8 Jets Players Approaching Milestones in 2023-24

Somehow, despite being one of the NHL’s highest goal-getters since 2017-18 (he sits sixth since then, his first full NHL season) and putting up 424 points (209 goals, 215 assists) Connor is still underrated league-wide. However, he’s not underrated in Winnipeg, as Jets fans know all about the superb shot and excellent playmaking skills that make him elite and a steal for his $7.142 million average annual value.

The usually ultra-consistent Connor suffered through some uncharacteristic dry spells last season but still put up 31 goals and 49 assists for 80 points. His best season was 2021-22, when he led the Jets in goals (47), assists (46), and points (93), career-highs for him across the board.

His 47 goals was a new record for most in a single season in the Jets’ 2.0 era, breaking Patrik Laine’s record of 44. His 93 points set a new record for most points in a single season in the Jets’ 2.0 era, breaking Blake Wheeler’s record of 92. He also became the first 40/40 man in the Jets’ 2.0 era and is the 40/40 man for the Atlanta Thrashers/Jets franchise since 2008-09.

Locked up for three more seasons, Connor should reach many more milestones as a Jet.

Nikolaj Ehlers — 400 Points

If Nikolaj Ehlers has a hot performance, he could reach this milestone in his first game of the season.

However, he’d need his fifth-career four-point game to do that. Regardless, it won’t take the dynamic Danish forward long to reach the 400-point mark as he sits with 396 (176 goals, 220 assists) in 523 games over eight seasons.

Ehlers had 38 points (12 goals, 26 assists) in 45 games last season and was analytically one of their best players but will be looking to bounce back from a health perspective.

The 2014 9th-overall pick has spent a lot of time on the shelf over the past two seasons. Last season, he missed three months with a sports hernia that knocked him out of the second game and required surgery, then in mid April was rocked by a dirty Ryan Hartman hit that led to a prolonged “will-he-play, won’t-he-play” saga and him missing four of five first-round playoff games.

His 45 games played was a career low that came on the heels of a 2021-22 season where he played just 62. He has played 70-plus games just once in the past four full seasons (he suited up for 71 in 2019-20.)

He missed the entire preseason due to neck spasms after injuring himself in the gym the day before on-ice workouts started.

Dylan DeMelo — 100 Assists

Like Ehlers, Dylan DeMelo could reach this milestone on game one: his next assist will be the 100th of his career. DeMelo currently sits at 99 apples, amassed through eight seasons and 472 games between the San Jose Sharks, Ottawa Senators, and Jets.

DeMelo’s value to the Jets and the other teams he’s played for is his ability to shut down the opponents’ best and move the puck out of the defensive zone effectively.

As such, creating offence isn’t his first (or second, or perhaps even third) priority and he isn’t someone who will post eye-popping numbers. Despite that, last season he showed more offensive flair than he ever has, recording a career-high 27 points to finish third among Jets defensemen.

DeMelo once went 132 games without a goal (between March 21, 2019 and Nov. 13, 2021) and has had three different seasons where he didn’t even light the lamp once. Last season, though, he scored six times, breaking his previous career high of four, set with the Senators in 2018-19.

He also set a career high in assists with 21, surpassing his previous best by one, set as a member of the Sharks in 2017-18.

Connor Hellebuyck — 250 Wins

Connor Hellebuyck is the Jets’ backbone and has covered up for many of the team’s shortcomings for a long time. He’s one of the NHL’s busiest goalies, has won a Vezina (and been nominated for two more,) and is already closing in on 250-career wins.

The 30-year-old has 238 win over eight seasons and 445 total appearances. Considering the number of starts he gets every season, he should reach 250 by mid-December (barring injury or the team playing terribly in their first 30.)

At the end of last season it seemed Hellebucyk — an unrestricted free agent (UFA) next summer — would be setting the milestone for some other team. He has been open about his deep desire to win a Stanley Cup, and the Jets have gotten further away from that goal since their Western Conference Final run in 2018.

Most pundits (author included) thought Hellebuyck would be traded in the offseason, but due to GM Kevin Cheveldayoff’s high ask and reports Hellebuyck could command north of $9 million on a new contract, he remains a Jet. At the beginning of training camp, he said he doesn’t view his contract situation as urgent and and winning a Cup remains most important to him.

“At the end of the day I’m just here to win a Cup. And we have a good team and I do believe that,” he said. “I’m going to be patient. So, we’ll see how everything unfolds in the upcoming future, but I’m here, I’m a Jet, and I’m just going to try to win a Cup with this team.”

However, it’s entirely possible he’ll be traded at the Trade Deadline if the Jets are not in a playoff position. 250 wins could well be the last milestone he sets as a Jet.

Adam Lowry — 100 Goals

Adam Lowry has scored some big goals recently: he potted the game-tying goal in Game 3 against the Vegas Golden Knights with 22 seconds left to force overtime in a game the Jets entered the third period of losing 4-1. He also scored a pair of goals in a near-perfect Game 1 victory.

Those goals didn’t count to regular-season totals, though. There, the big power forward sits at 93, amassed in 621 games over nine seasons. He’ll chase down the next seven to reach triple digits as the new captain and third in Jets 2.0 history.

Last season, the 2011 third-rounder reached the 30-point plateau for the first time in his career, notching 12 goals and a career-high 23 assists for 36 points. 

You can bet reaching 100 goals is not even close to Lowry’s first concern — it’s probably not on his mind at all. It will be to put his leadership qualities on display by continuing to play the exact way he’s played for a long time — hard-nosed, physical, and tenacious.

Neal Pionk — 400 Games, 200 Points

The defender entering his fifth season with the Jets is closing in on a pair of milestones. He is 15 games away from reaching 400, having suited up for 101 games with the New York Rangers where he began his career and 284 with the Jets.

Pionk, a high-event player who creates a lot offensively but gives up a lot defensively, is also closing in on 200 points: he currently has 184 — 29 goals and 155 assists.

Pionk, who has played on the Jets top four to mixed results and also on the power play, put up 33 points last season (10 goals, 23 assists) and has as many as 45 in a single season. The 200-point market is pretty much a given barring injury.

The Jets will hope Pionk can keep up his offensive production while tightening his defensive game this season. His play without the puck over the past two campaigns has been oft-questionable and has certainly not lived up to the high standard he set in his first two seasons in Winnipeg.

He created 847 scoring chances last season — fifth on the Jets and impressive for a defenseman — but allowed 910 scoring chances, most on the Jets. Since 2020-21, his CORSI and Fenwick percentages at all strengths have taken a dive to below 50 per cent from the mid-to-low 50s. The drop-off in his performance has made the four-year contract extension he signed in 2021 an overpay.

Mark Scheifele — 300 Goals, 400 Assists, 700 Points

Mark Scheifele is closing in on goal and assist milestones and there’s no question he’ll get them. The question is: will he get them as a Jet or with some other team?

The Jets’ first-ever draft pick, who wasn’t dealt after all this offseason despite being one of the NHL’s biggest pieces of trade bait, is 28 goals away from 300 and 27 assists away from 400. If you did the math, congratulations! If you didn’t, we’ll do it for you: he’s 55 points away from the 700 mark.

Last season, Scheifele posted a career-high 42 goals and added 26 assists for 68 points; while he looked engaged in the first half of the season, he looked uninterested in the second half and fell back on old bad habits. Despite that, if he plays the entire season with the Jets, it’s likely he’ll hit all three milestones.

But that’s a big “if.” Scheifele is a UFA next summer and while Scheifele said at the start of training camp he’s open to re-signing, Cheveldayoff has not made much progress on negotiations with the star centre. All parties prefer staying in “win now mode” and kick the can of an extension down the road.

“The finality of ‘Can you get an extension or can’t you get an extension?’ I think is still to be worked out,” Cheveldayoff said a day before training camp opened. “But as far as the players’ commitment to Winnipeg here, everyone’s committed to playing here, everyone’s committed to winning here.”

“I wouldn’t rule out anything at this point in time,” he continued. “And I hope we’re in that situation where those tough decisions have to be made. It is about winning.”

If the Jets aren’t in a playoff position — and not just on the bubble but truly in a good position to contend for the Stanley Cup — by the March 8 Trade Deadline, though, Scheifele could and should be traded. It would be a massive failure of asset management for Cheveldayoff to lose him for nothing.

Gabriel Vilardi — 100 Points

Management is no doubt hoping Gabriel Vilardi reaching 100 points is just the first of many milestones he’ll set as a Jet. Vilardi, the key piece from the Los Angeles Kings in return for Pierre-Luc Dubois, sits at 78 points in 152-career games and seems on the cusp of a breakout.

Last season, the 6-foot-3, 215-pounder set career highs in goals (23) and assists (18) for 41 points. The 23-year-old — acquired along with Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari, and a second-round 2024 draft pick in exchange for the disgruntled Dubois — enters 2023-24 with a brand-new two-year bridge deal with a $3.4 million AAV inked in July.

Vilardi played a bottom-six role with the Kings, but will get a top-six opportunity this season as he’s slated to play on the first line alongside Connor and Scheifele. Playing with those skilled forwards should bump up his production. He is also slated to play on the first power play unit, another opportunity to boost his stat line.

By all accounts, Vilardi should achieve the 100-point plateau by about Christmas. If he can post between 40 and 50 points in each of the next two campaigns, he will be in good position to cash in on a longer-term deal in 2025.

8 More Approaching Milestones:

Here are eight more approaching milestones Jets players will or could reach this season: