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The Winnipeg Jets are back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year. Winnipeg made the dance last season, but things did not go too well. The Jets lost to the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the postseason in 2024. In 2025, Connor Hellebuyck and company will look to bring a Stanley Cup north of the border for the first time since 1993.
Winnipeg has come close to the Stanley Cup once since their relocation from Atlanta in 2011. They made it to the Western Conference Finals in 2018. However, they could not go further than that. The Jets ran into a red-shot inaugural Vegas Golden Knights team and lost the series in five games.
Since then, the Jets have fallen short of even the West Final. In fact, they have made it past the first round just once since 2018. It's a brutal run of luck in the postseason. And it's something that's certainly going to weigh on their minds heading into this year's playoffs.
With the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs approaching, let's take a deeper look at the Jets. Things could go very well for Winnipeg, but they could also crash and burn spectacularly. Here are the dream and nightmare scenarios for the Jets in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Connor Hellebuyck beating playoff demons is Jets' dream
The Jets have the best goalie in the NHL in Connor Hellebuyck. The Commerce, Michigan native has established himself as the league's best over these last few seasons. And he is showing no signs of slowing down at this time.
Hellebuyck is certainly the favorite to win the Vezina Trophy in 2025. He has recorded a sparkling .924 save percentage and seven shutouts in 60 games for Winnipeg. To put his dominance in perspective, Hellebuyck leads goalies with a 7.7 WAR, according to Evolving Hockey. He is worth 2.2 wins more above replacement than the next player on the WAR leaderboard, Tampa Bay Lightning star Andrei Vasilevskiy.
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The Jets would love to see this version of Hellebuyck carry over to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. With him at his best, Winnipeg could certainly be unstoppable. In this dream scenario, Hellebuyck dominates the field as the Jets go on a deep run this postseason.
Jets' nightmare is a repeat of past Connor Hellebuyck failures
Hellebuyck is the best goalie in the league. However, there is a significant caveat to that statement. The Jets goalie seems to only be elite when playing in the regular season. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he plays like one of the worst goalies in the NHL.
Hellebuyck has had some success in the postseason, to be fair. In 2018, he posted a sparkling .922 save percentage in 17 games to help them make the West Finals. Since 2019-20, though, he has the third worst postseason Goals Saved Above Average in the entire league, according to Evolving Hockey. Only Stuart Skinner and Vitek Vanecek have saved fewer goals above average.
It's a picture the Jets are too familiar with in recent years. Of course, it's hard to imagine a player falling off a cliff in the postseason after a standout regular season. However, it can happen. And this is the Jets' worst nightmare in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Hellebuyck failing to get over his postseason woes is a recipe for disaster. Without his usual elite goaltending, Winnipeg is not nearly as effective. If goaltending becomes an issue, Winnipeg's run in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs could be extremely short-lived.
