Winnipeg Jets Player Power Rankings: Western Conference Finals

The Winnipeg Jets have raced into the Western Conference Finals, as you may have heard. They don’t get there without great performances from some of their key players, and a few surprises as well.

The Winnipeg Jets have a nice little player core to build around, here, and they did a nice little job building around it for this playoff run. Conference Finals, good stuff.

We broke down the Jets most impressive players after the victory over the Minnesota Wild, and hey, some of those guys are going to make our next installment of the Winnipeg Jets Player Power Rankings as well.

This is after the first two rounds and entering the third. Plus one game, of course. Meant to have this up before the series, but hey, it’s a holiday weekend and things got away from me. I beg for your forgiveness. Either way, I’m going to drop the list down to five and spread the discussion a bit more.

We’ll see how this version plays out, and if we like it, we’ll stick with it after the Jets close out Vegas in five games and head to the Stanley Cup Finals. I know, I know, it’s a bit hasty, but who cares? It’s all in good fun.

Let’s get started, shall we?

Winnipeg Jets Center Mark Scheifele led the team in goals in round one, with four, and added seven more in the seven game series against Nashville.

Seven goals! Mark Scheifele scored seven goals in seven games. He scored another one in Game One against Vegas, but we’re pretending this hasn’t happened yet. He paces the NHL in goals, by the way.

Scheifele, 25, leads the team in goals, obviously, and also is tied for the team lead in points with 12 and 18, respectively. If the Winnipeg Jets manage to win the Western Conference Finals, which isn’t a huge leap, Scheifele will have to continue his great play.

If they are to best the Vegas Golden Knights, they will then continue on to face either the Washington Captials or Tampa Bay Lightning. And then IF they conquer the Eastern Conference champion, we’ve got ourselves a number one Conn Smythe contender on the Jets’ top line.

I realize that’s a lot of ifs and a lot of pressure on Mark Scheifele. But hey, the Stanley Cup Playoffs are full of pressure. Scheifele seems like he’s been up to the task recently. And he seems to have no desire to stop putting pucks in the net.

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Now, he’s shooting 38%, which is ridiculous. He’s a career 14.9% shooter and is close to 20% the past two seasons. That’s really good, but 38% is unsustainable. But he only needs to sustain it for, theoretically, a few more games.

His speed, vision, size and accuracy have made him one of this playoff’s breakout stars. And the league’s top goal scorer.

The Winnipeg Jets’ defensman is more than veteran leadership, more than Stanley Cup experience. He’s more than a marauding villain, destroying everyone in his path.

Dustin Byfuglien has 15 points in thirteen playoff games. Five goals, ten assists for Big Buff. What a playoff run this guy is having. Byfuglien leads all NHL defenseman in points, and he scored eight of t hem in the seven game series in Nashville.

You know all about the power Byfuglien can put behind his shots, but he’s got a little touch, too. Byfuglien leads the  team in hits, with 47, and it’s not all about quantity with him.

Being hit by Byfuglien is not a thing I would wish on anyone. I can’t find video, but there’s a clip of him tossing around two Predators players like ragdolls. One in each hand, just throwing them around.

I have no concept of how strong this human being is. I know it’s far stronger than I am, and possibly any other hockey player. I’ve attempted to quantify how terrifying Dustin Byfuglien is on the ice, and I cannot on my own.

It would be enough to keep Byfuglien high in the power rankings without his scoring touch. After all, he was number one entering the second round, and he didn’t score a goal in that opening series.

Yes, he had five assists in five games. A point per game for a really good defenseman is a top flight player in the playoffs, no doubt about it.  Fifteen points in 13 games though? Sign me up.

The Winnipeg Jets built up their core of skaters, and they did a fine job with quite a cohesive and dynamic unit. None of that would matter if a certain former fifth round pick didn’t blast every expectation of him.

You could be forgiven for still having a bit of nerves while watching Connor Hellebuyck. Helly doesn’t have the track record of Marc-Andre Fleury or Henrik Lundqvist. A great season was followed by a really good playoffs, but it’s okay to wonder if the other shoe will drop at some point.

Fortunately for the Winnipeg Jets and their fans, Connor Hellebuyck seems to be the real deal. Hellebuyck has not been getting rattled. I’ve seen him give up goals at slightly inopportune times, but each time, he settles down. He steadies himself, realizes what the moment is, and gets right back to the fundamentals.

A few more rebounds could be corralled, but his defense hasn’t let him down this postseason either. Connor Hellebuyck started every game in the second round, and finished all seven. Including one in double overtime. Sure, he lost that game, but he was always there.

The same cannot be said of his opponent between the pipes. Yes, in three games this past series, his save percentage dipped into the .800s. That’s not good. But in three of the four wins, it was over .950%. That’ll play.

Oh, also he stopped 37 of 38 shots against the best team in the NHL on the road in a Game 7. That would have earned him this spot even if he was overwhelmingly mediocre the rest of the series.

Of course, I doubt we would be in this position had Connor Hellebuyck actually been overwhelmingly mediocre. He’s a franchise goalie. He’s looking to go all Matt Murray on the NHL.

What a difference a series makes. The Winnipeg Jets entered the second round with questions about their top scorer. Was he just getting old? (I’m only kidding, he’s just 31) It wasn’t a huge concern in the first round, since Minnesota didn’t put up much of a fight. But now it’s not a concern at all.

Four points in five games for Blake Wheeler wasn’t a terrible outcome. It’s just, the Jets expected him to be their top scorer again. Also, in his first 25 career playoff games, he registered just two goals and seven points.

Some of that was as a rookie, yes, but he was a 45 point man in that rookie campaign, so he wasn’t as green as some boys. He played 10 minutes in each game in that rookie playoff run, and went without a point.

It was fair to wonder if the 91 point man would go full Rick Nash on the Winnipeg Jets. But the Nashville Predators must have awakened something inside of him.

Blake Wheeler scored just two goals in the series, yes. But everyone else was doing the scoring, Blake was just Wheeling and dealing (I’m so, so sorry). Eleven points in seven games, nine assists.

Quieting all the doubters and helping the Jets reach the Conference Finals. The Winnipeg Jets’ captain is leading the team again. His defense on the top line is also something that should not be overlooked.

Two of the four boys from the Atlanta Thrasher days (Byfuglien, Wheeler) are leading the charge for the Winnipeg Jets in the WCF. Who would’ve thought that ten years ago? (The other two are Bryan Little and Toby ‘Don’t Call Me Tobias’ Enstrom)