The Winnipeg Jets May Have Found Something They Needed

The Winnipeg Jets probably weren't expecting Clay Stevenson to become one of the stories of their first road game of the season. Connor Hellebuyck is suspended, so he’s unavailable. Stuart Skinner had played well in the opening game. Stevenson, meanwhile, had only just arrived in Winnipeg after being claimed when his circumstances suddenly changed. A week earlier, he was headed toward the AHL. Now he was making his Jets debut against Pittsburgh last night.

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Stevenson surprised everyone with his stellar performance.

How did Stevenson do? He was good. He stopped 29 of 31 shots and, more importantly, gave Winnipeg exactly what a team needs from a goaltender in a difficult situation. He gave them a chance to win. And they did win, 3-2, over a previously unbeaten Penguins team.

Pittsburgh had stretches where the game opened up, and the Jets didn't always move the puck through the neutral zone well, but Stevenson kept making the saves that mattered.

I liked what he said afterward, too. He talked about staying grounded, being present, and trying to be the best he could be for the group. That's probably the right approach for a goalie suddenly dropped into a new situation. He wasn't trying to prove he was Connor Hellebuyck. He was simply trying to prove he could help the Jets.

What will Stevenson’s long-term future look like in Winnipeg?

That's what makes this interesting. Nobody knows what Stevenson's long-term future in Winnipeg looks like, and one game doesn't tell us that. But suddenly the Jets have another goaltender who has given them reason to believe they can put him in the net and still play their game.

Sometimes opportunity doesn't knock politely. Sometimes it kicks the door open because somebody else isn't there. Stevenson walked through it. And now Winnipeg has a little more goaltending depth than it thought it had.

If Stevenson keeps this level of play up, he has a good shot at a regular job he hadn’t considered just over a week ago. That would surprise everyone and take a huge monkey - what to do with Hellebuyck - off the Jets’ back.

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