Good player. Good team. But the fit between Nikolaj Ehlers and the Winnipeg Jets hasn’t been good for a while now.
On one hand, he’s a speedy, underrated left winger who plays criminally low minutes relative to his talent level. Over the past three seasons, among 434 forwards with 1,000 or more minutes played at 5-on-5 , he ranks ninth in the NHL in points per 60, right behind Jason Robertson and Nikita Kucherov . Ehlers ranks seventh in shots per 60, right behind Brady Tkachuk .
Ehlers leads all NHLers in shot attempts per 60 over the past three seasons. Yet he only sits in the 63 rd percentile of ice time among those 434 players. From the perspective of Ehlers, who reportedly isn’t interested in signing an extension with the Jets , it certainly makes sense why he’d like a fresh start after playing nine seasons with the team that drafted him.
Especially when the Jets replaced retired head coach Rick Bowness with an internal hire in Scott Arniel, who wouldn’t be a lock to up Ehlers’ ice time. From the Jets’ side, it’s also understandable why a divorce may be in order. Ehlers, gifted as he is, struggled a lot with durability for several years before finally staying upright to play 82 games this season.
His playoff stat line must be read and re-read to be believed: four goals in 37 games? Seriously? With Ehlers entering the final season of his deal and the Jets needing a shakeup after bowing out in Round 1 of the playoffs a second consecutive season, an Ehlers t.