The Winnipeg Jets were only able to make it to the halfway mark of the goal they set out to achieve when their post-season run ended in Game 6 at Dallas.
And that means there is still much work to be done to take those very difficult next steps.
The team that was the NHL‘s best in the regular season when it came to keeping the puck out of the net, executing on the power play, goals for and against differential, and winning on the road.
There are quite a few more items to add to that list. But in the playoffs, the Jets were well down the pecking order in all of those categories.
And when the clock struck 12 on Saturday night at American Airlines Center, in the most unfair and heartbreaking of ways — with the incredibly courageous Mark Scheifele in the penalty box — it was the final piece of evidence pointing to the Stanley Cup tournament being about as different from the 82-game marathon as the way in which Round 1 and Round 2 ended for Winnipeg.
The joy and elation following what is now known as “The Manitoba Miracle” compared with the agony and pain of what might be referred to as “The Devastation in Dallas.”
The hockey gods aren’t always fair. The game doesn’t always love you back.
Those will be important reminders for the Jets going into an off-season that will be, to a lesser degree, different from the one 12 months ago.
The anger and embarrassment coming out of the 2024 Colorado catastrophe will likely be replaced by resolve and determination.
And that will be a necessary requirement, because the Central Division figures to be even more competitive in 2025-26.
And a repeat of the success Winnipeg achieved this past season does not come with an iron-clad guarantee.
This franchise has reconnected with the fan base. Jets Nation is all in. That should also be part of the motivation equation to remain committed to improving by another five to 10 per cent.
