In the 2024-25 season, the Jets will look to recapture the regular-season success they had last season and to actually advance past the first round of the playoffs since 2021. They’ll be in tough to replicate their 52-win 2023-24 as they lost a number of key contributors, and if things go wrong, they could see regression.
However, if plenty of things go as hoped, they could be a top-three team in the Central Division again. Here, we’ll explore the Jets’ best- and worst-case scenarios for the 2024-25 season.
Best-Case Scenario: Youth Movement Complements Core Players and Jets Make the Playoffs
While the Jets still have a strong core of established and budding stars — Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers, Connor Hellebuyck, Josh Morrissey, Mark Scheifele, Gabriel Vilardi, and others — they are not as strong on paper to enter 2024-25 as they were to end 2023-24. They lost a lot in free agency, including top-six forwards Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli to the Columbus Blue Jackets and San Jose Sharks, respectively, top-four defenseman Brenden Dillon to the New Jersey Devils, and stellar backup goaltender Laurent Brossoit to the Chicago Blackhawks.
General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff didn’t sign anyone flashy in free agency to replace them, so new head coach Scott Arniel will have to lean on his youth — who he described as “vital” — to be solid NHL contributors and complement what more experienced and established players in Connor, Morrissey, Scheifele, Hellebuyck and company have become known to do (Connor, score 30-plus goals; Morrissey, be an elite offensive defenseman; Hellebuyck, be in the Vezina Trophy conversation again; Scheifele, operate at around a point-per-game clip, etc.)
Related: Winnipeg Jets’ Top 10 Prospects for 2024-25
The three main beneficiaries of this youth-movement-by-necessity appear to be Brad Lambert, Ville Heinola, and Cole Perfetti. Lambert, with Monahan’s departure, is among the candidates for the second-line centre role after leading the Moose in points last season with 55 (21 goals, 34 assists) in top-line-centre and first-unit power-play roles. If the 2022 30th-overall pick isn’t ready for a top-six role up the middle yet, he could still snag a spot on the wing.
Heinola, with Dillon’s departure, also appears to be in a good spot to finally snag a full-time roster spot five years after being drafted…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at The Hockey Writers…