While it might be easy to look at the Winnipeg Jets and their years-long stretch of middling results as a reason to tear things down, undergoing any semblance of a rebuild next season was met by players with a hard no.

Several who spoke Saturday – commonly referred to as “garbage bag day,” where players clean out their lockers, do exit interviews with the coach and general manager and have one final visit with the assembled media – said there was no interest in seeing major surgery done to a roster they feel is good enough to win despite significant evidence to the contrary.

“I don’t think anybody in their mid-20s in this organization is at a point in their career where they’d want to be part of a rebuild,” Jets forward Kyle Connor, who is signed through the 2026-27 season, said. “I don’t think anybody in that locker room wants to be part of a rebuild. Or anybody, in general. Everybody wants to play for a Stanley Cup contending team.

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“Yeah, we haven’t won a Cup, but we’ve shown that we’re pretty close. That’s not my decision to make. I’ve grown close with all those guys and would love another crack at it. But we’ll see what happens.”

The summer is set up to be an interesting one for general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, who remains under contract for another two years and under fire for a lack of postseason success throughout his tenure with the team. Cheveldayoff is the only GM the Jets have known since relocating from Atlanta in 2011, and over his 12 seasons at the helm, Winnipeg has won just three playoff series.

The Jets bowed out in the first round this year, falling to the top-seeded Vegas Golden Knights in five games. They started the regular season strong, battling for first place in the Central Division by January, only to fall off a cliff in the final months before squeaking into the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference.

“As a player, you don’t want to go through a rebuild. It’s pretty simple,” said 30-year-old winger Nino Niederreiter, who was acquired in a trade with Nashville at the deadline and has one year remaining on his two-year deal. “If you do a rebuild, you know right from the beginning that you’re not going to be a part of it. I’m in that age group where I haven’t won anything yet and I wouldn’t want to be a part of a rebuild.”

Niederreiter also said he doesn’t believe a passionate Jets fanbase would be interested in a rebuild. While there are fans that want to see the same group get another crack at a championship, there are others who have seen enough and don’t believe the current group has what it takes.

On paper, the Jets appear to have a talented roster, highlighted by Connor Hellebuyck in net, all-star defenceman Josh Morrissey and offensively-gifted forwards like Connor, Mark Scheifele, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Nikolaj Ehlers.

But with Hellebuyck, Scheifele and Dubois all able to become unrestricted free agents by next summer, as well as former captain Blake Wheeler, there’s a good chance that all could be traded this offseason if extensions can’t be reached.

“Throughout parts of this season, you saw that we’re right there. We had a really good stretch, and then we couldn’t keep putting that together,” Ehlers said. “What happens in the offseason, I have no idea. I have no say, I don’t want any say. I’m terrible at fantasy leagues, so I wouldn’t help out very much.”

Perhaps the fine line between whether the Jets simply retool or fully rebuild falls on if they can sign Hellebuyck beyond next season. The Jets No. 1 goalie said he doesn’t know what the future has in store, but he’s adamant that he wants to play for a team with a real chance of winning the Cup.

“I’m not interested in a rebuild. I’m just looking to compete every year,” Hellebuyck said. “This year was so fun, and then getting into the playoffs, it’s just a different style of game. You only get so many of those and going through five games of them – I enjoyed myself more in five games than I did all year.

“I know from previous experiences every round gets more intense and more fun. It’s like a high you’ve gotta chase. You can’t replicate that anywhere else, other than playoffs in the NHL. So, that’s all I’m really looking forward to, is trying to get myself back in those playoffs and a chance.”

Players insist they have a cohesive locker room, one that’s committed to improving on and off the ice. But how then do you explain the same uninspiring results year in and year out, with the Jets limited to just one notable playoff run, when they made it to the 2018 Western Conference final, despite having many of the same players on the roster for years?

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“That’s the answer everyone is searching for. We’ve consistently, aside from last year, made the playoffs for a nice stretch there. Obviously, you just feel like you are one step away every time,” forward Mason Appleton said. “But I don’t believe that this team is far off from that. Some of you guys (the media) probably think it’s all getting blown up, but you make the playoffs and how can you step back after you’re out and say, ‘yeah, it needs to get blown up.’ I think that’s completely wrong. We have a group that believes in each other. That’s one of the most important things.”

Jets head coach Rick Bowness, who remains under contact for next season and fully expects to return in the fall with the rest of his staff, said he is confident this team can continue to grow. Whether that group remains the same, only time will tell.

“We do believe in this group, and we’ll get better next year. If this group comes back, our job as coaches is to make them better,” he said. “Now we know what to look for next year. You had a whole new staff in here. We’re not comparing them to what happened last year, what’s gone on three or four years ago. That’s gone. Now we have some experience to draw on from our players.”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

After a slew of injuries playing hockey that included breaks to the wrist, arm, and collar bone; a tear of the medial collateral ligament in both knees; as well as a collapsed lung, Jeff figured it was a good idea to take his interest in sports off the ice and in to the classroom.

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