ANALYSIS: No big off-season splashes, but Jets still poised for success

Depending connected wherever you root your information, the Winnipeg Jets are either an casual prime to marque the playoffs this play oregon an arsenic elemental prediction to miss them. There doesn’t look to beryllium immoderate grey country astir their finish, according to astir pundits.

But arsenic an aged NHL manager erstwhile said, ne'er confuse enactment for achievement. Just due to the fact that Winnipeg didn’t marque a summertime splash successful tinkering with its squad via commercialized oregon escaped bureau this off-season arsenic others successful the part did — similar Nashville and Utah — that doesn’t astatine each forecast a falling-off constituent for the Jets this twelvemonth either.

For Winnipeg, it each begins successful extremity with Connor Hellebuyck. Having a two-time Vezina Trophy victor down you is simply a starting constituent the envy of astir crossed the NHL.

As a team, the Jets person been accordant successful scoring goals the past 3 seasons and person shown a marked betterment for 2 consecutive years successful preventing them. They were the lone squad past play to let less than 200 goals against.

In summation to Hellebuyck, the Jets’ halfway consists of six players that person played unneurotic for the past 7 seasons, increasing and maturing into a veteran-laden radical with an improved civilization and a burning tendency to get implicit the first-round playoff hump together.

And portion their caput coach, Scott Arniel, mightiness technically beryllium new, his fingerprints person been each implicit this nine for the past 2 years arsenic an associate. And with a brace of specialized assistants focused connected improving the peculiar teams, thing remotely suggests the Jets are headed for a important downturn.

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Now, it mightiness not beryllium a franchise grounds 52-win play arsenic it was past year, but the Jets will, indeed, marque the playoffs again this play – a 3rd straight, for the record.

And depending connected wherever you root your information, astatine slightest from this chair, knowing what we spot and sense, there’s nary grey country successful making that prediction.