Last season, the Jets celebrated their first playoff appearance since moving back to Winnipeg. (Photo credit: clydeorama / Foter / CC BY-NC)
Yahoo! Sports Puck Daddy is doing a great job producing NHL season previews of all 30 teams.
We thought we’d paraphrase a bit of what they had to say about the Canadian squads and apply it to the NHL betting odds to see if there’s any value out there on any of our favourite teams.
For the full Winnipeg Jets season preview, you can read the Puck Daddy article here.
Better or Worse?
Winnipeg returns nearly all of the squad that made the playoffs last year before being swept by Anaheim in Round 1. Michael Frolik, Jim Slater and rentals Lee Stempniak and Jiri Tlusty are the most notable departures.
Not that those absences won’t be felt, but those guys were role players. Balancing their loss is the return of Alex Burmistrov, who is back from the KHL and should contribute on the third line.
The Jets’ over/under wins total for this season is listed at 40.5 at Pinnacle Sports.
Players To Watch
Dustin Byfuglien is always a player to watch, for a variety of reasons. He’s in his final year of his contract and could be dealt if the Jets hit some turbulence this year. Ondrej Pavelec and Michael Hutchinson will battle it out for the starting goaltending job. Andrew Ladd, who has scored 47 goals over the past two years, is also an important factor in whatever success the Jets will have.
We’re keeping our eyes open for Hart Trophy betting odds, Vezina Trophy betting odds and Norris Trophy odds. Byfuglien could be a candidate for the Norris as top defenceman if he puts up good point numbers and cuts down on his mistakes in his own end.
Coaching
Paul Maurice is in his second year of a four-year extension and management clearly believes in him. He guided the Jets to a playoff berth last year, so a lot of things would have to go wrong in Winnipeg before the fingers start pointing at Maurice.
Best Case Scenario
Either Pavelec or Hutchinson emerge as a reliable goaltender, the top players stay healthy, Winnipeg earns a wild-card spot in the West and the team somehow finds the cap space to resign Ladd and Byfuglien.
Winnipeg pays +950 to win the Central Division at Bodog, ranking them ahead of only the Avalanche (+1400) .
Worst Case Scenario
Winnipeg’s goaltending is sub-par, the team only has one decent scoring line and the Jets continue to take lots of penalties. Winnipeg could fall out of playoff contention by the trade deadline, which leads to Byfuglien’s exit out of town.
The Jets are in the middle of the pack in the Western Conference betting odds at Bodog, paying +1200 to reach the Stanley Cup Final.
Prediction
The Central Division is kinda tough, if you haven’t noticed. Things don’t quite come together in Winnipeg like they did last season and the Jets crawl a little more before taking their leap forward.
Sports Interaction lists the Jets as +3300 (33:1) on the Stanley Cup betting odds.
