The Jets have spent the summer retooling their roster, adding quality but unproven players with high upside. Guys like Gabriel Vilardi, Rasmus Kupari, and Cody Barlow add a dimension of depth the team desperately needs. Looking forward to 2023-2024, can any of these young guns take the leap to lead their new squad statistically?
Goals Leader: Kyle Connor Runner up: Gabriel Vilardi
Goals are a difficult stat to predict and come with a lot of inherent volatility. That said, Kyle Connor projects to have a bounce-back season. Coming off a 31-goal campaign, the winger played every game last season. Connor also led the team with 33 expected goals last season, even ahead of scoring leader Mark Scheifele. Connor will likely settle in between his peak 2021-2022 season and 2022-2023 down year, scoring ~40 goals this year.
Vilardi is an underdog candidate to catch Connor. With 23 goals in 63 games last year, Vilardi will have more playtime with the Jet's 2nd line. Vilardi has shown to be effective with the puck. More of a natural goal scorer than Connor, Vilardi won’t be hindered by gathering those pesky assists.
While on the topic of assists:
Assists Leader: Josh Morrissey Runner up: Mark Scheifele
It’s hard to argue anyone has more impact on the Jets than Josh Morrissey. The all-star defender finished top 15 league-wide in assists last season, and it wouldn't be a shock to see a repeat performance in 2023-2024. Morrissey plays more minutes than anyone else on the team and plays a big role in the power play. Coming off a 60-assist season, only time will tell if he can keep up this level of incredible production. Even if his numbers slip slightly, >50 assists should land Morrissey the Jets assist leader.
Mark Scheifele gets an honorable mention as a pass-first player most of his career, with last season being his only one with more goals than assists. With a better supporting squad, look for Scheifele to go back to setting up his teammates more often this year. But will it be enough to catch Morrissey?
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