The Winnipeg Jets Stars Have Come Out of the Gates Strong

Look, we know preseason stats mean nothing. I’m probably going to include this in every article from now until the regular season opener on October 4. There’s only two preseason games after tonight.

The Winnipeg Jets are off to a 3-1 start this preseason. Nobody cares. I don’t care. I’ve watched every game (yes, all four of them. It was very challenging) and I still had to look it up.

I will beat the “Preseason success means nothing” drum until I stop seeing that idiot I’m friends with on Facebook stops posting about the Denver Broncos winning preseason games every year.

And laughing when the Dallas Cowboys lose,  giving the old “and don’t give me that preseason doesn’t matter excuse”. Well, it’s true, it doesn’t. The Winnipeg Jets could go 7-0 and I still wouldn’t think it means anything.

After all, they’re better than all seven teams on the schedule. The Wild are adequate, but the Flames, Devils and Oilers don’t inspire much confidence in their fans.

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That all being said, there’s no time when playing well is a bad thing. Does it matter that the Jets are doing well? No, not until ten days from now. But is it better than playing poorly? Of course.

Blake Wheeler has five points in two games. Mark Scheifele has four in two games. Dustin Byfuglien also has four, albeit in three whole games.

Joe Morrow has four points in three games. Well, he’s not a veteran nor a star, but hey, it’s good to see him doing well anyway. Blake Wheeler is playing eight minutes a game. He’s been on the ice for like 17 minutes and scored five points.

That’s roughly 16 points per 60, which is cool. I fully expect him to continue this pace into the regular season and challenge the NHL points record. I don’t, honestly, but hey, it’s fun to watch him.

Blake Wheeler is an interesting study, since he just set his career high in points last season. Nobody has argued he wasn’t good, though, he just needed better players to start putting his passes in the net.

With an offense like this, points are going to be a bit inflated. In a good way. I hate when people say that like it’s a bad thing. Points are great, all the time. They’re even better when you’re good at preventing them.

Aside from the B-Squad the Jets sent out to get destroyed by Connor McDavid, they’ve been pretty fine with that, too. Look, the end results of the preseason don’t matter.

What you’re looking for is good signs. We’ve gotten them from the Jets stars, a few youngsters (Skyler McKenzie’s two goal game, CJ Suess, Joe Morrow, Sami Niku and Marko Dano) and their netminders.

It’s always good to feel good about the upcoming season. And hey, the Jets and their fans deserve it. And I think we’ll feel pretty good a few months from now, too.