Last Word on Hockey’s Puck Drop Previews are back for the 2024-25 season! As the regular season approaches, Last Word will preview each team’s current outlook and stories to watch for the upcoming year. We’ll also do our best to project how things will go for each team throughout the campaign. Today, we’re previewing the 2024-25 Winnipeg Jets.
2024-25 Winnipeg Jets
2023-24 Season
The Winnipeg Jets had an excellent 2023-24 regular season. So many members of the hockey community, specifically hockey fans, doubted the Jets, and many wrote them off. At some points during the season, the Jets lead the Central Division. They were ahead of giants like the Colorado Avalanche and the Dallas Stars. This was Winnipeg’s best finish in their division since the 2018-19 season. In that campaign, they finished second in the Central.
In this past season, the Jets didn’t have much offence, considering where they finished in the standings. Their leading scorer was Mark Scheifele with 72 points, and defenceman Josh Morrisey was right behind him with 69 points. While they finished 15th in the league in terms of goals for, they were the best defensive team in the NHL. They suffered the least goals in the league, and it’s easy to applaud defences for a feat like that. However, much of the credit needs to go to goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. He was awarded the Vezina Trophy as the best goaltender in the NHL. He finished the season with a .921 save percentage and averaged 2.39 GAA.
Despite having a successful regular season, they were very disappointing in the playoffs. Hellebuyck was the best goalie in the regular season, but he was not himself when it came to the postseason. In fact, the Jets as a whole were not themselves. The Avalanche defeated them in five games, and in all those games, the Avs scored five or more goals. It’s nearly impossible to win hockey games when giving up that many goals. Ironically, the Jets struggled defensively and in the net, considering their success in the regular season.
2024 Offseason
The Winnipeg Jets didn’t have an eventful offseason in terms of new additions. For the most part, it seems that general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff is comfortable with his team. However, in the summer, they made a few notable re-signings. In late June, the Jets extended defenceman Dylan DeMelo for four more years. Another piece of big business the Jets got done was re-signing Cole Perfetti. Perfetti’s entry-level contract expired, and he required a new deal as an RFA. After several months of negotiating, the two parties agreed on a bridge deal. The youngster now has a two-year deal at $3.25M. They also secured themselves a couple of goaltenders in Kaapo Kahkonen and Eric Comrie. Kahkonen was signed to a one-year deal, while Comrie was signed for two years.
Other than that, there weren’t any massive deals or moves that were made in the offseason. However, there was an interesting trade involving a one-for-one exchange of prospects. Winnipeg traded Rutger McGroarty, who wanted to move out of Manitoba’s capital, for Brayden Yager of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
One final but important note about the Jets’ offseason is they have a new head coach. Rick Bowness retired from coaching in the NHL after having one of the best seasons of his coaching career. This made way for new coach Scott Arniel, who doesn’t have much experience being a head coach in the NHL. He was the bench boss for two seasons, starting back in 2010 with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Lineup Projections
Forwards
Connor – Scheifele – Vilardi
Perfetti – Namestnikov – Ehlers
Niederreiter – Lowry – Appleton
Barron – Kupari – Iafallo
Top Six
The Jets’ top-six forward group isn’t as strong as other playoff-calibre teams in the league. However, make no mistake that they have some very skilled players up there. Kyle Connor is a six-time 30-goal scorer. He is one of the elite goalscorers in the NHL, with a lethal shot and great speed. A similar could be said about their first-line centre, Scheifele. There is also a pair of skilled forwards on the second line. Nikolaj Ehlers and Perfetti are both very underrated players in this league. They are both skilled and dangerous but aren’t nearly talked about enough. Ehlers have been involved in trade rumours over the last little while, so it’s important to keep that in mind going into this season. Vladislav Namestnikov currently holds that second-line centre spot, but don’t be surprised if Perfetti makes a transition to that position.
Bottom Six
Winnipeg’s bottom six might be one of the best across the NHL. Led by the captain, Adam Lowry, the Jets have a great mix of checking and scoring in the bottom half of their lineup. For instance, last season, Mason Appleton scored 36 points, Lowry put up 35 points, and Nino Niederreiter finished with 34 points. It’s also worth noting that Niederreiter got 18 goals, too. Not to mention, they have some great penalty killers on this side of the lineup. Lowry is among one of the best two-way centres in the league, as he finished in the top ten in Selke voting last season.
Don’t forget, down in the fourth line, the Jets are hiding Alex Iafallo. He’s a player that can play quite literally anywhere in the lineup. Iafallo is extremely versatile and can play either wing as well as the centre position. He also has the ability to play on any line. In his days with the Los Angeles Kings, he was a regular in the top six, averaging 18-19 minutes a game in some seasons. In 2019-2020, he scored 43 points in 70 games, proving he can keep up with the skilled guys and play a complementary role.
Defence
Morrissey – DeMelo
Samberg – Pionk
Fleury – Miller
Top Four
The defence is another thing about the Jets that, on paper, doesn’t look too threatening. However, this D-corps isn’t much different from the previous season. There is one hiccup to start the year, and that is Logan Stanley is on LTIR. The 26-year-old is expected to miss another 2-3 weeks after requiring surgery for his knee. In the meantime, Dylan Samberg will play as the fourth defenceman in this Jets backend. His projected partner for this season, Neal Pionk, has been a regular top-four D-man for the Jets. Ever since his arrival in Winnipeg in 2019, he’s averaged over 20 minutes per game and has always scored more than 30 points in a season. He used to be the quarterback of the top power-play unit. However, that role has been awarded to Josh Morrissey over the years.
Morrissey has flourished into a star in Winnipeg. With every new season, he seems to improve, and in the last two seasons, he really showed the league what he’s made of. In both those campaigns, he finished top 10 in Norris voting, fifth in the 2022-23 season. Morrissey will be looking to continue this string of elite production, and depending on how the start to his season goes, he could earn a spot at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.
Bottom Pair
The Jets’ bottom pair is a respectable one. Haydn Fleury, who is projected to feature on opening night, wouldn’t be in if Stanley wasn’t injured. Fleury is on a two-way deal and was probably supposed to start the year with the Manitoba Moose in the AHL this season. However, this is a great opportunity for the Jets defenceman to solidify himself as a regular in the lineup. For most of his career, his role is the sixth or seventh defenceman, but he has a chance here to impress a new coach.
As for Colin Miller, he’s a bit more proven at the NHL level than Fleury is. There shouldn’t be any concern with Miller’s play this season. He is an experienced veteran with over 500 appearances to his name across nine seasons. If he stays healthy, it should be expected for him to play out the full 82-game season unless someone earns his spot.
Goalies
Hellebuyck
Kahkonen/Comrie
There are no surprises or any doubt about who the starting goaltender is for the Winnipeg Jets. Hellebuyck is a proven goalie in this league, as he sets the bar for all other goaltenders. He’s coming off a Vezina-winning season, finishing the season with outstanding numbers. However, when it was time for the playoffs, he was nowhere to be found. Although the 31-year-old will be expected to have another great regular season, but will be required to maintain form for the postseason. That would be Winnipeg’s best chance at getting close to the Stanley Cup.
As for the backup goalie, there is a question mark. Not so much as to whether they have one to lean on, but rather who they should lean on. Right now, they have two extra goalies to their roster outside of Hellebuyck. Both Kahkonen and Eric Comrie will be competing to be the second goalie for the Jets this season. So far in preseason, Kahkonen has the edge, earning the only win the Jets have. However, Comrie has only featured in one game, while Kahkonen made two appearances.
Players to Watch
Kyle Connor
Last season, Connor suffered a severe knee injury. That injury kept him out for over a month and forced him to miss 17 games. A fully healthy Kyle Connor can easily put up more than 40 goals and has the potential to score 100 points. Especially now as he enters the prime of his career at the age of 27. Connor is an elite player who is very exciting to watch. Jets fans should have both their eyes locked on No. 81 this season.
Neal Pionk
Pionk is a very underrated and overlooked player in this league. He is a player that does a little bit of everything as a defenceman. He’s the most physical D-man on this team, and he mixes in offence to his game to make a great balance. He’s set to lead the second power-play unit from the blueline and will look to get in range of a career-high 25 power-play points. The undrafted defenceman is also in a contract year, so look for him to play with some extra motivation.
Some honourable mentions for players to watch this season would include Josh Morrissey and Cole Perfetti.
Prediction for the 2024-25 Jets
While this is a team that tends to perform and play well as a system and unit, this will be a tough season. They’ll be battling for a top-three position in the Central Division, competing against the Avalanche, Stars and the Nashville Predators. On top of that, there might be some wild card pushes from Utah Hockey Club and the Minnesota Wild. And with that challenge, they’ll be led by Arniel, who hasn’t been a head coach in the NHL for over a decade. It’ll be an interesting season for the Winnipeg Jets.
Prediction: 4th in Central Division, Wild Card.
Main Photo: Nick Wosika-Imagn Images
