The first 10 months of 2019 weren’t particularly kind to the Winnipeg Jets.
The team ended last season with a disappointing first-round loss — albeit to a St. Louis Blues club that went on to win the Stanley Cup — saw three key members of its blue-line blow town in the summer and one more decide he didn’t want to return to the squad on the eve of training camp.
The Jets also had the shadow of two big contract negotiations hanging over the off-season and the start of training camp because they couldn’t come to terms with Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine. And even after both young guns returned to the fold late in camp, October was rough for the team as Winnipeg finished the first month of the season with a 6-7-0 record.
However, just when it looked like this year would be a complete write off, Winnipeg turned around its fortunes in November (posting a 10-3-1 mark) and will start 2020 in a relatively positive spot.
What awaits the Jets once the calendar flips to a new decade? Let’s toss out a few bold predictions.
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1. Connor Hellebuyck will win the Vezina Trophy
Though other goalies will have better numbers, the key to Hellebuyck’s case will be a league-leading total of games played and his ability to thwart high-danger chances.
Winnipeg’s defence — which lost Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot to trades and free agency last summer before Dustin Byfuglien opted to step away from the team in September — has been overwhelmed at times, leaving Hellebuyck to fend for himself. Thus far, he’s been more than up to the task and after finishing as Vezina runner-up in 2018, the trophy will be all his this time.
Right now, Hellebuyck is 17-10-3 with a 2.53 GAA and .924 SV, to go with an NHL-best three shutouts (in an NHL-high 31 appearances).
2. Last day, for all the marbles
The Jets’ final game of the season is in Arizona on April 4 and they’ll need at least a point versus the Coyotes to secure the final wild card berth in the West. Four Central Division teams — the Blues, Avs, Stars and Predators — will finish ahead of Winnipeg, leaving it up to the Jets to squeeze out a Canadian cousin like Edmonton or Calgary for that last post-season invitation.
3. Chevy trades his first … again
General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has moved his first-rounder at each of the past two trade deadlines (though he recouped one from the Rangers for Trouba before the 2019 NHL Draft). While ‘Chevy’ will stand pat at this year’s deadline, he’ll be forced to take action on the draft floor in Montreal to address the needs on the back end.
After returning for 20 games to close the year, Byfuglien will embark on a 12-month, four-continent fishing vacation, leaving Cheveldayoff — with no viable ability to attract top free agents — in a position where he must target a top-four defenceman on the trade market.
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