The anguish that players, management and fans alike felt when the Winnipeg Jets’ season ended last weekend is still palpable. You could hear it in the voices we’ve heard this week as everyone tries to summarize this season: the highs, the lows, the painful.
The messages delivered could have been given in unison. “The foundation is strong,” “learning how to win,” “belief in the group.” They were delivered with sincerity, passion and professionalism. It will take time to fully reflect on a great regular season, and a playoff that fell well short of expectations.
On reflection, how can you not smile on Connor Hellebuyck’s season — and Josh Morrissey’s and Kyle Connor’s? The growth we witnessed in Dylan Samberg, Cole Perfetti and Morgan Barron gives everyone hope.
The challenge now for everyone is to understand that, as good a season in Winnipeg as we’ve just witnessed, it did fall short. And with that, change must come. And don’t panic, we aren’t talking about major change, but something has to be different.
The lines that we have grown to recite, like Adam Lowry with Nino Niederreiter and Mason Appleton, might not be intact next season. Nik Ehlers might not wear a Jets sweater next season. That roster that many of us dubbed the deepest in the NHL surely will change. It has to change if this team wants to get to a conference final and eventually win the Stanley Cup. Going into next season with the exact same roster would be a mistake. General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff knows that. And the fanbase knows it too.
The Jets have grown into a very good team. With growth comes progress — and with progress comes change. Those are the facts in the National Hockey League.
