Winnipeg Jets (Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/ef5d9b59-acb0-4d6e-835d-e2ba4e17d307.jpeg] Winnipeg Jets (Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images) The Winnipeg Jets have been one of the most impressive NHL teams in the 2024-25 regular season. Currently, they’re the Western Conference’s best team – and the second-best team in the league – with a record of 48-18-4. But there’s a nagging element to the Jets – and that’s their sub-par Stanley Cup playoff performances in recent memory. Since 2018-19, Winnipeg [http://thn.com/winnipeg] has won exactly one playoff round, and they have yet to win a single second-round series game in that span. Will Nikolaj Ehlers stay with the Winnipeg Jets in free agency? It should be clear, then, that there are skeptics with legitimate cause for concern that the Jets will be able to change that in the upcoming playoffs. Winnipeg is probably going to get a showdown against the second and final wild-card team in Round One, but they haven’t been perfect against any of their likely first-round opponents. For instance: the Jets are 2-1-0 against St. Louis [http://thn.com/stlouis] this season, with one of their two wins coming in a shootout. Winnipeg is 1-1-0 against the Vancouver Canucks [http://thn.com/vancouver] this year, 2-1-0 against the Calgary Flames [http://thn.com/calgary] and Winnipeg is 2-1-0 against Utah [http://thn.com/utah]. Clearly, the Jets have been a mortal group, and that could spell doom for them in the opening round. But here’s the bigger problem with Winnipeg’s playoff aspirations this spring – in the second round, they’re almost certainly going to be pitted against the mighty Dallas Stars [http://thn.com/dallas] or Colorado Avalanche [http://thn.com/colorado]. The Jets are 2-1-0 against Dallas this season, and they’re 3-1-0 against the Avalanche – although one of those wins against the Avs was a 1-0 shutout on Nov. 7, and another win against Colorado came in a 3-2 overtime win. But forget about the Jets’ regular-season record against Central Division teams. Instead, just bear in mind the fact that both Dallas and Colorado have made major roster improvements since their early-season games against Winnipeg. If the playoff series against the Stars or Avalanche began right now, do you think the Jets would be a heavy favorite to win it? Or any kind of favorite, for that matter? No, we’re betting Winnipeg would be an underdog against Dallas or Colorado. And that’s because their performance in the post-season with their same core of talent simply hasn’t been up to snuff. This isn’t to say the Jets absolutely aren’t going to shake off the demons of the past and figure out a way to go on a deep playoff run. Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff doubled down on his roster last summer, and at this year’s NHL trade deadline, he added only a bottom-six forward in Brandon Tanev [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/seattle-kraken/latest-news/kraken-trade-brandon-tanev-to-the-jets-for-a-second-round-pick] and a third-pairing defenseman in Luke Schenn [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/winnipeg-jets/latest-news/winnipeg-jets-acquire-luke-schenn-from-pittsburgh]. And we agreed with Cheveldayoff’s minor tinkering; the Jets have been so dominant that they didn’t need drastic changes to the lineup. Still, that nagging element is going to be there with Winnipeg until they show they’re a different group than the disappointing team that was flushed out with ease in recent years. Remember, in the past two post-seasons, the Jets couldn’t even put up an admirable fight in the first round, winning just one game against Vegas two years ago, and winning only a single game last year against Colorado. Winnipeg’s defeats were quick and painful, and we’re still unsure whether anything is going to be different in that regard this time around. Being an excellent regular-season team has its benefits. The Jets are going to have home-ice advantage as long as they’re alive in the Western Conference playoffs. And Winnipeg’s 25–5-4 home record will be something to draw on as the Jets try to get at least as far as the Western Conference final. Nevertheless, Winnipeg could once again falter early on in this year’s playoffs. And if they do, Cheveldayoff will no longer have any reason to keep coming back with the same core year after year. And massive changes will be in order if they let down their fans yet again. It’s the Western Conference final or bust for this Jets team. They’re either going to make people forget about their sub-par past or underscore it as they fizzle out and the biggest fears of their fan base and management become reality. Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
