A return to the playoffs for the loudest rink in the NHL is a distinct possibility after missing out last season. But in the crazy-competitive Central Division, it's going to be nip and tuck for the Winnipeg Jets to get in.
It certainly doesn't help that the season begins with talented young blue-liner Jacob Trouba sitting at home after asking for a trade. It's a situation that will hang over the team until it is resolved. He's not easily replaceable.
This is, however, an organization that is beginning to truly see the fruits of a patient, well-orchestrated rebuild under GM Kevin Cheveldayoff.
There is loads of young talent on this team, particularly up front, where rookie winger Patrik Laine, the No. 2 overall pick in June, is ready to take the NHL by storm. Is he the next Teemu Selanne? That's the type of lofty comparison already associated with the Finnish goal scorer.
How things play out in goal could also have a bearing on the Jets' season, where highly touted youngster Connor Hellebuyck is probably already the best option, but because he's the only goalie who can go to the AHL without having to clear waivers, the Jets might start the season with veteran Ondrej Pavelec and backup Michael Hutchinson. Tough call. The Jets need to get this one right. They can't make the postseason without the best possible goaltending at hand.
Best new faces
Laine is going to excite fans in Winnipeg for years to come, just a perfect scenario all those years after the city fell in love with another Finnish great in Selanne. It appears Laine will begin the season on the second line with Bryan Little as his center, which is a good place to start. Look for Laine to do a lot of his damage on the power play, too.
Kyle Connor has impressed at camp and in preseason and perhaps he might stick around with the big club. Only 19, the 2015 first-rounder had 35 goals and 36 assists with the University of Michigan last season. Is there a spot for him on a third line with Mathieu Perreault or do the Jets send Connor to the AHL Moose for some seasoning? Either way, we should see him at some point this season with the Jets.
Biggest unknowns
There many unknowns up front, but that's a positive. This is the kind of situation Cheveldayoff wanted years ago when he took over this franchise, to arrive at camp and have serious competition for jobs among the young and talented players.
Aside from Connor, who has been pushing for a job up front, add the likes of Joel Armia, Marko Dano, Nic Petan and Brandon Tanev also fighting for roles, not to mention eventually highly touted prospect Brendan Lemieux will resurface after getting injured in a rookie tournament last month (he'll start the year in the AHL but don't be surprised to see him back up at some point).
The point being, the Jets have the kind of enticing options they could have only dreamed of a few years ago. That's the product of excellent drafting and developing.
On the flip side, there are unknowns on the back end, but it's not for a good reason. Trouba's trade request has created a hole in that blue-line corps. I think the Jets would have had Trouba play the left side in a top-four role this season. So now there's a hole there alongside Dustin Byfuglien, Tyler Myers and Toby Enstrom in that top four.
Could Josh Morrissey be an option? The 2013 first-round pick (13th overall) is getting a serious look in preseason after playing his first year of pro hockey last season with AHL Manitoba. The left-handed Calgary native can play the left or right side.
The Jets are telling teams who have inquired about Trouba that they want a young, left-handed, top-four type blue-liner in return. It's a high asking price, and also rare for teams to want to trade one young blue-liner for another, but that's where things stand. Could Trouba find his way back with the Jets like Jonathan Drouin did with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season after asking for a trade?
Finally, there's the unknown of the goaltending situation as mentioned. The Jets need to expose a goalie for the expansion draft in June and presumably that's why they re-signed the capable backup Hutchinson to a two-year deal. The veteran Pavelec is an unrestricted free agent after the season, so nobody will be standing in Hellebuyck's way a year from now. The question is, should the Jets be handing the reigns over to the kid this season? Or do you ride Pavelec one last season?
Sure things
When Little was injured in mid-February, it created a top line that jelled immediately in Mark Scheifele between Nikolaj Ehlers and Blake Wheeler. That unit is slated to being the season together and why not, Scheifele putting up 16 goals and 16 assists in his final 25 games last season. Why mess with that kind of chemistry? Scheifele looks like a sure thing as a bona fide No. 1 center. The fact that Team North America trusted him to join Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid on the top line in the World Cup of Hockey is telling, too.
Prediction
The Nashville Predators, Dallas Stars, Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues are the class of the Central, leaving the Minnesota Wild and Jets to battle it out for fifth place in the division and potentially the last wild-card spot in the Western Conference. I'm giving the nod to the Jets. Fifth in the Central.