The Winnipeg Jets will begin their 2024-25 regular season on Wednesday, Oct. 9 in Edmonton against the Oilers. It’s the first of 10 games in October, split evenly between home and away.
Here, we’ll look at three keys to success as the club embarks on the new campaign and attempts to make the playoffs again with players in new roles under new head coach Scott Arniel.
1: A Balanced Attack
The Jets had one of the NHL’s better four-line attacks last season, with 13 players scoring 10-plus goals, six scoring 15-plus, and 12 with 30-plus points.
Although much has been made of the team’s offseason losses, all of the 30-plus-point players and all but one of the 10-plus goal scorers remain on the team (Sean Monahan, who had 13 goals in 31 games after coming over from the Montreal Canadiens, departed in the offseason.)
Related: Breaking Down Jets’ 2024-25 Opening-Night Roster
Sure, it’s nice when star players paid the big bucks take over a game, and the Jets have players who can do that in Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers, Mark Scheifele, and Josh Morrissey (not to mention Connor Hellebuyck in goal.) However, for a team like Winnipeg that has no skaters ranked higher than 44th on TSN’s Top 50 NHL Players List, it’s crucial that bottom-six players chip in on offense.
Mason Appleton, Morgan Barron, Nino Niederreiter, and Adam Lowry were all part of that 30-plus point club, while Alex Iafallo was part of the 10-plus goal club and had 27 points. They’ll all need to contribute similarly if the Jets want to remain competitive in a tough Central Division that features a few existing powerhouses and a couple aspiring ones that loaded up in hopes of getting better in a hurry.
However, the Jets need to remember that their true cornerstone of success is a strong commitment to team defence, not selling out for offence and getting into track meets. They finished a modest 15th in the NHL with 259 goals last season, but won the William M. Jennings Trophy by allowing a league-low 198; when they fell away from their structure in first round of the playoffs against the Colorado Avalanche, they got completely crushed.
Rick Bowness instilled the importance of every line looking the same without the puck, and Arniel, then the associate coach, played a…
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