How Much Does the Jets' Nino Niederreiter Have Left?

Nino Niederreiter's night against the Colorado Avalanche was one of those games where you see an aging hockey warrior who still has it. The Winnipeg Jets lost 5-2 to the Avalanche, but Niederreiter wasn't the problem. He scored a power-play goal, picked up an assist, put four shots on net, threw two hits and finished with four penalty minutes. The Jets' own recap had him and Vladislav Namestnikov as the two-point guys in the loss.

And suddenly, I’m wondering whether fans have been a little too quick to write off El Nino.

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This Is a Pretty Important Year for Niederreiter.

Niederreiter is 34. He had just 19 points in 61 games last season. That's a long way from the 20-goal seasons we've seen from him in the past. RotoWire has him projected for a bottom-six role to start the season, with the possibility of moving up if he starts producing. But that's exactly why Friday night was interesting.

Niederreiter didn't just score a cheap preseason goal and disappear. He was involved. His goal came on the power play, as he cleaned up a rebound in front of Mackenzie Blackwood. Then he made a nice backhand pass to Vladislav Namestnikov, who scored to put Winnipeg back ahead 2-1.

That's veteran hockey. Get to the net. Make yourself available. See the play developing. Do the little things. And if you can, the conversation suddenly changes.

Maybe the Jets Don't Need Him to Be the Old Nino.

Winnipeg probably doesn't expect Niederreiter to become a 30-goal scorer again. That probably isn't realistic. What the Jets might need is a useful veteran who can play a bottom-six role, provide some power-play help, and occasionally move up the lineup when injuries hit.

That is a very different job. And Niederreiter looked pretty comfortable playing with Namestnikov and Alex Iafallo on Friday. The trio brings enormous NHL experience to the bottom six. There's another little wrinkle here, too. Niederreiter is entering the final year of his contract, and there had been speculation that Winnipeg might move on from him. That didn't happen over the summer. Now he's got a chance to change the conversation himself.

One preseason game doesn't do that. But it can start it.

So How Much Does Niederreiter Have Left?

Maybe Nino Niederreiter doesn't have to be the player he was five years ago. Maybe the Jets just need him to be a good version of the player he is today.

And after Friday night, there was at least a little reason to wonder whether that version still has some hockey left in him.

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