The Winnipeg Jets still believe they can win a Stanley Cup. That’s even with the potential trade of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck looming. Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff sounds like a man confident his team will bounce back. If you speak with people who cover the team, they will relay the same message: the way the players and management came off at the end of the season, they can be a competitive team next season.
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The problem is the Winnipeg Jets are further away from a Presidents’ Trophy-winning team and closer to a rebuilding team. There is a sense the Jets peaked in 2018 when they went to the Western Conference Final, losing to the Vegas Golden Knights. Some say it was 2021, when they lost to the Montreal Canadiens in four games.
Regardless, the Winnipeg Jets need to get younger, and they need a rebuild or retool to move forward, as Jim Biringer of NHLRumors.com and Full Press NHL explained when he joined TSN Radio in Montreal last Friday.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Host: “So now, looking at the Winnipeg Jets, what does this do for them? I can’t even say former team yet, but what does it do for his team if he’s actually going to go on the move? Is this team looking to go on a full rebuild now?”
Jim Biringer: “Well, look, I think the Winnipeg Jets need to start looking at rebuilding and retooling this roster. He was promised to be a contending team every year, a competitive team, be in the playoffs. Unfortunately, this team isn’t it. They don’t have the assets to trade. They don’t have the draft picks. They don’t have the players coming up.
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So they have to rebuild. They have to get younger. They have to develop their picks. And good on Winnipeg. Like, let’s be honest here. If you think about it, go back to that deal with Buffalo. Why would they give up the eighth overall pick too when they’re trading Connor Hellebuyck? I get Buffalo wants a first-round pick, but if I’m trading a goalie of that calibre, I need two first-round picks, included here.
Now, the next caveat is: what else happens in Winnipeg? If Connor Hellebuyck goes, where does Mark Scheifele end up? Where does Kyle Connor end up? Josh Morrissey? The list goes on and on of guys who may not stay in Winnipeg. It’s unfortunate because the Jets had a good team. They probably peaked already.”
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The direction and future of the Winnipeg Jets will be determined by the return Cheveldayoff gets for Connor Hellebuyck. If Cheveldayoff gets players who can help the roster now and keep it competitive, then maybe there isn’t a mass exodus; but if it is just futures, which is needed, others could want out.
However, it was clear that Cheveldayoff made promises to players he shouldn’t have, and now he finds himself in a jam trying to keep the Winnipeg Jets from being grounded.
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