Josh Morrisey Remains Cornerstone of Jets Blueline: What to Expect from Winnipeg Jets’ Star Defenceman

One Winnipeg Jets blueliner that has worked his way up from the AHL to becoming a superstar stud for Winnipeg's defence corps is Josh Morrissey. He has broken out in a big way with Winnipeg in the last few years and has inserted himself regularly into the Norris Trophy conversation.

This could be a big year for the 29-year-old, as many are expecting a bit of regression. Bet365 has him listed at +110 to finish with 70 or more points this season despite finishing top-4 in points for blueliners (145) over the past two seasons.

View the original article to see embedded media.

Yahoo Sports has Morrissey projected to finish with the fifth-most assists this season at 61 alongside 11 goals for a total of 72 points, which would be four points away from his career-high. ESPN also has the Calgary native projected for a 70-point campaign with 14 goals and 56 assists.

It should be doable as he will be reunited with his longtime blueline partner Dylan DeMelo, who re-signed with the Jets on a four-year extension in the offseason. The duo have been one of the best pairings in the league, as last season they finished with 62 goals, which was third-most of any defensive pairing. They have impeccable chemistry, as last season as they played a shocking 1,207 minutes together.

Morrissey should be a reliable 70-point producer once again barring no injuries, but it would be interesting to see him to see him tap into his scoring ability a bit more and produce goal numbers like that of Rasmus Dahlin or Evan Bouchard and find himself more towards the 20-goal mark.

The Jets will certainly need it as they lost key offensive pieces in Tyler Toffoli and Sean Monahan to free agency and will be heavily reliant on younger core of forwards like Gabriel Vilardi and Cole Perfetti. This may push the team and Morrissey to turn him loose and hopefully help him reach numbers closer to his 28-goal campaign in 2014 with the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL.

If he can produce a surprising 20-goal season in his bigger role with the team this season, we shouldn't be surprised if he finds himself back near the top of the Norris Trophy conversation.