- Winnipeg went 35-35-12 a year after winning the Presidents’ Trophy
- Cole Perfetti says one down season does not define the group
- Read below for Cheveldayoff on the offseason and where Hellebuyck stands
Winnipeg is not buying the idea that last season was the start of a slide.
Cole Perfetti was asked about the Jets getting back to where they were, and he pointed straight at what the group did two seasons ago.
“This (past) year wasn’t how we really planned on the ice, but if you rewind two years ago, we were the best team throughout the regular season and everyone was playing really well. That’s the kind of group I know we have and we all believe in, and we know what we can accomplish. One down year does not define who we are as a group.”
A 35-35-12 record left the Jets seventh in the Central, per NHL.com. That came one year after a 116-point Presidents’ Trophy season.
It was their first missed playoff spring since 2021-22 and only their second in nine years.
Nobody in the Central made it easy. Colorado (121 points), Dallas (112), Minnesota (104) and Utah (92) all got in ahead of them.
Perfetti signed a five-year, $30 million extension on July 15 and is one of the players Winnipeg needs to take another step:
General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff came out of exit meetings with a list of guys who know they were off.
“There are lots of guys, when you talked to them after their exit meetings, they had some down years and are looking forward to try and get back to the level that they were at before. Whether it was injury-wise or whatever reason, those are the things you are looking for come September.”
Free agency brought four new names: goalie Stuart Skinner, defensemen Mario Ferraro and Henry Thrun, and forward Noah Gregor.
Darren Dreger had the Skinner terms the day the market opened:
Cheveldayoff framed the whole haul as a speed upgrade. “We were looking to make changes; we were looking to get faster,” he said.
Jonathan Toews is gone too. The Winnipeg native retired on June 19 after one season at home, finishing with 29 points in 82 games.
Eric Comrie left for San Jose, while Gustav Nyquist and Colin Miller are not coming back either.
The Connor Hellebuyck question is still sitting on the doorstep. He made his trade request public on Aug. 27 with five years left on his contract, and Cheveldayoff has said the Jets will listen.
Camp opens in two weeks with Hellebuyck still a Jet and Mark Scheifele coming off a 103-point season. Perfetti’s group gets to prove the 82-point year was the outlier.
