The Winnipeg Jets have a known powerplay weapon in Dustin Byfuglien, but the the forward group has had limited success over the last few seasons. Which forwards performed the best, which performed the worst, let’s take a look.
Team Powerplay Numbers:
| PP Opp | PP% | GF | GA | Goal Diff | FF/60 | FA/60 | Sh% | Sv% | |
| Winnipeg Jets | 259 | 15.4 | 34 | 7 | 27 | 70.44 | 9.81 | 10.4% | 86.8% |
| Rank | 20 | 25 | 27 | 22 | 28 | 17 | 13 | 21 | 24 |
Winnipeg Jets’ Forwards On-Ine Numbers:
| Player Name | TOI | FF/60 | FA/60 | FSh% | FPDO | TMFF/60 | TMFA/60 |
| Blake Wheeler | 204:20 | 76.05 | 9.10 | 8.49 | 0.924 | 66.12 | 10.13 |
| Bryan Little | 208:05 | 74.68 | 10.09 | 7.72 | 0.963 | 62.77 | 18.43 |
| Mark Scheifele | 121:08 | 73.31 | 6.44 | 6.08 | 0.907 | 65.11 | 11.87 |
| Andrew Ladd | 201:20 | 72.71 | 11.92 | 8.61 | 1.011 | 72.51 | 8.33 |
| Olli Jokinen | 144:07 | 68.69 | 11.24 | 6.06 | 1.024 | 70.37 | 9.02 |
| Evander Kane | 134:43 | 66.81 | 9.80 | 6.67 | 1.021 | 69.82 | 9.77 |
| Devin Setoguchi | 132:00 | 63.64 | 11.82 | 7.14 | 1.033 | 71.43 | 7.85 |
| Michael Frolik | 78:25 | 61.98 | 8.42 | 3.70 | 0.855 | 69.55 | 9.89 |
Thoughts:
- It should be no surprise to see the team's first powerplay unit to be bunched up at the top of the chart. There is a reason they were on the first unit. Ladd, Little and Wheeler remain the Winnipeg Jets' do it all wizards.
- Blake Wheeler and Bryan Little continue to shine. The team was miles better with them on the ice than without. They both deserve 100% of the attention they recieved in team MVP chatter.
- That said, the Jets' first unit isn't exactly dominant and the fact that the second unit is far worse paints part of the puny powerless PP picture.
- Seeing Mark Scheifele near the top is mighty encouraging. Maybe there is something to suggestions that he already has the best vision on the team.
- Love Michael Frolik, but for all his good – he isn't a powerplay specialist. The team took a huge leap forward with him off the ice.
- Same can be said about Gooch. Yuck. Gooch was stanky. Anybody else miss Kyle Wellwood and Nik Antropov?
Again, on-ice numbers don't tell us the full story about a player's offensive contributions. Let's take a look at the player stats.
Forward Powerplay Player Stats:
| Player Name | TOI | G/60 | A/60 | Pts/60 | Shots/60 | iFen/60 | IPP |
| Blake Wheeler | 204:20 | 2.055 | 2.936 | 4.99 | 9.98 | 15.27 | 77.3 |
| Brian Little | 208:05 | 1.730 | 1.730 | 3.46 | 8.07 | 11.82 | 60.0 |
| Andrew Ladd | 201:20 | 0.894 | 2.086 | 2.98 | 7.75 | 11.62 | 47.6 |
| Olli Jokinen | 144:07 | 0.416 | 2.082 | 2.50 | 7.91 | 11.24 | 60.0 |
| Mark Scheifele | 121:08 | 0.991 | 0.991 | 1.98 | 6.93 | 11.39 | 44.4 |
| Devin Setoguchi | 132:00 | 0.909 | 0.909 | 1.82 | 6.82 | 8.636 | 40.0 |
| Evander Kane | 134:43 | 0.445 | 1.336 | 1.78 | 16.48 | 23.60 | 40.0 |
| Michael Frolik | 78:25 | 0.765 | 0.765 | 1.53 | 6.12 | 10.71 | 66.7 |
Thoughts:
- Ladd, Little and Wheeler are at the top once again – of course playing with Dustin Byfuglien pretty well every time out surely didn't hurt their numbers.
- Olli Jokinen used to be a killer at 5 on 4, but his numbers have dropped substantially over the last couple seasons. He was definitely better this year than last, but he isn't going to carry a unit. Also worth noting that he switched places with Blake Wheeler onto the top unit for a short stretch.
- Evander Kane's numbers tell an interesting and discouraging tale. Kane is clearly capable of pouring pucks on net. This is good. The fact that it doesn't result in many goals is kind of sucky.
- Despite Kane's high shot totals, the goal to assist ratio once again favored assists. Odd.
- Kane was responsible for more than 35% of the team's shots attempts while he was on the ice. It would be interesting to see what he could do with more skilled players or if he contributes to the unit's struggles.
It will be really interesting to see what the powerplay looks like next year – especially if Olli Jokinen walks. The second unit needs to be revamped. The Dustin Byfuglien rumour mill never dies either. Who the heck would score if he wasn't on the ice? Is somebody on the far ready to step up? Only time will tell.
All numbers are from Extra Skater, Behind the Net and Hockey Analysis
