WINNIPEG — Despite a remarkable final run, the Winnipeg Jets once again end their season short. For the fifth time in six years, the team will miss the playoffs.
“You want to be playing,” Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said. “You want to be looking at your next opponent. That’s what you set out to go for.”
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With a rookie filled roster, the Jets knew there would be growing pains this season. But where it ached the most was between the posts. Winnipeg allowed 255 goals – the fourth most in the league.
“Our goaltending has to get better incrementally like every other piece of our game,” Jets head coach Paul Maurice said. “They need to get a handful of percentage points better.”
Change will most likely be coming in the crease with Ondrej Pavelec becoming an unrestricted free agent this summer. Even though Connor Hellebuyck started the bulk of the games this season, the Jets’ brass won’t commit to him being the team’s top goalie just yet.
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“There’s an opportunity in this organization for someone to emerge as the number one,” Cheveldayoff said. “We will look at a lot of different scenarios to move with either a veteran or young guy.”
Cheveldayoff won’t have just free agency and the entry draft to worry about this off-season but also the expansion draft. Cheveldayoff didn’t reveal which player protection option he would like to use but did say he isn’t against asking a player to waive his no movement clause.
“It could lead to some changes but hopefully for us, we’ll find that right mixture we’re comfortable with,” Cheveldayoff said.
Teams must submit their protections lists by June 17. The NHL will unveil which players the Las Vegas Golden Knights chose on June 21.
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