Tag: Winnipeg Jets

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Connor Hellebuyck sounds off on his future with the Jets.

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The Winnipeg Jets had their season come to a disappointing end on Thursday when they fell to the Las Vegas Golden Knights in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, doing so in just 5 games.

Many believe that the early exit for the Jets could mark the end of an era in Winnipeg, especially after fiery comments from Jets head coach Rick Bowness following the Jets’ elimination in Game 5. In fact, Bowness’ comments about his own players were so harsh that National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman was compelled to say that this current core of the Jets has in fact come to an end.

“If there was any question that it meant the end of this particular core, I think that eliminates it,” said Friedman on the 32 Thoughts Podcast. “I think that ends the question, if there was any doubt.”

It’s one thing to hear these kind of comments from an NHL insider, but it is another matter entirely when members of that very same core also start hinting at a future outside of Winnipeg.

On Saturday, Jets star goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made comments that left a great many questions about his future as a member of the Winnipeg Jets. If the Jets are intending to move towards a rebuild, it sounds like Hellebuyck doesn’t intend to be a part of that situation.

“I’m not interested in a rebuild. I just want to compete…” said Hellebuyck on Saturday.

Hellebuyck also added that he wants to win a Stanley Cup, and is cognizant of how much time he has left in his NHL career.

“My main goal is to win a Stanley Cup… I’m starting to run out of time,” admitted Hellebuyck.

As per Murat Ates of The Athletic, Hellebuyck also confirmed that he has not had any discussions about an extension with the Jets as he is set to head into the final year of his current deal.

Hellebuyck had another strong performance in the regular season with a 2.49 goals against average and a .920 save percentage over 64 appearances for the Jets, and he would almost certainly be one of the most highly sought after commodities as either a free agent a year from now or as a potential trade candidate prior to then.

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Blake Wheeler fires back at Rick Bowness on Saturday.

Former Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler and his teammates were raked over the coals by their head coach Rick Bowness after being eliminated from Stanley Cup playoff contention, and now Wheeler is firing back.

On Saturday, Wheeler called out Bowness for publicly bashing the Jets players, implied Bowness had been dishonest, and suggested that his comments would have been better received had they been delivered in private.

“I thought Bones had an opportunity to address us as a team,” said Wheeler on Saturday. “He could’ve been honest with us, handled it behind closed doors… I didn’t like how he handled himself after the game.”

Earlier in the week, Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness unloaded on his players after they were eliminated in 5 games at the hands of the Las Vegas Golden Knights.

Bowness went off on a tirade that you don’t often see from modern day coaches in the National Hockey League, one in which he made no effort to spare the potentially hurt feelings of the players in the Winnipeg Jets’ locker room.

“Overall thoughts? I’m so disappointed and disgusted right now… that’s my thoughts.” said a noticeably irate Bowness after Game 5. “No pushback, but it’s the same crap we saw in February,” said Bowness.

Although Bowness did not specifically call out any players by name during his rant, he made it clear that he wasn’t directing his ire at the team’s fourth liners.

“Their better players were so much better than ours, it’s not even close,” said a genuinely disgusted Rick Bowness. “Their better players were so much better than ours tonight, they deserved to win. They were the better team in the regular season, they were the better team in this series.”

It would come as a surprise to no one if Wheeler was included among the group of players that Bowness was calling out in his tirade and it may even be a sign that Wheeler, who was stripped of the captaincy prior to the start of the season, has worn out his welcome in Winnipeg.

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Phil Kessel misses first game since 2009!

Sports Illustrated

Vegas Golden Knights forward Phil Kessel is a seasoned veteran, to put it lightly. He’s not missed a single regular season or playoff game for any of the teams that he’s suited up for since November of 2009, and that includes runs with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Arizona Coyotes, and now with Vegas; he began his career with the Boston Bruins. 

However, for the first time in nearly 15 years, Kessel will not be suiting up for a game that isn’t of the exhibition variety. He did not take warmups tonight at T-Mobile Arena, and will not be in the lineup as the rest of his Golden Knights teammates attempt to eliminate the Winnipeg Jets. 

However, his legendary iron man streak of 1,064 games is technically still alive, as it only counts towards regular season games. A silver lining!

Kessel scored 14 goals with 22 assists in all 82 regular season games this season, his first with Vegas. In the four postseason games he’s played with the Golden Knights, he’s added two assists. 

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The worst is confirmed for Mark Scheifele

The Hockey Writers

If the Winnipeg Jets are to force a Game 6 in their Round 1 Stanley Cup Playoffs series against the Vegas Golden Knights, they’ll have to do so without one of the top pieces in their lineup.

Forward Mark Scheifele, who was injured in Game 4 after crashing into the boards following a failed breakaway attempt, will not be playing in Game 5 tomorrow night in Sin City.

Scheifele, who scored a career high 42 goals during the 2022-23 regular season, has been held to only a single goal so far in four games played in the postseason. 

The Jets and Golden Knights will get underway from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas beginning at 10:00 PM EST. Vegas can punch their ticket to the second round for the first time since 2021 should they ultimately emerge victorious. If not, Game 6 will return to Winnipeg’s Canada Life Centre on Saturday. 

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Rick Bowness announces update on Mark Scheifele

CTV News

The Winnipeg Jets suffered two key losses in Game 4 of their opening round Stanley Cup Playoffs series against the Vegas Golden Knights. 

First, they lost where it matters most on the scoreboard, dropping a 4-2 decision to Vegas and falling into a three games to one hole. Second, they lost key forward Mark Scheifele to an upper body injury in the first period of play. He crashed into the boards following a failed breakaway attempt, but tried to remain in the game. However, he would soon depart for the dressing room:

The good news for Jets fans who are hoping to catch a live glimpse of their team at least one more time this season is that Scheifele’s status for the pivotal Game at T-Mobile Arena has been described as “hopeful” by head coach Rick Bowness: 

Should Scheifele be able to suit up, it would certainly go a long way in trying to force a Game 6 back in front of the White Out at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg. 

Game 5 between the Jets and Golden Knights will start at 10:00 PM EST from Sin City. 

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Laurent Brossoit hits back at Jets fans

Las Vegas Sun

He may have played in 54 games for the Winnipeg Jets, but that era in his career is over. Now, goaltender Laurent Brossoit is suiting up for the Vegas Golden Knights and facing his former Jets teammates and fans in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And following a stunning Game 1 loss at The Fortress in Sin City, Brossoit has helped the Golden Knights rattle off three straight victories to take a 3-1 series stranglehold. 

And the fans who used to cheer him at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg gave him a less than friendly welcome back, deriding Brossoit with chants of “You’re a Backup” that were clearly caught on the television broadcasts and from more than a few homemade fan videos. 

Unfortunately for the Jets fans, it didn’t seem to phase Brossoit one bit, as he made 24 saves in his team’s 4-2 victory to put them within reach of advancing to the second round of the postseason for the first time since 2021. 

And for Brossoit, he welcomed the jeers from the White Out crowd. In fact, he said that it fueled him.

“Oh yeah, I could hear them,” Broissoit explained in his postgame media session. “Honestly, it’s just fuel. When you have that many people chanting your name, whether it’s positive or negative, it’s fuel.”

“(It) didn’t really seem like much fazed him,” Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore explained of the chants. “I know the crowd was kind of getting on him there, but he’s a fantastic goalie, and he’s on his game right now.”

Brossoit and the Golden Knights can eliminate the Jets from the postseason on Thursday night when the series returns to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for Game 5. 

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Jets lose top forward Mark Scheifele to injury

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If the Winnipeg Jets are to even up their Round 1 Stanley Cup Playoffs series with the Vegas Golden Knights at two games apiece, they may have to do so without a crucial part of their offensive attack.

Forward Mark Scheifele, who crashed into the boards on an early breakaway attempt, has departed tonight’s game with what appears to be an arm injury and has not returned. He attempted a shot during his team’s power play, and then immediately sprinted towards the bench and went right down the tunnel to the team dressing room: 

And it wouldn’t be long before the worst would be confirmed by the Jets, as they released the update that Scheifele will not be returning to tonight’s game: 

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Jets confirm the bad news for Josh Morrissey.

The Winnipeg Jets have just confirmed some bad news.

According to an official announcement from Jets public relations, Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey will not return to Game 3 after he suffered an unspecified injury in the first period of today’s game.

It is unclear exactly how Morrissey was injured, but prior to leaving the ice he was involved in an awkward collision with Las Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud. Subsequently, Morrissey struggled to get off the ice before taking a seat on the Jets bench, but he would not return to the ice.

Morrissey was on the ice for just his second shift of the game when he suffered the injury.

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Dillon and Kolesar trade blows just 49 seconds into the game.

The Las Vegas Golden Knights and Winnipeg Jets are all tied up at one game a piece in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and it is perhaps for this reason that tensions were running high during Saturday’s Game 3.

Tempers flared just 49 seconds into the game after the Jets’ Brenden Dillon took exception to a hit from the Golden Knights’ Keegan Kolesar, a relatively harmless looking hit to the Jets’ Adam Lowry.

Dillon immediately went after and challenged Kolesar who appeared more than willing to engage with his opponent, and the two men squared off for what would prove to be a back and forth bout. Both men traded jabs and body shots with Dillon appearing to land the harder shots, and eventually it would be Kolesar that would tie Dillon up which in turned forced the officials to separate the two men.

It was a great showing from both combatants, one that surely set the tone for the remainder of today’s game.

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Rick Bowness shares a devastating update on Josh Morrissey.

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The Winnipeg Jets have just confirmed the worst.

According to an official update from Jets head coach Rick Bowness, veteran defenseman Josh Morrissey will miss the remainder of the first round due to a “lower body injury” that he suffered in the opening moments of Game 3.

Morrissey was on the ice only briefly, less than a minute and a half of total ice time, before an awkward collision with Las Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud appeared to cause the injury. Morrissey could be seen struggling to get off the ice, but he would make it back to the Jets bench before eventually leaving the game for good.

It’s hard to oversell how devastating of a loss this is for the Jets on the blue line, especially considering the length of time that Morrissey is likely to be out with the team already ruling him out for the entire first round.