization has the faith in us to make some additions at the deadline.”