Stanley happy to be back, eager to prove himself to coaching staff

Logan Stanley believes he is in the right place, and that place is with the Winnipeg Jets.

The big defenceman signed a one year, one-million-dollar extension with the team earlier this week.

"I'm happy with how it went," said Stanley. "We had talked a little bit about some other options but at the end of the day, I think the one-year deal is good for the Jets and also good for me.

"I'm definitely happy that it's done with and can just focus on training camp and going out and playing."

The 25-year-old is coming off a season in which he only played 19 games for the Jets. Stanley was in and out of the lineup thanks to a variety of injuries in 2022-23, the first one came in late October, and he missed 18 games. He returned for a quick road trip in Chicago and St. Louis, got hurt against the Blues and missed 22 more games. It all added to up to what he called the most frustrating year of his pro career.

"It wasn't very enjoyable; I wasn't having very much fun. After the first injury I was in good spirits and training hard, came back and felt awesome in that first game back. Afterwards I thought I had a good first game back and boom back on the shelf for another nine weeks," said Stanley.

"The second one (injury) was really tough mentally and I was pretty drained and frustrated and upset. Lots of stuff going on in my mind, in my life. It didn't help anything that's for sure."

Thanks to the injuries, Stanley never got a good chance to show what he could do to new head coach Rick Bowness and his assistants, Scott Arniel, Brad Lauer and Marty Johnston.

"They probably still don't really know who I am as a hockey player, I only played 19 games. It was a very short window of experience they got from me," said Stanley.

"It was frustrating for sure. I wanted to play for Bones and Arnie and Lows and Marty. Especially with Arnie being the D coach and Bones being the head coach, I wanted to make a good impression and play well for them. It was just a frustrating year all round."

Stanley said he texted back and forth with Arniel last month and will be speaking with Bowness sometime in the very near future on the phone.

"I'll have some things that I want to express to him and I'm sure he will have the same for me," said Stanley.

"But definitely, I didn't want to leave Winnipeg. I just want the opportunity to play and obviously last year was tough with injuries but I'm looking forward to a fresh start this year and going into training camp. I'm excited for it."

That is one of the beautiful parts of sports. There is the chance to put a difficult situation behind you with the start of another season.

"You know, I'm going to take some of the lessons learned from last year and put them to use this year," said Stanley.

"I'm definitely looking forward to a clean slate going into training camp with fresh minds and just trying to show them who I am and who I can be."

There will be some fresh and familiar faces at camp when it begins next month with the acquisition of Laurent Brossoit, Gabe Vilardi, Rasmus Kupari and Alex Iafallo. The last three came over in the trade that saw Pierre-Luc Dubois head to Los Angeles and the former face of the franchise, Blake Wheeler was bought out and signed with the New York Rangers.

"I think I've been to seven training camps now and Wheels has been the focal point of every one of them," Stanley said. "The captain of our team and an All-Star, big point producer, leader, and someone who is a little bit intimidating when you are a kid and then someone who also became one of my good friends on the team. It's going to be weird not having him around. We had a good relationship through my four, five years I really got to know him," said Stanley.

"With PL being gone, obviously he was one of my buddies on the team being the same age and knowing him for a while before he was a Jet. So that'll be tough, just in the locker room and day-to-day stuff. But that's part of the game. Trades happen and people move on, but I think everyone is excited about the pieces we brought in."

There is some familiarity with Vilardi as Stanley played with him when both were on the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League.

"I was actually with him (Vilardi) a couple of weeks ago back in Windsor, so I think everyone in Winnipeg is going to love what he brings to the table. He loves hockey," said Stanley.

"I think he's just getting started. I think he's going to be a really good player and he will be a great addition to the team along with Iafallo and Kupari."