Have the Winnipeg Jets Confused Their Fans?

The Winnipeg Jets have a problem that doesn't show up in the standings. Actually, it does show up in the standings. But that's not really the biggest problem.

The bigger problem is that the Jets appear to have lost the benefit of the doubt. A year ago, Winnipeg had won the Presidents' Trophy and looked like one of the better stories in the NHL. Now the team has fallen all the way to 26th in the NHL's front-office confidence rankings, the biggest year-over-year drop of any team. That's quite a change in 12 months.

The Jets Don't Seem to Know What They Want to Be.

The criticism from Jets fans isn't simply that the team has struggled. It's that nobody seems quite sure what the plan is anymore. That's a dangerous place for an organization to be. If Winnipeg wants to rebuild, then rebuild. Move some veterans. Give the young players real opportunities. Accept that there will be some ugly nights and use them to figure out what you have.

If the Jets believe they can still contend, then build a team that can actually contend. Add the missing pieces and stop pretending that a few minor changes will solve everything. Instead, Winnipeg seems stuck somewhere in between.

That makes it difficult for fans to trust the decisions being made. It also makes it harder for young players to find a clear path into the lineup. If the organization is always trying to win right now, where does that leave the prospect who needs 20 or 30 NHL games to figure things out?

Maybe that's part of why the criticism of drafting and development has grown louder.

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Sometimes You Have to Admit the Window Has Changed.

The Jets deserve some credit for moving on from Logan Stanley and adding Mario Ferraro. But those moves don't answer the bigger question. What exactly are the Jets building?

That question has become more complicated because some of the things that made Winnipeg successful are no longer guaranteed. A former star is now playing an important role on a Stanley Cup winner somewhere else, while the future of Connor Hellebuyck has become increasingly uncertain. In fact, keeping Hellebuyck might be one reason the Jets are willing to stay in the mushy middle of the pack.

At some point, however, Kevin Cheveldayoff has to decide whether the Jets are trying to squeeze one more run out of this group or whether it's time to start building the next one.

That's the part that should worry Jets fans.

It's not that Winnipeg has suddenly forgotten how to play hockey. It's that the organization seems reluctant to admit that the situation has changed. And sometimes the hardest move for an NHL general manager isn't making a trade. It's admitting that the plan you had two years ago isn't the plan you need today.

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