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Winnipeg Jets: 5 burning questions for 2018-19 season

By Bruin Belisle

WINNIPEG, MB - MAY 12: Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck #37 and Dustin Byfuglien #33 of the Winnipeg Jets celebrate following a 4-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game One of the Western Conference Final during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell MTS Place on May 12, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Jets lead the series 1-0. (Photo by Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images)
WINNIPEG, MB - MAY 12: Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck #37 and Dustin Byfuglien #33 of the Winnipeg Jets celebrate following a 4-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game One of the Western Conference Final during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell MTS Place on May 12, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Jets lead the series 1-0. (Photo by Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The Winnipeg Jets were a wingspan away from the Stanley Cup final last season but they ran out of fuel after an incredible Western Conference semifinal with the Nashville Predators. Here are 5 burning questions for the Winnipeg Jets going into the 2018-19 season.

The Winnipeg Jets should be proud of what they accomplished last season. They were far and away Canada’s best team and they came within a stones throw of the Stanley Cup Final. The team is returning most of the same players and they’ll look to go further this upcoming year.

The Jets boast a young, high-powered offense, a strong defensive core and a Vezina Trophy-caliber goaltender who is probably not even at his prime yet. Connor Hellebuyck is only 25 years old. By NHL goaltender standards, he’s basically an infant.

The road to the Cup won’t be easy for the Jets. They’ll likely face stiff competition in both the Golden Knights and the Predators and a group of teams below them that are vying to get back into the spotlight.

The Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks are poised for bounce-back seasons, while the St. Louis Blues are cleaning up in free agency and adding key pieces to their already decent team. Still, front-to-back, the Winnipeg Jets have one of (if not the) the most talented rosters in the NHL.

Here are the five burning questions they must answer if they want to improve upon last season.

WINNIPEG, MB – DECEMBER 27: Edmonton Oilers Defenceman Andrej Sekera (2) and Winnipeg Jets Defenceman Ben Chiarot (7) fight for space during a NHL game between the Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers on December 27, 2017 at Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, MB. The Jets defeated the Oilers 4-3.(Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
WINNIPEG, MB – DECEMBER 27: Edmonton Oilers Defenceman Andrej Sekera (2) and Winnipeg Jets Defenceman Ben Chiarot (7) fight for space during a NHL game between the Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers on December 27, 2017 at Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, MB. The Jets defeated the Oilers 4-3.(Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

5. How do the Jets avoid becoming this season’s 2017 Edmonton Oilers?

The 2016-17 Edmonton Oilers had it all. They were a trendy pick to make the Stanley Cup Final, led by the best, most exciting player in the NHL. When they returned most of the same squad at the start of the 2017-18 season, most thought they were a lock to be a contender.

Not even close. The Oilers were terrible, finishing 36-40-6 with only three teams below them in the Western Conference. The Winnipeg Jets were arguably this season’s Oilers in that they became the trendy Canadian Stanley Cup pick. Now they have to avoid doing what the Oilers did last year.

Young players can get cocky when they start winning. The Oilers did. They have a team full of early-20-year-olds that are leading the pack and the feeling or mindset that “we’re a shoe-in” seemed to have caught up to them. Pat Maroon even confirmed this in a recent interview.

The Winnipeg Jets can avoid this situation by following behind their two leaders, Blake Wheeler and Dustin Byfuglien. These two have a combined 24 seasons and over 100 playoff games between them. If the talented young core of the Jets listens to their locker-room leaders, they won’t see a drop-off this year.

The nucleus of this team is young and very talented. Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers, Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, Jacob Trouba, Josh Morrissey and Connor Hellebuyck are all under 26 years old. The aforementioned veterans Wheeler and Byfuglien still have some good hockey in them.

As long as the Jets stay focused and stay hungry, they’ll be right back where they were last season with a little more gas in the tank to take it one step further.

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