Niederreiter wants that high to return as he begins his second full season with the Jets, who ended up fourth overall in 2023-24 only to see their season end in five games in the first round. New Jets head coach Scott Arniel said that he wants to see his group get to that next level that is required to have playoff success.
“First off, its being consistent each and every single night. I think that's something which we have to do as a team. We have to make sure we compete and never get out competed by the opposing team,” said Niederreiter.
“Win your battles and I think it has a lot to do with work ethic. We have a deep team, and we proved last year how good we are defensively, we let it slip towards the end, and that's something we know we got to be better.”
The Swiss forward just turned 32 years old and with Nate Schmidt (33) and Brenden Dillon (33) moving elsewhere, Niederreiter becomes the oldest player on the roster. He is 13 games away from 900 and 57 points short of 500 in his career. Naturally, Niederreiter believes his role is always evolving.
“I guess I’m the oldest guy on the team, which seems a little strange and weird,” said Niederreiter.
“What I’ve got to know over the years, helping out the younger guys, if I see a guy going through a slump, kind of pick him up and be the positive input in the locker room. I think that’s something I feel I should do this year.”
One of the Jets most consistent lines last year was Niederreiter alongside Adam Lowry and Mason Appleton. The trio combined for 105 points and were +45 going up against the other team’s best night in and night out. Niederreiter, Lowry and Appleton also managed to stay healthy missing all of six games.
“We’ve got to definitely be leaders in the team. We have to play the system to a “T” and make sure we bring it each and every night,” said Niederreiter.
“We’ve got to be the energy line, make sure we play simple. We’ve got to try and get the momentum on our side when we have to. Those are the things we have to do to be successful.”