Winnipeg Jets season snapshot fantasy awards

With the NHL pausing the 2019-20 regular season on March 12 due to the concerns surrounding the coronavirus, NHL.com is taking stock of each of the League's 31 teams.
Today, a fantasy recap of the Winnipeg Jets at the pause:
NOTE: Rank for most-valuable fantasy player is based on standard-category production to date.

MORE FANTASY COVERAGE:
Top 250
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100 'F'
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50 'D'
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25 'G'
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Season snapshots
Fantasy MVP: Connor Hellebuyck, G (rank: 12) -- The most valuable goalie in standard fantasy leagues, Hellebuyck ranks second in wins behind Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning (35-31), leads the NHL in shutouts (six), and has the second best save percentage (.922; minimum 40 games) behind Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins (.929). When you consider the Jets' offseason losses at defenseman (
Dustin Byfuglien
, Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers) and Hellebuyck's heavy workload (tied with Carey Price (Montreal Canadiens) for NHL lead in games with 58), there hasn't been a bigger steal at goalie based on fantasy expectations (average draft position: 75).

Biggest surprise: Neal Pionk, D -- Acquired from the New York Rangers in the Trouba trade during the offseason, Pionk has far outperformed him in fantasy production and is shockingly ranked third among NHL defensemen in standard leagues behind Roman Josi (Nashville Predators) and John Carlson (Washington Capitals). Pionk, who has frequently played on the first power-play unit, is tied with rookie standout Quinn Hughes (Vancouver Canucks) for third among NHL defensemen in power-play points (25) and ranks among the leaders in assists (39, eighth), points (45; T-11th), and shots on goal (177; T-9th). Pionk is the only NHL defenseman with at least 40 points, a plus-10 and 150 hits (165).

Unsung hero: Nikolaj Ehlers, LW/RW -- He has 58 points (25 goals, 33 assists) in 71 games, the highest points-per-game average of his NHL career (0.82). Despite inconsistent lineup placement, Ehlers is third on the Jets in even-strength points (52), behind Kyle Connor (54) and Mark Scheifele (53), and 12th in the NHL. Ehlers is also among Winnipeg's leaders in plus/minus (plus-14; second behind defenseman Nathan Beaulieu, plus-15) and SOG (203; third). Ehlers was limited to 62 games because of injury last season and underperformed when healthy but has bounced back and now has at least 58 points in three of his past four seasons.

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