聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 For the sake of argument, let鈥檚 talk about the Winnipeg Jets beginning in 2011-12, the year of the team鈥檚 return to Winnipeg after the Atlanta Thrashers moved north.
听听听听听听听听听听听 For the sake of argument, let鈥檚 just say the Jets have been terrible/medicore since then, rewarding their fans with 40 regular-season action-packed NHL games per season, but not a single playoff victory.
听听听听听听听听听听听 And for the sake of argument, let鈥檚 just say that this year, the Jets might have one of the most exciting teams in the NHL and could pull a big surprise.
听听听听听听听听听听听 At least one opposing team is wary of the Jets. Here鈥檚 a chunk of broadcaster Elliotte Friedman鈥檚 31 thoughts in late September: 鈥淎 Western Conference exec joked last summer he was worried 鈥榯he Jets would stop taking bad penalties and get more consistent goaltending, because then we鈥檇 all be in trouble.鈥� Spoke to him earlier this week. 鈥楳y comment stands. They have great young talent, and those players are ready to take the next step.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 The Jets? A playoff contender? Why not?
听听听听听听听听听听听 Winnipeg鈥檚 big three on offence takes a back seat to no other鈥檚 team鈥檚 top trio. Mark Scheifele, 24, is a bona fide superstar, rising to that status last year with 32 goals and 50 assists to finish seventh in the league scoring race. Nineteen-year-old Swede Patrik Laine was the second-best rookie in the league last year, scoring a team-leading 36 goals in a freshman season marred by a nine-game absence due to a concussion. And 21-year-old Nikolaj Ehlers turned heads around the league in his second year with his 25-goal, 39-assist season.
听听听听听听听听听听听 Add veterans Blake Wheeler and Bryan Little to that super trio of kids and coach Paul Maurice has one of the strongest foundations of forwards in the league around which to mold his team.
听听听听听听听听听听听 But oh, that goaltending. The Jets have gone through Connor Hellebuyck, Michael Hutchinson and Ondrej Pavelec the last three or four years without any sustained success. Jets鈥� fans are hoping that free agent acquisition Steve Mason, the veteran who has had moderate success in his 10-year career, will provide stability. If he does, the Jets could, for the sake of argument, become a National Hockey League power.
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淭he talent level, from top to bottom, is extremely impressive,鈥� said Mason about the Jets. 鈥淪ome of the best I鈥檝e ever been around in my 10 years. There鈥檚 so much to be excited about.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 Every year, it seems, one team suddenly finds itself and becomes a contender. Last year it was Columbus, who moved from the doldrums to become an NHL power. This year, could that team be Winnipeg? Why not?
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥� RJ Currieof : 鈥淗appy 66th birthday to Canadiens鈥� legend Guy Lafleur, whose career ended with 560 goals and 1,353 points. Forget the Sixties; the Seventies saw real Flower Power.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥� Bob Molinaro of (Hampton, Va.) 鈥淚f one theory explaining this season鈥檚 record-setting home runs is rising summer temperatures, pitchers should be on the front lines in the fight against global warming.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥� Brad Rockof the Deseret News: 鈥淎n Ohio prep star said on Twitter he鈥檇 sign with Ohio State if he got 100,000 retweets. Remember football鈥檚 simpler days when all it took was a couple of boosters to buy a kid a car?鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥� Brad Dicksonof the Omaha World-Herald: 鈥淎ll of the people upset that Rick Pitino appears to be out at Louisville will be huddling in the back booth of a Wendy鈥檚.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥� RJ Currieof : 鈥淪abres star Jack Eichel said the NHL should ditch offsides 鈥� just sit at the other end 鈥榓nd wait for the puck.鈥� In related news, Pavel Bure has come out of retirement.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥� Another one from Currie: 鈥淥HL and WHL junior hockey players are suing to be paid minimum wage. League representatives were quoted as saying: 鈥榃ho do they think we are? The CFL?鈥欌��
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥� TNT鈥檚 Conan O鈥橞rien: 鈥淪an Diego has started building a border wall. Not to keep out immigrants, but to keep the LA Chargers from coming back.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥� Comedian Argus Hamilton, on reports that O.J. Simpson could soon be released from prison: 鈥淎nd to think, Los Angeles was worried about North Korea.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥� O鈥橞rien again: 鈥淭here are rumours that NFL legend Peyton Manning may run for Senate. Experts say there's no way that mixing the NFL and politics could possibly go wrong.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥� Headline at TheOnion.com: 鈥淐olts miss 8 tackles on drunken fan running across field.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥� Dwight Perryof the Seattle Times: 鈥淎 Patriots spokesperson apologized after concessions stands at Gillette Stadium 鈥� which ran out of bottled water on an 86-degree game day 鈥� charged fans $4.50 or more for a cup of tap water. To the Pats鈥� credit, though, at least they didn鈥檛 try charging fans for oxygen.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥� Headline at MLB.com, after Toronto鈥檚 Ryan Goins pulled off the hidden-ball trick against the Yankees: 鈥淐anadian fakin鈥�.鈥�
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