Jets carry nation’s hopes
Seven years after returning from the abyss, the Jets are Canada’s team.
How does that sound, Winnipeg?
As the NHL playoffs move into the second round, the Jets are the only Canadian team with a chance to end the country’s 25-year Stanley Cup drought.
Not since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993 has a Canadian team hoisted Lord Stanley’s mug, and while several have come close — Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa and Vancouver all made it to the final — the wait continues.
The Jets have never won the Stanley Cup, through 23 seasons and two versions of the franchise.
Their best chance to date comes after so many years of heartache, which included the original franchise leaving for Phoenix in 1996. Fans felt the void for a full 15 years, and it was a joyous occasion when Winnipeg got the Jets back in 2011. You even got the sense people across Canada were genuinely happy for the city.
They’re likely happy to see the Jets and their appreciative fans enjoying the playoff experience now, although some might question getting so excited about winning a single series.
There’s a point there. After all, the Vegas Golden Knights, in their first year of existence and already through to the final eight, have as good a chance to win the Stanley Cup.
There are many people in the hockey world who believe the Jets have the horses to do it this year.
They have a great goaltender in Connor Hellebuyck, a physical, puck-moving defence led by Dustin Byfuglien, and balanced scoring.
But the Jets will have to beat the Nashville Predators — the league’s best team going by regular season numbers — just to get past the second round.
When the Jets and Predators face off in Music City Friday for Game 1, it will be a matchup of the two best regular-season records in the NHL. Nashville had 117 points, the Jets 114.
Because they play in the same division, though, they get to beat up on each other now.
Regardless, the Jets are now Canada’s team and it looks good on them. They’ll be on national TV every game from here on, with the No. 1 CBC crew of Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson calling the games.
They’ve already got a rabid fan base in Winnipeg, where some 36,000 converged on downtown just for a first-round series-clinching game. Imagine what that might look like if this team is still playing in a month?
In a spring when tragedy has dominated the headlines, the Jets are a feel-good story.
A sport can never compare to the harsh realities of a world where terrible things happen all too often but it can certainly divert people’s attention and make them happy.
And we all need a little happiness right about now.