Sifting Through The Wreckage

Well, that ended quickly. For what seemed to Jets fans as a clear path to the Stanley Cup semifinal this season after both Toronto Maple Leafs and the Edmonton Oilers were sent home early, the Montreal Canadiens ended the Winnipeg Jets' hopes of being the North Division representatives in that semifinal showdown in very quick fashion with a series sweep that no one expected. As Montreal awaits the winner of the Colorado-Vegas series, the Jets will return to Winnipeg to clean out lockers, sit down for season-end evaluations, and plan their summer training with the hopes of being back next year.

It's very likely not everyone will be returning to this Jets team.

We shouldn't discount the efforts by the Montreal Canadiens in suffocating the Winnipeg Jets' offence at every turn. The Canadiens were the better team through all four games, in all 12-and-bit periods, throughout almost every shift in this series. The Jets had zero answer for the Staal-Perry-Armia line at any point, and the kids in Suzuki, Caufield, and Kotkaniemi showed why they belong in the NHL and not in the AHL when compared to some of the elder statesmen who filled out the Jets' roster.

Too long; didn't read? Congratulations to the Montreal Canadiens who deserved to advance to the Stanley Cup semifinal based upon their play in the North Division Final.

As we shift our focus back to the Jets after sending off the Canadiens with that fanfare, it should be apparent to everyone that changes are needed if this team is ever going to find its stride in an attempt to win a Stanley Cup. Hard decisions will have to be made on who gets exposed in the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft, who doesn't, and what can be done to keep assets without selling the farm. The NHL Entry Draft will pose a new challenge as the Jets will pick 17th-overall with the hopes of finding another superstar. And free agency will prove interesting as the Jets figure who can go, who they want to chase, and which players are leftover.

There should probably be a hard discussion about Paul Maurice and his coaching staff. While it's clear that the players like Maurice and the way he runs the team, the end results are largely inflated by having a Vezina-calibre goalie stopping pucks for him. If one were to take Connor Hellebuyck out of the mix for the Jets over the last three seasons, would we still be talking about Paul Maurice as the head coach of the Jets? How about when we talk about losing his top centerman in each of the last two playoff years and how woeful his team has looked in those two playoff losses to Calgary and Montreal?

Today, though, we let the dust settle on a season that filled everyone with hope, saw moments of despair, had a superstar traded away, a goaltender reclaim his status one of the league's best, and a playoff appearance that perhaps went longer than many expected, albeit not as long as we all hoped. There will be lots of time to tear this team and build it back up again, but the one piece of advice I hold onto before any major decisions are made is to sleep on it.

In saying that, I'm turning in early after tonight's game. There's a lot to work to do in the coming days, and that means a pile of new articles here on HBIC based on those articles. Come September, it's "[o]nce more unto the breach" as we settle in for another season of Winnipeg Jets hockey!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!