Brightest Timeline, Darkest Timeline: Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets enter the 2018-19 season as one of the league’s top Stanley Cup favourites, and rightly so. The club is absolutely loaded with talent top to bottom, everyone is in their primes, and there’s a lot of continuity here after a justifiably quiet offseason.
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Even a team as a strong as the Jets is susceptible to the winds of fate though, so here’s a look at the two most extreme — but at least somewhat plausible — divergent timelines for how this year in Winnipeg might go.
Brightest Timeline
Firstly, the win the Cup. The Jets are one of a relatively few teams that can dream on winning it all without feeling like they’re being absurdly optimistic.
More specifically, though, a best-case scenario Jets team would absolutely fill its opponents’ nets with rubber. Mark Scheifele stays healthy and renews his extraordinarily profitable union with Blake Wheeler and Kyle Connor. Patrik Laine finds another level with increased ice time.
It wouldn’t just be a matter of scoring goals. In this world, Connor Hellebuyck would have himself a Vezina-calibre season, something he’s certainly talented enough to do. Josh Morrissey makes everyone forget any contract negotiation nastiness with a career years. Dustin Byfuglien and Logan Stanley form an intimidating duo that would lead to a legion of “Two Towers”-related photoshops and longform stories.
Jacob Trouba falls in the love with the city of Winnipeg, or failing that, with someone who is committed to living to live in Winnipeg for the long haul. His newfound life satisfaction translates to even better production on the ice and he goes from shutdown defender with a touch of offensive flair to all-around Victor Hedman-esque beast.
Equally importantly, the Jets’ rivals crumble around them. Jake Allen finds a way to sink the Blues. The Predators fall into a funk that has the most idiotic members of the media question if Lindsey Vonn is a “distraction”. Nathan McKinnon comes back to earth, bringing Colorado with him. The Stars still can’t keep the puck out of their net. The Blackhawks stay washed and the Wild stay their mediocre course.
Over in the Pacific Division Erik Karlsson and Brett Burns grapple for ice time and facial hair drama kills the Sharks. The Vegas flu gets cured and none of the Canadian clubs make any noise. Because someone has to win some guys let’s say that Ducks surprise and do well, but they aren’t a threat anyway.
The Jets cruise through the West and face a plucky Eastern underdog who took out the heavyweights for them. Let’s say the Florida Panthers. They win in five games on the strength of their generation sniper who wins the Conn Smythe. Seems like a formula that’s worked before…..
Darkest Timeline
It’s tempting to just ponder injuries here, but that’s a rather boring way to go. Let’s say that Scheifele gets an incurable case of migraines from watching too much hockey and Byfuglien gets debilitating frostbite on both his feet from an ice fishing incident. That puts the Jets in a hole.
Hellebuyck and Wheeler get complacent having earned their extensions and both have career-worst seasons, crippling the Jets’ production from the top of their lineup and their last line of defence. Hellebuyck’s save percentage falls to .905 and Wheeler looks more like he did with the Bruins almost a decade ago.
With Scheifele out and Wheeler ailing, Kyle Connor isn’t able to carry the top line and falls into an epic sophomore slump. His shooting percentage falls from 16.1 down to eight percent and his goal total enters the teens.
Laine, the man who would most logically pickup the slack, can’t as the weight he lost during the offseason makes his formally heavy shot far less devastating. His one-timers become toothless and so too does Winnipeg’s power play.
Stanley and Myers prove to be absolute pylons on defence and Trouba’s lingering life dissatisfaction begins to eat away at him. As the Jets records continues to plunge he begins to noticeably avoid contact, saving his body in order to preserve his chances of a big free agent deal elsewhere.
At approximately midseason Paul Maurice fulfills his destiny as a guy that everyone agrees is a good coach who gets fired anyway.
Meanwhile the Predators remain healthy and dangerous, the Blues take the next step, and the Avalanche overachieve and the Blackhawks bounce back. Suddenly Winnipeg finds itself buried in a division of death and lacking parts to sell at the deadline outside of Trouba and perhaps Morrissey. After looking like the best Canadian team in the league, Winnipeg ends up with a better record than just the Senators and the Canucks.
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