Jets earning a reputation around the league heading into big playoff year

WINNIPEG — In a year where they’ve exuded "Cup-or-bust" vibes — downplaying all the milestones throughout their Presidents' Trophy season — winning the William M. Jennings Trophy, for a second year in a row, hits different for these Winnipeg Jets. 

The defence-first system they’ve been building over the last few years? It reached a new level. 

And it’s not just because of their goalie, who is showered with "M — V — P" chants every night. That’s not to undermine the brilliance of Connor Hellebuyck, a shoo-in for the Vezina (and maybe even the Hart?) after leading the league in wins (47), goals-against average (2.00) and shutouts (eight).

But this team, as a whole, has evolved into a well-oiled machine, earning a reputation— similar to the likes of the Los Angeles Kings or Carolina Hurricanes — as an exhausting opponent. As a five-man unit, they give you little room to operate. 

“Our defending isn't just in our end of the rink,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said after Winnipeg’s 2-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks in their regular season finale on Wednesday. “It's when we don't have the puck. It's a part of our forecheck. It's a part of how we defend through the neutral zone.”

As a five-man unit, they give you little room to operate. 

“They're a very well-rounded team and they seem very bought in to the style of play that they're trying to play,” Ducks coach Greg Cronin said. 

That buy-in has been from top-to-bottom. 

Star players Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor aren’t chasing the game in the defensive zone anymore. Cole Perfetti has developed a knack for leveraging his hockey IQ to break up plays.

Josh Morrissey looks even better defensively than he already was. Same goes for Adam Lowry, who deserves some Selke love. And Dylan Samberg evolved into one of the league’s best shutdown defenders, too. 

“Our offence has actually even gotten better because of it,” Arniel said of his team, which finished tied for third in goals for per game (3.35). “I think the players recognize that, if you do the right things without the puck, you have it more on your stick and now you go do all of the fun things, and that's score goals."

Under former coach Rick Bowness, this team was still learning how to make these things second nature. This year, it’s all come together. 

“I don't think they have a weakness,” Cronin said. “I think they have the high-end talent to score goals, they have the goalie, they have size.”

And they’re not resting their laurels. 

“Stanley Cup, (and) we’ll be satisfied,” Jets defenceman Neal Pionk said.

Playoff Pionk

A lot of mud is slung at him in this market but if there’s one under-the-radar player poised for a stellar playoffs, it’s Pionk. 

Don’t let last year's post-season — which came during a season where he had to grieve the loss of his close friend, Adam Johnson — distract you from his track record. Over the course of the 2021 and 2023 playoffs, Pionk has recorded 11 points in 13 games and logged 26:30 minutes a night.

Sure, to the naked eye, maybe the Jets weren’t in dire straits over the last month, when Pionk missed nearly a month with a lower-body injury. But the Jets are far more lethal with him, than without him.

“You really notice he has an offensive side to him. You saw it tonight," Arniel said of Pionk's slapshot goal, which opened the scoring. "But he has an offensive side, much like Josh Morrissey. Those (things) are important because if we’re trying to create our offence, it has to come from everybody on the ice. It has to come from your back end as well. We’ve been harping on this for the last three years here, that the offence has to come from all five guys on the ice. If our D aren’t a part of that, it’s real easy to shut us down. When Neal is not there, that’s another weapon (missing) for us. Not only on the power play, but at five-on-five. He makes plays. Whether that’s passing the puck or getting that shot off, he has a really good offensive instinct that we miss when he’s not there.”