Maurice tinkers with forward lines before Jets open season at St. Louis

“If I can do that and he can find himself in good spots in the offensive zone, I can definitely try to give him the puck and let him shoot it.

“I know he’s a shooter. I like to think I’m more of a passer so this could be a good combination.”

Little had centred a line with Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers for most of last season until Paul Stastny was acquired at the trade deadline and took Little’s spot. Stastny signed as a free agent with Vegas in the off-season.

Maurice has been tinkering in the pre-season with lineups for the club that set a franchise record last season by reaching the Western Conference final, which it lost in five games to the Golden Knights.

The second new line has Ehlers skating with sophomore centre Jack Roslovic and Finnish rookie Kristian Vesalainen, the team’s first-round pick (24th overall) in the 2017 NHL draft.

“This wasn’t something on paper at the start of camp that we’d go to,” Maurice said. “We kind of worked our way through to it.”

He’ll start seeing the results on Thursday, but added nothing is set in stone for the trios.

“I like what they might be able to do,” Maurice said. “I’ve got lots of confidence.

“I also know we’re going to change those lines, that’s just the way a year goes.”

Winnipeg’s top line remains intact with centre Mark Scheifele, sophomore left-winger Kyle Connor and captain Blake Wheeler.

The fourth line of centre Adam Lowry with Andrew Copp and Brandon Tanev also spent a lot of time together last season.

“The depth we have now is up there in the league,” said Little, who’s entering his 12th season. “And our ability to shuffle things around if things aren’t going well, we have a lot of different options and combinations we can come up with.”

Perreault’s versatility over the past nine seasons has been his calling card as he’s been moved around with the Jets and when he played for Washington and Anaheim.

“It’s fun,” he said. “I like to play with different guys. It’s a new challenge.”

Little and Perrreault agree with their line’s objectives.

“Keep it simple,” Little said. “Obviously, me and Perreault want to set Laine up in good positions to shoot the puck because that’s going to be the weapon on our line. So put him in a good spot and go to work.”

Laine, who wants to improve his overall game this season and dropped 14 pounds to become quicker, said Ehlers and Perreault are similar.

“They’re both fast players and have a lot of skill,” he said.

“It’ll be fun to play with (Perreault). I’ve been playing with him a lot over these two years so I know what to expect. Hopefully, we can build some good chemistry right away.”

If the line changes, Perreault is also fine with that.

“If our line is good enough and helps the team (win) then I’ll be happy,” Perreault said. “If they have to move guys around, whatever is going to work for us and win us games, I’ll be more than happy.”

Judy Owen, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Maurice tinkers with forward lines before Jets open season at St. Louis

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