No. 1 JETS ARE 55-22-4 heading into final game wednesday
The Winnipeg Jets have won the President’s Trophy.
In 46 years of off and on NHL hockey in Winnipeg, it’s the first time the Jets have had a trophy to celebrate.
And while it doesn’t mean what the Stanley Cup means, it’s important in so many ways.
Sunday night at Canada Life Centre, the Jets (55-22-4) were beaten 4-1 by the visiting Edmonton Oilers in a game with limited checking and a pre-season vibe. It didn’t quite look like an All-Star game, but it sure had that no-hit feeling: The playoffs start Saturday, let’s make sure no one gets hurt.
Regardless, the Columbus Blue Jackets went into Washington and beat the Capitals for the second straight day, this time 4-1, and that was enough to guarantee that the President’s Trophy, the honour that goes to the team that was No. 1 during the 82-game regular season, will reside for one whole year in Winnipeg, Man., the smallest market in the National Hockey League.
Say what you will about the President’s Trophy – that it doesn’t really mean anything, that it’s a jinx, that it’s small comfort if you don’t win the Stanley Cup – it’s important for a franchise that hasn’t won jack squat in its two incarnations as an NHL franchise.
Jets 1.0 had a solid season in 1984-85, but the rest of it, at least from a team standpoint, was forgettable. Sure, Dale Hawerchuk and Teemu Selanne and the Pokey and the Bandit years were fun but as a team, the Jets couldn’t beat Wayne Gretzky’s Oilers and the rest of it was a yearly battle just to grab a playoff spot (only to eventually be kicked by Edmonton).
Jets 2.0 started with the lowly Atlanta Thrashers move to Winnipeg in 2011. After a great season in 2017-18, the new owners had to battle through COVID and all the economic hardship the pandemic carried with it. Ultimately, Mark Chipman’s hockey operations team, led by GM Kevin Cheveldayoff, built a team worthy of winning a historically significant NHL trophy. And regardless of what happens in the post-season, there is something to celebrate.
The President’s Trophy is meaningless to many, but it means something to me and it should mean something to people who purchase hockey tickets. Winning the President’s Trophy means the team you cheer for arrived at the rink every night ready to pit on a show. They worked hard, put together a superb home record and gave fans value for the dollar spent on tickets.
Hockey tickets are expensive and when a team struggles at home it becomes a questionable investment. It was getting that way in Winnipeg after COVID. Ticket sales were way down, and the franchise was struggling.
But this season, the Scott Arniel-coached Jets won 55-plus games and finished first overall. Every night, they worked hard. And sure, that 4-1 loss to Columbus, the 4-1 loss to Detroit and the 5-3 loss to Buffalo were hard to stomach, but hell, the Jets went into Sunday night’s game with a record of 29-6-4 at home. That’s impressive. And it’s a tribute to a team that cares about its fans and wants them to be happy with that big ticket investment.
And when someone suggests the President’s Trophy is a jinx in the Stanley Cup playoffs, that someone doesn’t know the facts. The President’s Trophy has been handed out 37 times and of the 37 winners, eight have gone on to win the Stanley Cup. Considering that 16 teams make the playoffs every year, eight winners in 37 chances gives the President’s Trophy winner the best odds of any team any year. If nothing else, the No. 1 seed has home ice advantage throughout the playoffs (if that means anything anymore).
Frankly, I can’t wait for a franchise that is on the no-trade list of 49 per cent of the players in the NHL, have its big party this spring. The guys on this Jets team deserve to go a long way in the Stanley Cup tournament.
Last night, the Jets sat most of their regulars as they prepare for the post-season to start on Saturday. That’s one of the reasons this matchup looked a lot like a pre-season game.
After a scoreless first period that shouldn’t have been scoreless – midway through the period, Winnipeg’s Nino Niederreiter was all alone in front of Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner, he brought Skinner to his knees and with a wide-open top half, backhanded it over the net – the Oilers opened the scoring at the 59 second mark of Period 2.
Connor Brown was left alone in front as the Jets gave up the puck at their own blueline to Connor McDavid. McDavid feathered a pass to Brown who faked out Eric Comrie, and Edmonton was up 1-0.
But the Jets tied it on the power play at 6:16 when Alex Iafallo banged home Mark Scheifele’s rebound. It was Iafallo’s 15th of the year and Scheifele’s 48th assist.
Adam Henrique scored a power play goal at 12:39, but it was actually a five-on-three. Henrique scored after a slap shot from close range by Evan Bouchard, hit Dylan Samberg on the foot. Samberg went down and lay on the ice in pain as the Oilers passed the puck around until Henrique was able to bat a bouncing puck out of the air and past Comrie. The injury to Samberg could be significant with the playoffs coming up. Samberg has been one of the Jets best defenceman all season.
Sadly, the injury never would have occurred if the officials hadn’t called a chintzy hooking penalty on Scheifele in the first place.
From this point forward, the Jets were no longer in the game. Edmonton came with a roster set to win while the Jets had one big line, a decent second line and a collection of Moose, Black Aces and fourth-liners. With the loss of Samberg, the Jets defence was down to Ville Heinola, Logan Stanley, Hayden Fleury, Colin Miller and Dylan DeMelo.
The Oilers had outshot the Jets 28-12 after two periods (18-5 in the second), but only led 2-1 as Comrie had been sensational at times.
In the third period, Corey Perry scored for Edmonton at 12:25 and the rest of the evening was devoted to getting out without any more injuries. Viktor Arvidsson tallied an empty-netter at 18:40, Edmonton outshot Winnipeg 39-18 and Eric Comrie, who played his career-high 20th game of the season, was clearly the best player on the ice.
When Anaheim comes to town on Wednesday (6:10 p.m. start), the local side should dress as many Manitoba Moose players as the league allows.
The Winnipeg Jets have done their regular season job. Winning the President’s Trophy is a big deal. Now, it’s time for some playoff hockey.
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