Developing key for contending Jets

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Not many people, if any, expected the Winnipeg Jets to have one of the NHL’s best teams this season.

Vegas Golden Knights assistant general manager Kelly McCrimmon was one of the few.

The former owner, general manager and coach of the Western Hockey League’s Brandon Wheat Kings said he watched Winnipeg play 20 times last season, giving him a peek at what was to come.

“It was pretty easy to see that it was going to happen,” McCrimmon said. “This year, certainly it has.”

The Jets earned 114 points during the regular season, trailing only Nashville.

Winnipeg advanced in the playoffs for the first time since moving from Atlanta in 2011. The Jets lost only once to Minnesota in the first round, and eliminated the top-seeded Predators on the road in Game 7 of the second round.

The Jets clearly looked like the better team in a 4-2 victory Saturday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against Vegas, the darling of the NHL in its expansion season.

Suddenly, Winnipeg might have the best chance of winning the Stanley Cup, especially if it wins Game 2 at home tonight.

The Jets have a pair of fantastic lines up front along with two solid ones and a strong group of defenseman led by Dustin Byfuglien, and Connor Hellebuyck, 24, has been one of the best goaltenders this postseason.

How has a franchise, which has largely been an afterthought in the league, gone from finishing fifth or worse in its division the previous three seasons to having one of the world’s best hockey teams?

“They put on a clinic in drafting and developing,” McCrimmon said. “Along with that, great patience and leadership from Mark Chipman as an owner.

“What they did takes time.” Unlike other NHL teams, which fire general managers and coaches if they don’t quickly have success, the Jets have allowed General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff to build a championship contender since hiring him in 2011 when they left Atlanta. He was just 20 games above .500 in his first five seasons as Winnipeg’s GM, and its only previous postseason appearance in 2015 lasted just four games against Anaheim.

Coach Paul Maurice, likewise, was afforded the opportunity to lead the team for a fourth-plus season this year. He made the most of it by helping the Jets go 52-20-10 during the regular season.