Nic needs numbers
Jets hoping Petan regains his confidence down in AHL
PITTSBURGH — There are many among the Winnipeg Jets faithful who believe Nic Petan can be a solid contributor at the NHL level if just given the chance to play with strong offensive players. They may be right. But Petan, the 22-yearold former WHL scoring star, is not going to get into the Jets top six forwards unless there’s an injury, and he’s not doing enough to make the team’s bottom six better in his limited opportunities.
The Jets sent Petan to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL on Wednesday to make room for veteran centre Matt Hendricks on the roster. Hendricks had been injured since training camp, but the 36-year-old was always part of the Jets plans because of his veteran presence and his ability to kill penalties and win big faceoffs.
Petan got the demotion because he has zero points through six games and because he does not have to clear waivers to be sent down.
With three goals and 19 points in 86 career games, Petan has disappointed numbers-wise, and has become somewhat of a polarizing player with the fans.
Many believe he has been hamstrung by playing on the third and fourth lines with grinders. Others see a player who has not produced despite numerous opportunities.
I’m more in the latter camp. At some point, a player has to show something, regardless of who he is playing with, to prove he belongs in the NHL.
“Nic Petan is an offensive guy and there wasn’t a lot of offence happening,” Jets coach Paul Maurice told reporters after practice at Bell MTS Iceplex Wednesday. “The argument would be he’s not playing with real offensive players. Those guys that he’s playing with are making the same argument. There’s just not a lot happening down there.”
Those who disagree with Maurice make some good points. Petan seems like a bit of a scapegoat for a bottom-six that hasn’t scored at even strength this season.
Why is he getting sent down instead of Brandon Tanev, Shawn Matthias, Andrew Copp, Joel Armia, Marko Dano and Brendan Lemieux? Those players have combined for three points, two of them on shorthanded goals by Tanev and Armia.
Maurice’s answer was twofold. Petan has “waiverability,” and he has a chance to play increased minutes with the Moose, put up some points and earn his way back to the NHL.
“He’s got to find a way to take the nine minutes that he’s playing — some of that’s power play time — and get a little more happening for him,” Maurice said. “It’s tough for him to get into a rhythm at nine minutes — he’s going to want to play more minutes — but he’s going to have to do more to play those minutes.”
The Jets will face the twotime defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins here at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday night before travelling to Columbus for a tough back-to-back on Friday.
They are going with a lineup that has some added grit in Hendricks and rookie winger Brendan Lemieux, who will play his second career NHL game. Those two will skate on the fourth line, along with Joel Armia.
Maurice believes Hendricks can get the most out of his linemates, which is clearly something he didn’t believe Petan was doing.
“Driving those guys is part of a veteran’s job,” Maurice said. “He can teach them the game while it’s going on. He’s a real good mentor for any of those guys but especially the two guys we have him with. We think Armia has got more to his game and Brendan is new to this game so there’s a lot for him to learn.”
The fan frustration surrounding Petan is understandable. Hopes were high that he could provide some secondary scoring for a team that has relied for years on the top two lines to carry the offensive load.
But just wishing him to be a better player doesn’t make him one.
If he’s not producing offensively, Petan doesn’t serve much of a role on the Jets.
While he is no scorer, Hendricks is a penalty killer, a shot blocker, a grinding centre and a leader. Every team needs players like that.
Tanev plays a similar role, albeit on the wing. He’s not going to create a ton of offence but right now Maurice is happy with his game.
“It’s a completely different game (to Petan’s) but I’ve seen Tanev do (enough) the last few games,” Maurice said. “He made a case for us to give him more minutes and we played him more.”
Fans will just have to be more patient when it comes to Petan. If he plays well with the Moose he’ll surely get another chance.
“You can take your time here as a positive,” Hendricks said, “or you can be down on yourself and real negative.
“I know he’s going to go down there and he’s going to work hard every day because he’s a great pro and he wants to get back here.”