Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Three questions facing Winnipeg Jets

Winnipeg Jets v Vegas Golden Knights - Game Four

LAS VEGAS, NV - MAY 18: Bryan Little #18, Mathieu Perreault #85 and Jack Roslovic #52 of the Winnipeg Jets celebrate a third-period goal by their teammate Tyler Myers (not pictured) #57 against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Four of the Western Conference Finals during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena on May 18, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Each day in the month of August we’ll be examining a different NHL team — from looking back at last season to discussing a player under pressure to focusing on a player coming off a breakthrough year to asking questions about the future. Today we look at the Winnipeg Jets.

Three questions for you to ponder regarding the 2018-19 Winnipeg Jets...

1. Who will replace Paul Stastny on the second line?

The Jets made one of the best deadline rentals in the NHL last year when they landed Paul Stastny from the St. Louis Blues, adding to an offense that was already one of the best in the league. Stastny made an immediate impact and proved to be a perfect fit on the team’s second line between young studs Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers. During the regular season and playoffs that trio outscored teams by a 24-12 margin at 5-on-5, while Stastny put together an incredible postseason individually with 15 points in the team’s 17 games. He turned that performance into a long-term contract with the Vegas Golden Knights in free agency, leaving a vacancy on the Jets’ second line.

It is probably expected that spot will once again be filled by Bryan Little, just as it was last season before the addition of Stastny.

That is going to put some pressure on Little because he is coming off of a down year and did not seem to be a great fit between Laine and Elhers (they performed much better alongside Stastny).

If not Little, another internal candidate could be 2015 first-round pick Jack Roslovic.

The 21-year-old Roslovic got his first real look in the NHL this past season, appearing in 31 games for the Jets, scoring five goals to go with nine assists. Expecting him to take over such a big role at this point may be expecting too much, but he certainly has potential and has been outstanding in the American Hockey League the past two years.

2. Will they be able to keep everybody?

The Jets have a significant chunk of their core signed long-term with Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers, Bryan Little, Mathieu Perreault, Dustin Byfuglien, and Connor Hellebuyck all signed for at least the next three years (Scheifele, Ehlers, Little, and Hellebuyck are signed for at least the next five), while some of them are signed to what can fairly be called “team-friendly” deals under the salary cap.

That is all very good.
[Jets Day: 2017-18 Review | Under Pressure | Breakthrough]

But they still have some big contract decisions coming over the next years as team captain Blake Wheeler, prized goal-scorer Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor, Tyler Myers, and Jacob Trouba are all due for new contracts after this season. Wheeler and Myers are set to become unrestricted free agents, while the others are all still restricted.

It is a given that Laine and Connor are going to get taken care of given their age, production, and potential.

The big questions are going to revolve around Wheeler and, most especially, Trouba.

Wheeler has been one of the league’s most productive -- and underrated -- wingers over the past six years and has become one of the Jets’ most valuable players. But he is also entering his age 32 season (he actually celebrates his 32nd birthday Today, on Jets’ day) and there is some risk with a long-term contract for a player at that age. He is still great now, but will he be when he is 35 or 36?

Then there is Trouba, one of the team’s best and most important defenseman whose contract saga has been a complicated one for years. It almost seems like a given that he is not going to be a member of the Jets for the long haul and the only question that remains is whether or not he gets traded before the trade deadline or in the offseason.

3. Will they make another run at the Stanley Cup Final?

After going nearly two decades in their existence without winning a single playoff game (and only making the playoffs twice) the Jets came almost out of nowhere last season to finish with the league’s second-best record (a 27-point improvement from the year before) and come within three games of reaching the Stanley Cup Final.

There is every reason to believe that the roster as presently constructed can continue to be a force in the Western Conference.

They are, for the most part, fairly young with a significant collection of their core all still in their peak years, they are incredibly talented (especially at forward) and should have the salary cap flexibility to make another significant splash in-season if they feel they can make a trade to help put them over the top.

The big question is going to be whether or not the goaltending holds out and performs the way it did this past season. If Hellebuyck can continue to be a legitimate No. 1 starting goaltender there is no reason why this team can not be a factor in the Western Conference.

Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.