It’s almost New Years already, and the Winnipeg Jets are a successful team, but have had their ups and downs. The Jets would like to forget the beginning of 2017, after a failed 2016-17 season. The end of 2017 (17-18 season) will be something Winnipeg Jets fans will never forget.
Ondrej Pavelec and goalies
The 2016-17 season was netminder, Ondrej Pavelec’s final NHL season as a Jet. Pavelec went into the season, and sustained a injury very fast. He was out for quite the amount of time, and when we turned to Michael Hutchinson, he wasn’t the answer. He had a below average record, so then we turned to Connor Hellebuyck. Hellebuyck played in 56 games, accumulating a winning record of 26-19-4. Hellebuyck was also unbelievably inconsistent. His wins were amazing but when he lost games, he played horrible.
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Injuries
This is a topic every Jets fan painfully understands quite well. Almost all of our players were sidelined at one point or another. It was a huge reason for the failure of the 16/17 season, and there wasn’t a whole lot we could have done about it. One of the worst was the concussion that sidelined soon-to-be-superstar, Patrik Laine.
Early Playoff Elimination and big streak to end the season
The Winnipeg Jets were painfully bad last season, and faced a very early elimination from the playoffs. It was a dagger in the heart of every Jets fan. Being eliminated so early is really bad and the fans lose all confidence in the the team. Almost right after being eliminated, we went on a big winning streak. We had no problem with winning after out of contention which gave Jets fans a bit of anger, but also some relief for going into the next season.
Amazing start to 2017-18 season
I have to admit, the Jets have been playing some inconsistent hockey lately, but it’s not as bad as it used to be. Our goaltending issues are gone, and we’re seeing some very impressive play from almost every player. We’ve seen unheard of players step up, and we’re beginning to see younger guys become bigger pieces in our lineup. Kevin Chevaldayoff had a plan, and it’s working really well. For this plan to work to its fullest, it will require a long run to the Stanley Cup. We haven’t gotten there quite yet, but this season has showed that we’re on our way.
Wrapping it all up
I’m not going to sugar coat it, 2017 was an ugly year for the Winnipeg Jets. We should be glad for the success we’ve had this season, but we also shouldn’t count our chickens before they hatch.
Hopefully the Jets will have far more success in the year of 2018.