The clock has struck midnight for the Winnipeg Jets and they have turned from Canada’s Cinderella team to pumpkins. As a franchise, the team has not won one playoff game in their history including their time in Atlanta. It is a shame. The Jets played poorly when facing the Anaheim Ducks in Anaheim and then suffered some bad luck in Winnipeg, but the Ducks deserve all the credit in the world for how they simply outclassed the Jets.
When the Jets needed to show up they did for spurts, but too often they looked overwhelmed by the Ducks speed and skill. The Ducks managed to win this series by playing a fourth line that featured skilled players and a young defensive core that features a cadre of skilled puck-movers. The Jets often looked overwhelmed and just a little bit behind the play and it cost them dearly.
The good news is the Jets have a number of good, young players; albeit they are unproven in pro-hockey. The Jets will have some big decisions to make in the coming weeks about the futures of pending free agents Michael Frolik, Lee Stempniak, Jim Slater, Jiri Tlusty, and Drew Stafford. They also have to figure out if the defence is going to face big changes through trades or if it is going to be more of the same. The goaltending needs to be addressed, as it always does.
This was the last game with the Winnipeg Jets looking the way that they do. Next season the team has the potential to look a lot younger and more skilled. This summer will be interesting. This past season was a wild ride. Hope you had fun.
Ten Thoughts
1. Jets get down to business to defeat the Ducks/Fans just watch the hockey/Because they're nuts/It's the biggest game that they have played/And the fans will know it's true/If the Jets can defend enough to win
2. A whole new D/With new fantastic pairings too/No one to keep Buff safe/Or hold back Jake/So yes, the fans are dreaming.
3. When you shoot the puck on goal/Makes a difference if you score/As the crowd desires a goal/And it comes true/And if Littles scores the goal/Nothing is to much/Because he shot the puck on goal/And it worked
4. Gosh you disturb me when you score Etem/Jets are so down in the dumps/Everyone's trying to beat them, Etem/Even while they try to lead, Etem/There's no game in town as crazy as this, they're everyone's favourite team/Everyone wants to hate you Etem and it's not really hard to see why
5. Tyler Myer's fresh/And alsofree/When he came here he was tall and unrefined/But now he's and so I'm sure/Enstrom will turn him into what he was before.
6. The more we stick together, together, together/The more we stick together, the happier they'll be/There's my shot and your shot and my shot and your shot and my shot/The more we score together the happier they'll be.
7. Everything is awesome/Everything is cool when killing penalties/Everything is awesome/Until they score on the net/Everything is cool and awesome when they stick together/Side by side, they get danced/Let's get scored on together, get scored on forever
8. Everything is better when we stick together/Side by side lets draw penalties together, too many men forever/Let's play hockey forever.
9. From the day they arrived in the Peg/Blinking stepping into the wind/There were games to be played/More calls to be made/So many games have been played here/So many games to be lost and to be won/It’s the game of hockey/In the NHL playoffs
10. And then as they ran from the castle, their outfits started changing back into their rags. The carriage became a pumpkin and they knew that the party was over.
Good night, Jets fans.
