After a wild start to the season, the Winnipeg Jets find themselves with a 4–3–0 record. The turnover on defence over the offseason has been well documented and the potent offence, led by the trio of Patrik Laine, Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler with three goals each, has already had to overcome several defensive lapses. Many of these defensive errors are due to a lack of size and experience, which makes it difficult for the new defencemen to out-muscle their opponent and protect the high-danger zones, which is typically the areas within 20 feet of their net.

The Winnipeg Jets currently surrender an average of 34 shots against per game (which ranks twenty-sixth in the NHL), with 36 percent of those shots being high-danger shots (which ranks thirty-first in the NHL). The closer the opponent is to the net when they shoot, the more difficult it is for the goaltender to save the puck.

In other words, the Jets need to tighten up in front of their goalie and force the opponents to shoot from outside the hashmarks, like during the 2017–2018 season when goalie Conner Hellebuyck was a Vezina trophy finalist. That season, the Winnipeg Jets surrendered an average of 32 shots per game, with just twenty-seven percent being high-danger shots (which was good enough for second best in the NHL).

So, what has changed?

The six defencemen who suited up for game five of the Western Conference final in 2018 averaged 332 NHL games played and weighed an average of 219 pounds. Their weight was an asset which allowed them to throw big hits to punish opponents for entering the high-danger areas.

Let’s fast-forward to today. The six defencemen who suited up on October 13, 2019 played an average of 208 NHL games and weighed an average of just 204 pounds. These defencemen will gain experience as the season progresses, but their lack of size makes it difficult to protect the high-danger areas. Other teams are taking advantage of the opportunities this presents.

For now, Winnipeg fans are left wondering. Will the skills of the new defencemen be able to overcome the lack of punishing hits? Will these defencemen improve with more experience? At the moment we have more questions than answers.

Time will tell what the full impact will be of losing both experience and size on defence. How will Connor Hellebuyck and Laurent Brossoit cope? If the first couple of weeks of the season are any indication of what’s to come, this is going to be an entertaining and stressful season in equal measure.