LAST SEASON

The Jets plodded their way through a wholly unremarkable 2021-22 campaign that saw them finish sixth in the Central Division (and 11th in the Western Conference) with a 39-32-11 record and 89 points.

While they scored their fair share of goals, the Jets really struggled on the defensive side on the puck and didn’t do much to support Connor Hellebuyck between the pipes. The only two teams in the Central to allow more goals last year were Chicago and Arizona. Yikes.

Despite being peppered with shots and posting an inflated 2.97 goals-against average, Hellebuyck still managed to keep his save percentage at .910 — not incredible, but also far from awful. The 29-year-old netminder should still have a lot of good hockey ahead of him, although it remains to be seen how much more time he’ll be spending in Winnipeg.

NHL

Jets’ Mark Scheifele Under More Pressure After Blake Wheeler’s Demotion

The 2021-22 season also went down as the final year of Blake Wheeler’s tenure as Jets captain. The 36-year-old forward was stripped of the “C” earlier this month after six seasons donning the insignia. But the captaincy change was pretty much the most notable on-ice change the Jets made this off-season. Otherwise, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff elected to run it back with largely the same group.

Wheeler and Mark Scheifele are two highly talented forwards who struggled to hold up their end of the bargain in the defensive zone last season. With Rick Bowness, whose teams have notoriously been very stingy, now behind the bench in Winnipeg, some of the Jets’ top offensive stars could begin to develop a conscience in their own zone — and, after last year, the team badly needs them to.

 

KEY ADDITIONS & DEPARTURES

Additions

  • Sam Gagner, F
  • David Rittich, G
  • Kyle Capobianco, D
  • Kevin Stenlund, F

 

Departures

  • Paul Stastny, F (CAR)
  • Eric Comrie, G (BUF)
  • Evgeny Svechnikov, F (SJ)
  • Zach Sanford, F (NSH)
  • Nathan Beaulieu, D (ANA)

 

OFFENSE

The Jets have a ton of talented offensive players, even with veteran utility center Paul Stastny leaving for the Carolina Hurricanes over the summer. Kyle Connor is a 50-goal threat, Nikolaj Ehlers is an outstanding two-way winger, Pierre-Luc Dubois is a quality top-six center, and both Wheeler and Scheifele remain dangerous players inside their opponents’ blue line.

Noted concerns about their stars’ defensive contributions notwithstanding, the Jets also have to worry a little about what the future holds for some of their top forwards.