THE advantage of having your American Hockey League affiliate across the hall instead of across the country came into sharp focus Sunday for the Winnipeg Jets.
The Jets moved their AHL affiliate from St. John's, N.L., to Winnipeg for this season and it made life a lot easier for head coach Paul Maurice when his club had to call up goalie Connor Hellebuyck as a replacement for Ondrej Pavelec, who was hurt Saturday night in a 3-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes.
"Just look at the logistics with us for Connor -- he'd be on an airplane, but it might not be the last leg of the flight here, last year.