Not many hockey fans expected the Winnipeg Jets to look like a bona fide Stanley Cup contender at this point in the 2023-24 season.
The Jets are one of the top-ranked teams in the Central Division. They just traded their first-round pick for Sean Monahan. Connor Hellebuyck looks like a top-tier Vezina candidate.
Things are looking really good in Winnipeg. And as Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discussed on Wednesday’s edition of the Daily Faceoff Live show, the Jets are one of the best feel-good stories in the league on this Valentine’s Day …
Tyler Yaremchuk: In the summer, it looked like they were heading towards a potential teardown, but then, kind of out of nowhere it felt like, Hellebuyck and Scheifele both come back and now they’re off to this incredible start. Rick Bowness has had them playing fantastic hockey all season and I just love that Kevin Cheveldayoff sat there and said, ‘You know what? Hellebuyck, Scheifele, you committed to us, so we’re going to commit to giving you a legitimate chance to win.’ He goes and trades the first-round pick, gets Sean Monahan, adds an impact forward to this lineup. It was a piece that, a month before the trade, we were talking about how, ‘Man, if this Jets team can just get a centerman into the mix here, their forward group would fit so much nicer.’ Selfishly, I also love this because I kind of like seeing Canadian teams in the playoffs, and I like Winnipeg especially — when that fanbase can get going and they’re partying on the streets at Portage and Main, it’s fun to see the Jets doing well and to see a fanbase like that get rewarded.
Frank Seravalli: They still need Sean Monahan to step up and help that power play. It’s 26th in the league, that’s one thing that stands out. They’ve scored a lot less than some non-playoff teams, so they need to get their offense in gear. They can defend like anyone’s business but they need to score more.
Watch the full episode here:
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