Will the Winnipeg Jets make the Playoffs?

[Marlowe Syn]

I could see Winnipeg making it to the playoffs. I think Chicago lost some key talent this offseason. A playoff miss would not shock me. Nashville losing Neal and Wilson is going to hurt them. Question still remains on Fisher. Minnesota has some question marks regarding their turnover this off season as well.

 

[neXis]

Nope.

Dallas Chicago St. Louis Minnesota Nashville

Edmonton Calgary Anaheim

Who they passing?

Umm, easily St. Louis, and Calgary. Both teams aren't a sure thing. I also can see Nashville missing the playoffs.

 

[howkie]

Jets had good stats against central last year, build on that and they could.

 

[1specter]

Will come down to goaltending and health again IMO. They remind me a lot of CBJ, a gritty team that made the playoffs in 2014 and had a bright future but injuries and coaching changes held the team back for two seasons before they crushed it in 2017.

If they can get ~.917 sv% from their goaltending and stay healthy enough they'll make it IMO.

 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Nope.

Dallas Chicago St. Louis Minnesota Nashville

Edmonton Calgary Anaheim

Who they passing?

Dallas, Chicago, St, Louis

 

[HockeyFan100]

Depends how Mason does. They're a wild card contender for sure

 

[CorgisPer60]

This is basically the Jets first step in that direction. It should have happened a few years earlier, but now it looks like they're finally flipping the switch. They got rid of Chris Thorburn, bought out Mark Stuart, and told Ondrej Pavelec to take a hike. They didn't lose anybody in the expansion draft, and added depth to the bottom pair and the bottom six. They also brought in a new goalie who has a history of playing really well to challenge for the number one starter job.

Basically, the buck stops here. The excuses stop here. Everything from this point forward no longer has a valid scapegoat, with the exception of two people: Kevin Cheveldayoff and Paul Maurice. Chevy was quoted as saying that as soon as he gets an extension, Paul Maurice gets an extension, so it's quite telling that Chevy hasn't gotten an extension yet. I think ownership is waiting to see if Chevy and PMo can switch into win now mode after being stuck in draft and develope for the last six seasons. We'll see what happens. They're in excellent cap shape, their best players are on relatively team-friendly contracts, and are now essentially the backbone of the team. It will be interesting to see what happens from here.

 

[GeeoffBrown]

I don't think this team will be a threat as long as Cheveldayoff and Maurice are at the helm.

 

[SharkInABoloTie]

The past few years I pinned them to be a playoff team. I've been told it's lack of effort from some players, poor goaltending, and coaching. We'll see if any of that truly changes but I've been burned before. So for now I'm not holding my breath

 

[tony d]

They'll make things interesting for sure but I think they fall just short.

 

[nmbr_24]

I look at their roster and I think they should make it but just like Tampa, I don't have much faith in them to actually do it.

 

[Nithoniniel]

I think they should be up battling for a spot, but it feels like Western Conference is full of teams that have a case to be playoff teams, and very few contenders.

In all likelihood though, Jets should not see as much injuries this season. They have also improved depth, which should help both with injury situations and not make them as reliant on certain match ups. The biggest factor will likely be Manson. He's shown that he has the ability to be a solution for the Jets, but he's also shown that you can't count on it. I really hope he'll do well though. For his sake, as he's been way too maligned around here, and for the Jets, who I'm curious to see where they can go. Never fun to see that much talent stuck in mediocrity.

 

[Royale With Cheese]

They certainly have the talent up front. They will score some goals.

On paper, they had a good D last year, and assuming Kulikov last year was an outlier, then their D next year as a group (Buff, Trouba, Kulikov, Morrissey, Myers, Enstrom) will be good. This is easily the best D this team has had since moving from Atlanta, and likely ever. They need that D to stay in the lineup much more this year than they did last year. Trouba sat out for 20+ games, Enstrom was injured for a good spell, and Myers only played around 10 games. IMO, he was fantastic in those games. But he needs 82 of them.

I think it ultimately comes down to goaltending though. If Steve Mason can be a steady goalie, and also steal a few games, I think the Jets are a playoff team.

I think by 30 games in, if they are not trending that way, Paul Maurice will get fired and then who knows what happens.

 

[OvermanKingGainer]

If Mason can bring back his form from 2015 where he was arguably the second best goalie in the world, sure.

Otherwise they're hooped.

 

[1specter]

If Mason can bring back his form from 2015 where he was arguably the second best goalie in the world, sure.

Otherwise they're hooped.

Eh, I think if Mason can even just give them the level of goaltending he provided in 2013/2014 or 2015/2016 that should be enough (.917-.918%). I mean, that's league average, which is still way better than the garbage the Jets have had in recent years.

This past season Hutch had .903, Helle .907 and Pavelec a miserable .888.

 

[OvermanKingGainer]

Eh, I think if Mason can even just give them the level of goaltending he provided in 2013/2014 or 2015/2016 that should be enough (.917-.918%). I mean, that's league average, which is still way better than the garbage the Jets have had in recent years.

This past season Hutch had .903, Helle .907 and Pavelec a miserable .888.

No, if they get .918 Mason, the Jets will turn that into .900 save percentage.

Jets defense and penalty killing is a whole nother level of bad. Makes the Flyers look like the 90s Devils.

They need .930 Mason to get .915 save percentages.

 

[KingBran]

Umm, easily St. Louis, and Calgary. Both teams aren't a sure thing. I also can see Nashville missing the playoffs.

 

[Roof Daddy]

They have a decent shot, but that's a tough division. Love their forward group. D has talent, but they are an odd group in terms of chemistry. Big Buff needs to play with a stay at home guy, but one who can play the tough minutes.

More than anything though, if you're going to finish 3rd for most times short handed, your PK better not be bottom 5. That sunk them last year (along with poor goaltending).

Would I put money on them making it? No, but they'll be in the hunt until game 82.

 

[GoJetsGo55]

No, if they get .918 Mason, the Jets will turn that into .900 save percentage.

Jets defense and penalty killing is a whole nother level of bad. Makes the Flyers look like the 90s Devils.

They need .930 Mason to get .915 save percentages.

2 things caused our D woes last year.

One is that we still are running a man to man system on D. That just does not work. I have no idea how Huddy still has a job. It infuriates me to no end. We have some high caliber players on D. They're just being told to run a really poor system.

The second is injuries. We were top 3 in man games lost to injuries last year. If we can drop those numbers a bit, we should be in a better spot.

 

[6ix]

Not with that coaching and goaltending. Tough to win every game 4-3 or 5-4. Big time candidates to regress from their record agaisnt the central last year.

 

[Hockeyholic]

Not with Paul Maurice as coach.

 

[Ziggyjoe21]

Definitely not Nashville lol.

Why not? They were the 16th best team in the NHL during the regular season, and made the playoffs by the slightest of margins. They also lost James Neal and replaced him with Bonino. Their group of forwards are among the worst in the NHL.

It should not surprise anyone if they miss the playoffs.

 

[Volica]

Tough division.
Is Mason does well, they certainly can make some noise.

 

[KingBran]

Why not? They were the 16th best team in the NHL during the regular season, and made the playoffs by the slightest of margins. They also lost James Neal and replaced him with Bonino. Their group of forwards are among the worst in the NHL.

It should not surprise anyone if they miss the playoffs.

I agree with you here. Nashville is probably the most catchable team in the Central. People are still hanging all over their bandwagon but if they went out in the first round nobody is talking about them. Especially after losing Neal. Not sure how winning a few games against a couple opponents in a tournament suddenly makes them some force to be reckoned with.

They only made the playoffs because the Kings choked so hard.

 

[member 262271]

It's possible, likely a WC spot. I certainly am pulling for 'em!