A magical season, and an agonizing defeat

Opinion

Frauds. Chokers. Losers. Let the record show the Winnipeg Jets are none of these things.

Perspective and nuance can be difficult to find at the best of times these days, never mind in the immediate aftermath of a devastating end to the greatest regular season we’ve ever seen around here.

But don’t let the truth get buried under a flood of tears, angry hot takes and all the other emotions folks may be feeling right now following Saturday’s overtime dagger in Dallas that sent the Presidents’ Trophy winners packing in Game 6 of their second-round series.

The 2024-25 Jets were a damn good hockey team. And while the year may not have concluded with a Stanley Cup parade down Portage and Main, that doesn’t change the fact it was filled with incredible highlights and moments that repeatedly reminded us what sports is truly all about.

We saw it throughout these playoffs as they began their quest for a first-ever championship without a couple key players in Nikolaj Ehlers and Gabe Vilardi, were without top centre Mark Scheifele for a must-win Game 7 against the St. Louis Blues and then lost top defenceman Josh Morrissey early in that contest.

The dramatic, game-tying goal by Cole Perfetti with 2.2 seconds left in regulation and the overtime winner by captain Adam Lowry was the stuff of legends around here. Truly the highest of highs. This community came alive in a way we rarely see, showing how sports can unite. Those memories are forever.

That thrill of victory was ultimately followed up with the most agonizing defeat, one which reminded us that life isn’t always fair. If it were, there’s no way Scheifele would have been the one sitting in the penalty box, head buried in his lap as Dallas defenceman Thomas Harley scored the power-play winner.

In a perfect world Scheifele would have been the hockey hero, the way it looked like he might be when he scored the opening goal just a few hours after learning his father, Brad, had died. Instead, the cruellest plot twist of all.

It was during that lowest of lows that we were provided with more incredible moments that will again stay with us forever.

There was Lowry, as fine a leader as there is, rushing into the penalty box to console Scheifele within seconds of the red light going on behind Connor Hellebuyck. This had little to do with hockey, and everything to do with humanity.

The rest of Scheifele’s teammates surrounded him afterwards, including Kyle Connor, who lost his father, Joe, in 2021. Morrissey couldn’t be there, having suffered another injury earlier in the game, but he was at Scheifele’s side as they walked into the rink together. He also knows the pain all too well as his dad, Tom, died of cancer four years ago.

Head coach Scott Arniel, who lost his father three years ago, spent hours with Scheifele at the team hotel prior to puck drop. This was about so much more than a game.

The post-game news conference with Lowry and defenceman Neal Pionk, who had to lean on his Jets clan last year following the tragic on-ice death of his best friend, Adam Johnson, was heartbreaking. Both men were fighting back tears as they struggled to put everything they’d just experienced into words.

The tight-knit Jets showed during the course of the 82-game campaign that they were the real deal, setting franchise records for wins (56) and points (116) while a number of key core players set personal bests. There was nothing fake about that.

But going all the way in the spring is truly a different animal. Just ask the last 12 Presidents’ Trophy winners, including Winnipeg, who have failed to capture the Cup. It’s hard. Really hard.

The Washington Capitals won the Eastern Conference and finished second-overall to Winnipeg, and they didn’t get beyond Game 5 of the second-round. Nor did the Vegas Golden Knights, who finished third in the NHL. At the end of it all 31 teams will ultimately come up short.

Ideally, you build a strong enough foundation to keep taking runs every spring and hope that eventually you’ll get enough good fortune, puck luck, timely scoring and goaltending and all the other intangibles that result in winning 16 high-stakes hockey games.

The Jets finished 10 wins short, which represents the second-longest run they’ve ever had. They were among the final six squads still standing, and there’s enough good pieces still in place here to believe the window remains wide open.

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

Sports is ultimately a results-based business, one that typically treats coaches and players as chattel. The Jets haven’t always been as cut-throat as most, which has opened them up to criticism. Some pundits say being overly loyal has led to a blindness at times when it comes to things like deployment and personnel decisions.

There may be some truth to that, and there will be plenty of time to discuss and dissect decisions that could or should be made in the coming months. But it says here the family environment that’s been created with the Jets is what truly endears them to this community — and to each other. Through good times and through bad times.

As strong of a year as the Jets had on the ice, they scored some major victories off it, too, by boosting attendance and their season-ticket base while winning 30 regular-season games and six more playoff ones at Canada Life Centre. They re-connected with some lost fans and made plenty of new ones along the way. That’s significant.

Ideally, everything that went down this year represents a new beginning, rather than an end. Arniel talked all season about “calluses” his group had formed from previous playoff disappointments and how they’d use them to get better. For 82 games, it worked like a charm.

Now, some fresh wounds that run deep.

Scheifele, knowing what we do about him, will likely come back with more fire in his belly than ever to chase the trophy he’s grown up dreaming about. Morrissey as well, no doubt gutted to be sidelined for key games multiple times in these playoffs, on top of being too sick to play in the 4 Nations Face-Off Final in February.

Same for Hellebuyck, who was the losing goalie in that best-on-best overtime showcase. He saved his best road performance for last, giving the Jets every chance to win on Saturday and force a Game 7 back in Winnipeg. The soon-to-be three-time Vezina winner now has a blueprint in the all-important space between his ears to go back to.

It may not feel like it now, but this truly was a magical, memorable season — right down to the bitter end.

Gusty. Resilient. Winners. That’s who these Jets really are.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg