Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman notes the Winnipeg Jets has a healthy locker room full of guys that "really like being around each other"
The hockey world has been quiet in recent weeks as summer is underway with most teams having conducted all the business they plan to have for quite some time. As we sit in the waiting period between seasons, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman went on his podcast "32 Thoughts" and helped add some conversation to the hockey media landscape.
One team that he singled out was the Winnipeg Jets and their recent re-signing of key defenceman Dylan Samberg. Friedman spoke to the Jets core group all liking to play together and helped the process resolve itself before hitting arbitration and that the closeness of the group could play a role in the potential key re-signings over very important players in superstar Kyle Connor and team captain Adam Lowry.
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"The really interesting thing about that was what one of the players said to me, and that was, we'll obviously, we'll see what happens with Lowry and Connor," Friedman explained "It's obvious to me, from what I heard about the signings of Vilardi and Samberg, is that as as a team, it's a group of guys that really like being around each other, which is very important."
The passion to always want to win and do it for the city of Winnipeg is seemingly unwavering in the current Jets roster as they continue to bring back their star players that have been developed in their system like most recently with Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck. It's hard to keep high-end talent on the team as many others will look to present better offers and opportunities.
The Florida Panthers present a compelling offer to players in that you can come to a team, where everyone has the same goal and enjoys playing with each other in a way that they are willing to go further for a win than almost any one else. It's a positive sign that one of the most crucial parts of a Stanley Cup winning team in a very healthy locker room is something that the Jets have and excel in compared to other contenders.
This hopefully gives them a chance to bring back their pending free agents in Connor and Lowry while presenting they will continue to have a meaningful role and do it in a place where they can win, which they couldn't promise Nikolaj Ehlers, who wanted playing time that the Jets couldn't provide.
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