The Winnipeg Jets went deeper into a season than they ever had before. It was a first for many of their players, as well, especially the young guns.
So the Winnipeg Jets didn’t win the Stanley Cup. Disappointing? Oh yes, I really thought, after that win in Nashville in Game Seven, the Jets would have the Cup handed to them.
I was very wrong. Like most others, I underestimated the Vegas Golden Knights. So, it was not to be. But hey, the youth is there, the team is good. There will be other chances.
Will they win? Who could know? Regardless, I know they’ll get close again, at the very least. It isn’t ideal, however, that they’ll be facing their shortest off-season. The Winnipeg Jets have less time to recover than they’ve ever had in their playing careers.
Well, save for Dustin Byfuglien, but it’s a good idea to get him some rest anyway (and he did miss a chunk of time with an injury, potentially helping keep him fresh).
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We saw how Patrik Laine performed. And no, he wasn’t the only one. Nikolaj Ehlers disappointed. They couldn’t all be Mark Scheifele, but some of the younger players were not playing up to their standards.
It was undoubtedly attributable to fatigue. Was it all fatigue? No. Am I trying to take away from what the Vegas Golden Knights were able to do to this Jets team? No. But if you watch those games, you don’t get the Laine or the Ehlers you came to know.
But the Jets and their fans also face a different sort of issue: It’s not only the shortest off-season, it’s also the longest.
Look, time flies when you’re having fun, no? I can’t imagine many of us are having fun. We’re agonizing over the loss against the Golden Knights or the subsequent loss to the Golden Knights in Paul Stastny.
It’s been a tough off-season for the Jets fans. Yes, there have been some good signings of their own players. Locking up Connor Hellebuyck was nice.
But I’m sure most of the team’s fans wanted to see a big splash. I didn’t need a big splash, just a little one. I’m okay with what the team has done this off-season but understand it wasn’t ideal.
That being said, making bad moves just to make moves isn’t something I’m fond of. This isn’t just for the fans. The players, too, are agonizing over the loss. Not so much the lack of off-season activity, but certainly their ouster from the playoffs.
Every player on that team is hungry to get on the ice tomorrow and try to win again. And yet, each day they spend off of it is precious recovery time you can’t fake.