The Jets Are Stuck On The Tarmac | Defector

"The good news is that the Winnipeg Jets have their cornerstone goalie, Connor Hellebuyck, back in the lineup and apparently at full strength after missing a month due to knee surgery. The bad news is the Jets can't win any games no matter who's in net if they don't score goals. On Wednesday night against the St. Louis Blues, who are terrible, the Jets got stoned 1-0,"

"To focus on the positives for a moment, Hellebuyck was sturdy and sharp in his third game back. He allowed the one goal in the second when an aggressive Blues attack overpowered a sloppy defense, but that's it, so it's worthy of a sigh of relief for Winnipeg that their goalie still looks like the back-to-back Vezina-winning man that he is. Check out the way he repelled this flurry of St. Louis shots midway through the first period, when the Blues were absolutely dominating possession."

"Replacing Eric Comrie with Hellebuyck should undoubtedly lead to better results for the 15-16-2 Jets. But that doesn't solve the problems in front of him. Last season, the Jets' offense burst out of the middle of the pack to finish third in the league in goals, riding career-best years from vets like Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor, plus relative newcomer Gabe Vilardi."

"There are teams that could absorb the loss of their fourth-best skater, but Winnipeg really isn't one of them. They're married to this core who've been around for quite a while, because everyone across the continent has basically agreed that Manitoba, as a place to live in the winter, can't and won't be competitive on the open market for talent. The guys that the Jets did add to this roster amount to shots in the dark that unsurprisingly missed."

Connor Hellebuyck returned from knee surgery and looked sturdy and sharp in his third game back, conceding a single goal. The Jets lost 1-0 to the St. Louis Blues, highlighting persistent scoring struggles that negate quality goaltending. Last season's offense finished third in goals behind Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Gabe Vilardi, but depth has declined, partly after Nikolaj Ehlers left in free agency. Recent roster additions have failed to replace lost scoring, and Winnipeg's reliance on its long-tenured core and difficulty attracting talent complicate immediate improvements.

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