Winnipeg Jets Aren’t A True Stanley Cup Contender
The Winnipeg Jets are in second place in the Central division and are a top team in the Western Conference. So why aren’t they a contender for the Stanley Cup?
There’s a huge difference between being a playoff team and a Stanley Cup contender. The Winnipeg Jets are certainly one of the former. At the quarter mark of the season, the Jets are tied for second in the Central Division and are part of the pack leading the Western Conference.
However, they aren’t going anywhere near the Stanley Cup. At least not this season. The Jets have what it takes to be a good team for a while, but they’re a dark horse at best to lift the Stanley Cup in June.
Experience
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The first reason is there is not a ton of playoff experience on the Jets. This has to change before the Winnipeg Jets go on their Stanley Cup charge.
2015 was the last time they made the playoffs. Since then, the Jets have had two years where they’ve had top picks. Their core has gotten considerably younger.
11 of the Jets’ current 23 players were on that 2015 team. That 11 includes Ben Chiarot, who probably will not see any playoff time. Which means 12 don’t have any experience with the Jets or at all.
Also, the 12 without postseason experience includes some of the most important players for this Winnipeg Jets team. Players like Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers, Kyle Connor, Josh Morrissey, Connor Hellebuyck and Joel Armia have no taste of the playoffs.
They don’t know what to expect from the NHL playoffs. These young players could be shut down or taken out of the game while they figure it out. That’s too much of the Jets core.
Also, every team that has won the Stanley Cup in the past decade made the playoffs the year before and took a tough loss. The Winnipeg Jets were not in the playoffs last year. Rather, they were the sixth seed in a loaded division that still only sent four teams.
Goaltending
Making the playoffs and losing is also important for a team’s goaltender because they learn where playoff shots will come from and how to successfully stop them. So Hellebuyck not having that is a bigger concern than people are thinking. His inexperience is also a big reason I don’t believe the Jets are the team to buck the long-set trend.
Also, Hellebuyck is currently posting a save percentage .015 above his career average. His .929 is among league leaders. It’s perhaps too high to be sustainable for the rest of the season. Even if Hellebuyck settles down to somewhere between a .920-.924, the Jets will still make the playoffs, and a ton of credit should rightfully head his way.
But this .920 save percentage range will not continue into the playoffs. Both times the Columbus Blue Jackets made the playoffs, Sergei Bobrovsky posted a save percentage below .910. That’s not good. This is probably what’s going to happen to Hellebuyck this year as he dips his feet into the postseason pool. He just isn’t likely to be this good in the playoffs, and that would be the end of the Jets.
The Future
But notice that I said Hellebuyck’s first year. I think the Winnipeg Jets are now firmly a playoff contender. With the young core they’ve built (the right way), the Jets will win a Cup eventually. Hellebuyck will likely be the goaltender to help the team accomplish that.
Laine, Ehlers, Mark Scheifele, Connor, Bryan Little, and Blake Wheeler are too good to be denied forever. If the group stays together, they’re going to be successful, even in a league that’s getting more and more competitive. They will bring the Cup to Winnipeg at some point. But it’s too bold to predict that will make Winnipeg stop being the little brother of Canada.
Next: Bold Predictions for the Jets
But that year isn’t this year. That may be unpopular in Winnipeg right now. But picking up on trends and directions, the Jets will get a prime experience. That experience will set them up for a better future.