You should apply for a job as NHL GM since you seem to have figured the way to win a cup. Once you secure your job, I'm sure it will be easy to go out and get the first line talent needed to win all their matchups. Seems easy enough, especially if you are working in the most difficult market to attract talent to
As I've pointed out to you repeated times, chevy has built the kind of depth that can win. Look at it this way...
Each game has 3 matchups: even strength, special teams and goaltending. IF your team can win 2 of those 3, you're likely winning the game
The reason the Jets were on a heater was because they were winning 5v5 and goaltending. When the 5v5 went cold, they dipped. Now, 5v5 is still cold but they're winning the special teams and goaltending matchups
In other words, don't be so sure that there only way to win a cup is with a dominant 1st line 5v5. In fact, look at the Oilers when they had mcdrai owning other teams 5v5 and on the PP... but they didn't have the goaltender to win games if the PP faltered.
Your assumption that you need to dominate every shift 5v5 is where all the rest of your questionable takes start
Where all your questionable takes start are in assuming there is some kind of tradeoff between 5v5, specialteams and goaltending. Those are 3 completely independent situations and each should be optimized on their own. You can't say "oh well the PP has been good for 3 games, let the 5v5 play rot even if there are a couple of easy fixes".
It is also absolutely wild to suggest that the Jets concede their top line mins which take up about 33-38% of the available icetime in that situation as lost or at best breaking even just because "chevy's depth". The Jets have defensive depth, not scoring depth. The 4th line hasn't scored in ages and the 3rd line has 2 goals in long period of time.
I think the Jets roster is good enough for them to deploy it in a way where their top line is winning their matchups more often than not, as are the bottom 3 lines. I don't care about dominating every 5v5 shift. I care that the lines are able to win their matchups or saw them off more often than lose them. The top line is not even close to that. Here are their primary matchup results since they were reunited.
vs Pittsburgh: Crosby line matchup: Result handily lost
vs Philly: Coutourier line matchup: So handily lost that the coach broke them up
vs Vancouver: Bluger/Pettersson shared: won
vs Flames: Backlund: Handily lost
vs Wild: Hartman: Handily lost
They are running 1W 4Ls on their matchups in this period.
In November and December by contrast the Jets top line was winning their matchups more often than not, often going against elite top lines like the MacKinnon, Danault lines and coming out ahead or sawing them off against other good top lines (Erikson Ek). During this period the bottom 3 lines were also doing well due to the pressure their top line was building on the opposition.
To win a cup your top line doesn't need to a top-5 elite dominant line that crushes their opposition but they can't be as terrible as what Bones is putting out right now that is getting crushed on the regular and spending their shifts pinned deep inside their own zone.