After failing to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs the previous two two seasons, the Winnipeg Jets were on a mission last year, with young guns Mark Scheifele, Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers expected to lead the way.
The Jets finished second in the Western Conference and advanced to the conference final last spring before falling to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Montreal Canadiens Offseason Report Card
Blake Wheeler was a Hart Trophy candidate with a career-high 91 points; Laine finished second in the league with 44 goals; Kyle Connor emerged as one of the NHL’s best rookies; and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was a Vezina Trophy finalist after posting a 2.36 GAA and .924 save percentage.
In short, the Jets became one of the league’s most-exciting – and successful – teams in 2017-18, with as bright a future as any organization, second in NHL scoring averaging 3.3 goals per game, while also allowing only 2.6 goals per contest.
Jets Offseason Goals
Heading into the offseason, Winnipeg had several players up for contract extensions, most notably Hellebuyck and defenceman Jacob Trouba, as well as Brandon Tanev, Adam Lowry and more. In addition, the Jets needed to decide on the future of late-season acquisition Paul Stastny, while managing its future salary cap with Wheeler and Laine due major raises following the upcoming 2018-19 campaign.
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But overall, the to-do list was light, considering Winnipeg’s depth within the system and players like Nic Petan and Jake Roslovic expected to make the jump this coming season.
Jets Offseason Additions
Laurent Brossoit, Dennis Everberg, Seth Griffith and Simon Bourque.
Jets Offseason Departures
Paul Stastny, Joel Armia, Steve Mason, Michael Hutchinson, Toby Enstrom, Shawn Matthias and Matt Hendricks.
Jets Free Agency/Trades
The Jets signed Hellebuyck to a six-year, $37 million contract, making him the league’s sixth highest-paid netminder following his breakout season last year. They also managed to extend Trouba for one more year, even though the goal was to lock him up to a long-term deal.
In addition, to clear up cap space for a potential Stastny extension, the Jets shipped out bottom-6 forward Joel Armia and goaltender Steve Mason, as well as a couple of draft picks to Montreal in exchange for defensive prospect Simon Bourque. However, a Stastny deal did not get done, though the Jets still added more depth on defence and took serious money off the books.
With Mason gone, the Jets signed goaltender Laurent Brossoit as the new backup to Hellebuyck at a fraction of what Mason was being paid. They also brought in Dennis Everberg and Seth Griffith to add depth on the forward lines, especially after letting go a handful of bottom-6 forwards.
Jets 2018 Draft
Winnipeg surrendered its 2018 first-round pick in the Stastny trade last year, but the Jets selected solid potential prospects in the draft. In the second round, they chose David Gustafsson, a versatile forward who scored five goals and 12 points in 32 games with the HV71 J20 of SuperElit this past season, and also won a bronze metal playing with Sweden at the U18 World Championship, where he recorded four points in five games.
The Jets also got another top forward in Nathan Smith, who registered a team-leading 17 goals and 47 points in 51 games for the USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and is set to make the jump to the NCAA next season with Minnesota State.
Winnipeg rounded out the draft with defencemen Declan Chisholm and Giovanni Vallati, as well as goaltender Jared Moe and forward Austin Wong.
Jets Offseason Grade - B
For the most part, the Jets got done what they needed to get done. They held onto their big-name players in Trouba and Hellebuyck. However, they failed to lock up Trouba, a strong right-handed puck-moving defenceman, while they also failed to sign Stastny.
The Jets let veteran defenseman Toby Enstrom leave and lost a handful of bottom-6 players, but they have enough depth throughout the system to take over those roles. Petan and Roslovic are set to fill out the bottom-6, while offseason additions Dennis Everberg and Seth Griffith can also potentially compete for roster spots with other prospects in the system.