The Winnipeg Jets entered the playoffs with the best regular-season record (56-22-4), winning the Presidents’ Trophy and looking utterly dominant in front of Hart Trophy Candidate, Connor Hellebuyck. Despite that, many fans and analysts still do not believe the Jets can win the Stanley Cup.
Longtime NHL head coach Bruce Boudreau is not one of those people. Joining the Big Show with The Hockey News’ Michael Traikos and Ryan Kennedy, Boudreau spoke fondly about the Jets.
“Oh, they’re a legit contender, there’s no doubt in my mind,” said Boudreau about the Jets.
The Jets are up 2-1 in the series over the St. Louis Blues with a pair of gutsy wins at home before suffering a beatdown on the road. Their road loss was played without veteran defenseman Dylan DeMelo, a stabilizer on the back end. They’ve also been without their third and fifth leading scorers, Nikolaj Ehlers and Gabriel Vilardi.
With those absentees, the Jets still hold the series lead and home-ice advantage in the first round. Their ability to level up their game in difficult circumstances is why Boudreau believes they can win it all.
“I think they’re a really good team, and I’ll tell you where I thought these guys aren’t kidding around this year,” said the 15-year veteran coach. “With about 10 games to go in the season, they went into Vegas and beat Vegas 4-0. Then they played Chicago, they won in overtime, they played a couple of lesser lights, and they either lost or just got by. Then all of the sudden they played Dallas when if Dallas would have won, they would have been within two points of them for the Central Division crown, and they beat them 5-1… they played St. Louis when St. Louis was on their 12-game winning streak and they beat them again very handily. That’s when I said, this team is a team that could win it now. They can step up their game whenever they want.”
The 70-year-old Boudreau won the Jack Adams Award in the 2007-08 season after taking over the Washington Capitals head coaching job 21 games into the season. Boudreau had achieved a lot throughout his coaching career, including a Presidents’ Trophy with the Capitals, the fastest coach to reach 200 wins, and the quickest a coach was hired after being fired.
While Boudreau did have some playoff struggles in his coaching career, that shouldn’t diminish the great former coach's ability to recognize how impressive the Jets have looked since Game 1 of the regular season.
They roll four lines, six defensemen and can both match the opponent's play style or inflict their own. Highlighted by the additions of Luke Schenn and Brandon Tanev, the Jets can impose themselves physically and wear down their opponent by the time the third period begins.
“As a proud Canadian, I hope it’s Winnipeg against Florida and that Winnipeg brings it, but I think Florida is going to win, they’re the deepest team.”
The Jets’ route through the playoffs is vicious. Defeating the Blues has been proven to be a difficult task, and a potential second-round matchup against the Dallas Stars or the Colorado Avalanche doesn’t make things any easier, but the Jets have built themselves to succeed in the playoffs, both stylistically and roster-wise.
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