After reaching the second round of the playoffs in 2021, the Winnipeg Jets' 2021-22 season didn't go as planned. With a record of just 39-32-11, the Jets fell short of the postseason, finishing sixth in the Central Division and 11th in the Western Conference overall.
The Jets' .543 points percentage marked their worst season in five years. Winnipeg had reached the postseason in three of the last four years (with their only miss coming in a qualifying round loss to the Calgary Flames in 2020) and had also advanced past the first round twice.
The Jets had also made efforts to improve last offseason, adding both Brenden Dillon and Nate Schmidt to their blue line, giving up three good draft picks in the process. It's clear they were willing to move future assets to put a greater emphasis on competing now but unfortunately, it didn't work out as planned. Head coach Paul Maurice also made the surprising decision to leave the team after nearly eight years as Winnipeg's head coach and interim head coach Dave Lowry couldn't manage to get the Jets where they needed to be.
The team's goaltending was decent, though not spectacular, with Connor Hellebuyck posting a .910 save percentage while taking on a huge workload this season. Regardless, you can't say goaltending has been the issue for Winnipeg.
Winnipeg's top forwards were producing, with Kyle Connor scoring 47 goals and 93 points this season. Mark Scheifele also posted above point-per-game numbers, while Pierre-Luc Dubois found his groove with the Jets, scoring 28 goals and 60 points.
Blake Wheeler also produced as expected, at a pace of 76 points per 82 games, while Nikolaj Ehlers managed 28 goals and 55 points in 62 games, a pace of 37 goals and 73 points per 82. That said, both Ehlers and Wheeler missed a lot of time, with the two absent for a combined total of 37 games this season.
As for team stats, the Jets were middle-of-the-pack 0r just below in most categories. They were tied for 16th in the league in goals for, allowed the 13th-most goals against, and ranked 17th on the power play. However, while they did generate the 12th-most shots per game in the league, they were also tied for the seventh-highest shots against per game and also had a penalty kill that was tied for fourth-worst in the NHL, operating at only 75 per cent.
Another issue is that a lack of depth scoring was exposed for the Jets, as after the five forwards mentioned above, along with Paul Stastny and formerly Andrew Copp, production from the rest of the forward group was very limited. Aside from those players, not a single forward who played at least 20 games with the Jets this season even produced at a rate of 25 points per 82 games.
Other Central Division teams like the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues have surpassed the Jets at this point, while the Colorado Avalanche are pretty much in a world of their own in the Western Conference. That said, falling behind the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators this season is certainly a step in the wrong direction and on paper, Winnipeg should probably be in a much better spot.
As a result of the Jets not able to contend for the postseason, pending unrestricted free agent Andrew Copp was moved to the New York Rangers at the trade deadline for future assets, which was a hit to the team's forward depth. Copp was only 27 years old and had been a key forward for Winnipeg who had upped his offensive output over the last few seasons. Additionally, Mark Scheifele's end-of-season interview only raised doubts about his future with the Jets and whether he's intent on remaining with the team.
The question will now shift to where the Jets go from here. With a strong group of top forwards and a great netminder at their disposal, Winnipeg is too strong to not try to get back in the playoff race next season. They have a relatively solid and well-rounded defense group as well and with a lot of their top players in their mid-to-late 20s – arguably the prime of their career – now is the time to compete.
However, there could be some changes this offseason and the team will also search for a new head coach. The Jets do have some cap space but Pierre-Luc Dubois is still in need of a new contract, while Paul Stastny is a pending unrestricted free agent. If Scheifele is gone, it would make for a huge shift and it wouldn't be easy for the team to find a replacement of similar value at such a reasonable cap hit. The team still has a lot of quality pieces at its core, but it's a matter of whether they're able to build around them to become a contender.
Regardless, for a team with as much talent as the Jets, it was an extremely underwhelming year.
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