The Winnipeg Jets and the Weight of Expectations

The Winnipeg Jets are sitting pretty as we enter the new year, atop their Central Division (take that, Nashville!), and third overall in points in the NHL. But why does it feel different?

The Winnipeg Jets are atop their division. They are sixth in goals for, with 134, and eighth in goals allowed, at 111. That’s with playing a fewer game than many NHL teams, but for now, the top ten in both is more than adequate.

But there’s the funny thing about expectations. This season has felt like a letdown, at times, because of what I knew the Winnipeg Jets were capable of.

I’ve seen them play as well as I’ve ever seen an NHL team play, for long stretches. They absolutely dominated the Wild last playoffs, and battled their way through the stacked Nashville Predators.

And then the they were demolished by the Vegas Golden Knights, who are now surging up the standings themselves, and sit just two points behind the Jets (And their own Pacific Division-leading Flames). A rematch in the playoffs would be welcome, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

The Winnipeg Jets of the past two years have some striking similarities of the New York Yankees of the past two years.

A team cuts payroll in advance of attempting to compete in ~2 years. They want to come back strong, let the young kids develop and see what their new core brings.

That team then has several breakout performances, adds a high-ish end player at the deadline, and runs all the way to the Western Conference Finals (or the baseball equivalent, the AL Championship Series), and has one of the most entertaining and rewarding runs of their history.

For Winnipeg, it was likely the best run the team’s ever had. Winnipeg was seen as a fringe contender for a possible wild card berth. They had several high-end players, but holes as well, and nothing much going in the goaltending department.

But then, Connor Hellebuyck grew up right before our eyes and set a record for wins by an American-born goalie (take that, Jonathan Quick). Patrik Laine continued his assault on the back of the net.

Kyle Connor broke out and scored 31 goals as a rookie. Blake Wheeler, at 31, had the best season of his career, scoring 91 points. He’s on pace for 105 points this season. The Yankees, well, they had some breakouts, too.

Then neither of them won. And the pressure was on. Windows don’t stay open forever, but these teams knew theirs had just opened. And with it, the weight of an entire city was hoisted upon Paul Maurice, but he knows what he’s getting into. You can see it, though, his disappointment when things don’t go well. You know why? Maurice is expected to win.

And yes, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if Winnipeg didn’t bring home the Cup this season. But their window doesn’t get any more wide open. It’ll slowly start closing, year after year, and one day…it’ll slam shut. Just ask the Chicago Blackhawks.

Big contracts and a ‘stars and scrubs’ roster has lost most of its luster, but multiple rings help ease the sting for the Hawks. The Jets have already started their cap-space management.

It’s not the stars, Winnipeg should have room to sign them. It’s the role players that suffer. Joel Armia was traded for extra space. Steve Mason, mercifully, was salary-dumped. Armia isn’t a guy you’ll miss if you’re a casual fan, but I bet the Jets miss his impact.

But then you could see Winnipeg end up like Washington, who was a perennial contender who finally broke through and won in ’18. I mean, the Jets have their Alex Ovechkin. They have their star center, too, in Mark Scheifele. A great top pairing, and a (hopefully soon-to-return-to-form) rock solid netminder. That’s the type of core you need to contend, and I don’t see it breaking up anytime soon.

But it’s important for guys now to carve out roles for Winnipeg. Guys like Mason Appleton, Sami Niku, CJ Suess, Skyler McKenzie and even Kristian Vesalainen. The Jets need them to fill the spots of their departing veterans, and cheaply.

Winnipeg, if anything, is even better than they were last year. They have a better shot to win that division, and home ice in the playoffs for Winnipeg would be LOVELY. But it seems like every defensive miscue, every garbage start by Helly, every three game stretch where Winnipeg hits an offensive lull…they all seem much more dire than they did last season.

When we didn’t know what this team could do, we were just along for the ride. It was so, so fun. And this year, well, it can feel like a slog at times. We’re all waiting for the playoffs, to see if Winnipeg could come back and win it all. Who knows, maybe they do.

Or maybe I’ll be copying and pasting this article again, 365 days from now, telling you to enjoy the Jets while you have them. You’ll cherish these Jets, whether they bring the Cup to Manitoba or not.

They’ll be good for a long time, they’ll be fun for a long time. And man can they light up a scoreboard. And in 2019 we do have some resolutions for the Jets. But hey, for today, let’s just resolve to enjoy the Winnipeg Jets as currently constructed.

I mean, Patrik Laine is just 20 and will be pushing 50 goals this season. Mark Scheifele, bonafide superstar, has 49 points in 39 games and is SECOND on the team in scoring (Wheeler, 50 points).

Even Hellebuyck has been better of late, but is still sporting a .908% save percentage. Which is, you know, exceptionally mediocre. And with it, the team still has the third best record in the NHL. They’re atop their division.

If he goes back to his 2017-2018 form, we might just see a new championship banner in the rafters of Bell MTS Place. But until we find out, let’s just enjoy the ride.

The Winnipeg Jets are sitting pretty as we enter the new year, atop their Central Division (take that, Nashville!), and third overall in points in the NHL. But why does it feel different?

The Winnipeg Jets of the past two years have some striking similarities of the New York Yankees of the past two years.

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