Team: 2023-24 Winnipeg Jets

Initial Creation Date: Jul. 22, 2023

Published: Jul. 22, 2023

LTIR Enabled: Yes

Season Days: 186

Days Remaining: 185

Season Remaining: 99%

Projected Cap Hit Prior To Days Remaining : $79,720,357

*TAXI SQUAD SHOWS PLAYERS WHO WILL BOUNCE BETWEEN THE JETS AND MOOSE*

This is my prediction on what the Winnipeg Jets will look like on opening night.

The feel around the organization is that this is a very deep team that management feels confident can compete for a playoff spot. The Winnipeg Jets are currently undergoing the biggest season ticket push since the team returned and fans will want to be sold on a team that isn't explicitly rebuilding. I say this to put a stop to any rumours that Hellebuyck, Scheifele, or Dillon will be moved before the season. The conversations will be happening but unless Chevy gets an offer he simply cannot refuse, the Jets will hold until the deadline and reassess depending on their position in the standings.

I still think the Jets need maybe one more C for depth purposes but the market isn't the strongest on that front unless you are looking into a veteran like Brassard or Stastny. I believe Saku will resign if the organization believes they need wing coverage as Bowness is a big fan of his game. My dream signing would be Winnipeg's own Jonathan Toews, however it looks like he will retire. My prediction is we will most likely pick up a C on waivers at some point if needed.

I feel pretty confident in this Jets team to make a wildcard spot as the central is one of the weakest divisions in all of hockey and the Jets have a very deep, talented team. Kyle Connor will most likely have a bounce back year after being snake bit for the first few months of last season. Morrissey will regress slightly but as long as Bowness is there, he will have all the license in the world to continue playing more offensive. Hellebuyck will be playing for a massive raise next summer (most likely from Detroit) and Scheifele found a new wrinkle to his game last season with a consistent elite one-timer on the powerplay. His low assist numbers last season were mainly attributed to 1: His change in role, 2: Kyle Connor not scoring as many goals, and 3: Constant shuffling of lines at 5v5. I think he showed last season he is a much better right-shot LW towards the end of the year than as a pure C as his defensive game can be inconsistent at best. However, with the Jets lack of star C's, Scheifs will continue in the middle. Ehlers and Namestnikov enjoy playing together and have great chemistry so we will try to keep them together as much as possible. Cole Perfetti will hopefully have a chance to make a more significant impact this year after injuries stunted him last season. Gabe Vilardi will see minutes at both C and on the RW and I wouldn't be surprised to see Perfetti bumped up to the 1st line RW and Vilardi dropping back into the 2nd line C role. Iafallo, Lowry, Nino is an excellent 3rd line and our 4th line of Barron, Kupari, Appleton is one with 3 players of exceptional skating and two-way play. A very tough line to play against.

All in all, I am incredibly excited for the 2023/24 NHL season as this is a make or break year for Winnipeg. There have been many moves with lots more to come depending on how well the group performs. I predict we are in 3rd/4th in the Central Division by the time the Trade Deadline roles around and we hold onto Scheifele and Hellebuyck for an all or nothing playoff push (Where we end up losing to the Oilers in the Conference Finals.) However it is also in the realm of possibility we are on the outside looking in and we decide to cut our loses and sell all expiring talent who don't want to commit to a 1-2 year retool.

Thank you for reading and let me know what you think below. GO JETS GO!

*Trades are just placeholders to attract more people to this post. The game is the game I don't make the rules.*

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