Winnipeg Free Press https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/soaring-season-a-jets-oral-history- 483642323.html

The soaring season A look back at the Jets' most successful year in franchise history – from training camp to 'garbage-bag day' – told by the voices in the locker room, behind the bench and the team office

By: Mike McIntyre

They talked the talk before the season began, making it clear the status quo wouldn't be accepted. Failing to make the playoffs for what would be a sixth time in seven seasons since returning to Winnipeg was not an option.

And then they walked the walk once the puck dropped, putting together the best campaign in franchise history and taking fans on a wild journey that nearly ended with an appearance in the Stanley Cup final.

There's no denying the 2017-18 season for the was one for the ages.

But don't just take our word for it.

Training camp begins in mid-September. A clean slate to begin another campaign. Expectations are high.

CONNOR HELLEBUYCK: "I'm very excited about how this team comes together. You can kind of feel in the locker room that we're excited to play this season and we expect to win."

DUSTIN BYFUGLIEN: "Everyone is that much older, wiser, a little bit more experienced. That's all we can go on from right here. It's just a couple days into training camp and we haven't done nothing yet. There's a lot of steps we've got to go forward to. We've just got to keep working."

Winnipeg goes 2-3-2 in their seven exhibition games as roster decisions are finalized. Of note, Kyle Connor begins the year with the , Nic Petan makes the big club out of camp and free agent signing Steve Mason is awarded the No. 1 goalie job.

BLAKE WHEELER: "You've got one shot at having a career in this league. At a certain point in time you want to win. I've been trying to win for six years here. I think we're at the point now where you see some young guys blossoming into impact players. Some of our veteran guys, some of our young guys have kinda come together to create a pretty good nucleus."

PAUL MAURICE: "To be honest with you, I have lots of faith and confidence in the direction that we're going. I know you look at the playoffs as a miss and that's a failure for any team. But we made the decision to do what we're doing. I've got lots of confidence in my ability and the team's ability to get it done."

Opening night. The hockey spotlight is on Winnipeg as the Jets host the Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL's season-opener. The hype is huge. And Winnipeg comes up very small, getting pounded 7-2.

PATRIK LAINE: "It wasn't the way we wanted to start the season. But it's done. That's good news that we have still 81 games left. We just have to be lots better."

STEVE MASON: "It wasn't what we were looking for. Especially from my standpoint, it just wasn't good enough."

Coach Paul Maurice puts his troops through what appears to be a bag skate at the end of practice, clearly not happy with what he witnessed the night before.

JACOB TROUBA: "We gotta be better. I know I have to be better. We know the team has to perform better. I think we got that message."

PAUL MAURICE: "Oh, that wasn't even close to a bag skate. Nobody puked... if we had spent 20 more minutes at 'er..."

A sigh of relief. Winnipeg beats Edmonton 5-2 for their first win of the season, coming off back- to-back clunkers against Toronto and then Calgary.

NIKOLAJ EHLERS: "It was big. We all knew what we needed to do. We knew what we were capable of. We didn't do that the first two games but we showed it (against the Oilers)."

A surprising development. Steve Mason's struggles mean he's parked on the bench while Connor Hellebuyck takes over, rattling off three straight wins as the Jets are finally on track.

CONNOR HELLEBUYCK: "I've been working all summer for this. I wanted to start with getting my confidence back and getting my poise back in the net. Then I got a new trainer and he was teaching me about the biomechanics and how the body moves and all that, so I was really learning how to become faster and more set, more square. It fit perfectly for my game."

Mathieu Perreault goes down with an injury – and Kyle Connor is summoned from the Manitoba Moose.

PAUL MAURICE: "Now he gets a chance. And it's a top-six chance and he's going to have to work really hard to keep that. We've got other players there that want that opportunity, too. So he has to perform."

Steve Mason gets another opportunity, and is shelled again in a 5-2 loss on home ice to Columbus.

JOSH MORRISSEY: "A lot of those goals are defensive errors on our part. He's a professional, he's been around, a veteran guy, he handled those first couple of games awesome and there's no issue there. We know that Steve can play and the type of goalie he is, we just need to do a better job of helping him out."

Winnipeg routs two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh 7-1 in their most dominant performance to date, including five first-period goals.

PAUL MAURICE: "Real good jump, real good pace, good start and it was enough to win a game."

With the Jets on a roll in early November, Dale Hawerchuk is inducted into the team's Hall-of- Fame just before Winnipeg beats Arizona to improve to 10-4-3 on the season.

DALE HAWERCHUK: "For me, this was a special place. I would have loved to have won a (Stanley) Cup here. I've won Memorial Cups, Canada Cups. But if I was going to win a Stanley Cup, it would have been here. This would have been the place to do it. I hope I see it here one day."

Winnipeg keeps things rolling with a dramatic rally, scoring in the final minute of the third period to tie the game, then pulling out a shootout win over Philadelphia.

ADAM LOWRY: "I think that's a real good sign of a good team. You need to find ways to win in this league, especially when you don't necessarily have your best game."

Winnipeg climbs to the top of the Western Conference with a 7-4 victory over Vegas, improving to 16-6-4.

BLAKE WHEELER: "It's the first of December, we're obviously pleased to have a good start, we're pleased with the direction we're headed. But I think the thing that's given us success, it's a cliché, but we have taken things day by day at practice to get better, each game to get better in certain areas. I don't think we've peaked."

The good times hit a bit of a skid on the road, as Winnipeg loses for a sixth straight time away from Bell MTS Place with a 2-0 loss in St. Louis.

PAUL MAURICE: "There's a change in gears here that happens in December. Pressure starts to weigh pretty heavy on some teams. That's all part of that learning process with the grind. This is the real NHL now. You got through the easy part and you're into that heavier area where teams are fighting and you've got to learn how to do it."

Winnipeg gets back on track a few nights later with an impressive 6-4 win in Nashville, who are looking every bit like a Stanley Cup favourite.

BLAKE WHEELER: "This is a huge win, I mean, we just gutted it out."

No. 1 centre suffers a serious shoulder injury in their first game back after a brief Christmas break, a 4-3 win over Edmonton.

BRYAN LITTLE: "It's never something easy to see - one of your best players on the ice like that."

No Scheifele, no problem. Winnipeg goes on a 6-0-1 run into early January with Blake Wheeler filling in admirably up the middle.

MATHIEU PERREAULT: "It honestly kind of reminds me of the years in Washington where every time we stepped on the ice, we kind of had that feeling, that confidence, that we were just better than the other team. That hasn't been here since I've been here and it's a good feeling to have. It comes with confidence."

Winnipeg hits their league-mandated bye week with back-to-back losses in Chicago and Minnesota in the midst of a road-heavy portion of their schedule as injuries continue to pile up.

PAUL MAURICE: "Our challenge and adversity is still ahead of us."

Winnipeg kicks off a franchise-record 10-game homestand with a 3-1 win over Tampa Bay at the end of January despite losing top defenceman Jacob Trouba to an ankle injury days earlier. Michael Hutchinson, banished to the minors to start the year, makes his season debut with Steve Mason once again injured.

MICHAEL HUTCHINSON: "You always have a little bit of a chip on your shoulder with the way the season's been going. But when you're out there you don't think about it at all. If you're a little bit pissed off or anything, you can't try and stop the puck harder. It's just one of those things where you have to relax and react to it. I just felt relaxed out there."

Vegas beats Winnipeg 3-2 in in a surprising battle of the top two teams in the Western Conference. Connor Hellebuyck is livid after James Neal accidentally breaks a stick over his mask, and referees allow a goal scored second later to count.

CONNOR HELLEBUYCK: "I think it's a terrible call. You would think the video replay is there for that reason. I don't even think their team wanted that goal, obviously they're going to take it. That's just dirty. I can take a stick to the face. But just because I don't throw my head back and make it obvious, I feel like I got kind of screwed on this. Maybe I should start diving a little bit, that's just ridiculous."

BLAKE WHEELER: "Come on, (he) f——-g breaks a stick over his head. That's not a goal. I don't care where the puck is."

Mark Scheifele returns from injury after missing 16 games. Winnipeg went 11-3-2 without him. They promptly lose 5-2 to St. Louis.

PAUL MAURICE: "We were horses—t tonight. That's a technical term for our game."

Winnipeg avoids their first-three game losing streak of the season as Mark Scheifele ties the game with 16 seconds left, then scores in overtime in a 4-3 win over Washington.

BLAKE WHEELER: "I was just really pumped for (Scheifele). No matter how self-confident you are (and you try to) block out the noise, he’s human. We win a bunch of games when he’s out, he comes back, we lose two. He probably feels that a little bit."

Winnipeg ends their epic homestand with a 6-3-1 record after falling 4-3 to Los Angeles. They appear anxious to hit the road.

MARK SCHEIFELE: "When you're at home for a while you kinda get into a bit of a funk just doing the same thing over and over. It can get a little redundant after a while. You get on the road, you get to be with just the guys, it's always good to have that camaraderie on the road."

General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff makes a huge move at the trade deadline, adding veteran centre Paul Stastny plus depth defenceman Joe Morrow.

PAUL STASTNY: "I'm excited to go somewhere, when I look on paper and when I play against them how quality of a team they have. I think I can help them get even better and maybe be that piece for a long, extended run. To play more hockey for me is a big factor and it's maybe a decision made a little easier."

KEVIN CHEVELDAYOFF: "We felt this was a tremendous fit for our organization on many different levels."

Winnipeg blows a two-goal lead and lose 6-5 to Nashville in a battle of NHL heavyweights to close out February. These teams never seem to have a boring game against each other.

PAUL MAURICE: "It was last shot wins."

Winnipeg wraps up a six-game road trip with a 3-2-1 record, which includes Alex Ovechkin scoring his 600th career goal in an eventual 3-2 overtime win.

PATRIK LAINE: "I was pretty close watching it. I was in a good spot. Just behind him. I was there when he made history, so I can maybe watch that someday and show that I was there getting the minus on the ice."

CONNOR HELLEBUYCK: "I definitely have an appreciation for that. I seem to be on the wrong end of all these milestones. I'm definitely going to be in some historical film."

Winnipeg ramps up for the playoffs by going 6-0-0 on a mid-March homestand as they get closer to full health. In addition to officially clinching their post-season spot, the highlight is a Brandon Tanev hat trick in a win over Boston.

BRANDON TANEV: "It's a special moment, an unbelievable feeling."

In the strangest game of the season, Winnipeg loses 6-2 in Chicago — with accountant turned emergency back-up goalie Scott Foster pressed into third-period action and turning aside all seven shots he faced.

SCOTT FOSTER: "I'm going to remember this one for a long time. A few hours ago I was sitting on my computer typing on the 10-key, and now I'm standing in front of you guys just finished 14- and-a-half minutes of NHL hockey. I think I'm just about hitting my prime."

Less than 24 hours after a horrific bus crash in Saskatchewan involving the Humboldt Broncos, Winnipeg and Chicago close out the regular-season at Bell MTS Place with an emotional game filled with tributes.

BLAKE WHEELER: "Everyone is kind of heartbroken. As players, every one of us has done what those players were doing. When things like this happen, you step back and you really appreciate what you have. Those guys were chasing the dream that all those players out there tonight and around the league have achieved. It just breaks your heart that something like this is possible."

ANDREW COPP: "It was a very sombre mood on the ice, kind of one of those things where it could have been any one of us. You kind of count your blessings. You kind of look to the guy to your left and right, they're not usual teammates or brothers, but you feel that sense of camaraderie and community with them."

The Whiteout returns, and the Jets win their first playoff game in franchise history, a come-from- behind 3-2 decision over Minnesota in Game 1 on home ice. Joe Morrow is the unlikely hero, scoring the game-winner.

JOE MORROW: "If you believe in karma and trying to be a good person and eventually, you get rewarded for it? Yeah, absolutely. Like I've said before, I've had a major roller-coaster of an NHL career so far. To have a little, I don't even know if you want to call it a Cinderella story of a night tonight, it makes you feel good. It makes all of the bad times and all of the times you've battled so hard to try and get an opportunity, it makes them go away. It washes them away and you get to enjoy it in front of a crowd like this and a city like this."

Connor Hellebuyck, the back-up to start the season, is nominated for the as one of the NHL's top three .

STEVE MASON: "All the credit to him... I think he's definitely matured, and at the same time we have a really good team that gives him confidence as well. We have a strong leadership group that he can feed off and learn from. I didn't know him before this season, but I've definitely been impressed with the way he's gone about this year."

Winnipeg advances to the second round, beating Minnesota 5-0 in Game 5.

TYLER MYERS: "We had a chance to win the franchise's first playoff series and that was a lot of motivation for us and we came out exactly the way we needed to. You see the fan base on the street outside growing and growing by game and we see the buzz in the city."

The NHL's top two regular-season teams, Nashville and Winnipeg, open up their series at Bridgestone Arena. Winnipeg skates away with a 4-1 victory in Game 1, thanks largely to Connor Hellebuyck's 47 saves.

CONNOR HELLEBUYCK: "I just love playoffs. I love the intensity, I love the game in front of me. It's awesome and a little different. Intense is the right way to put it."

Kevin Fiala scores in double-overtime to send the series back to Winnipeg tied 1-1.

JOSH MORRISSEY: "We're pretty happy that we're coming home with a split. Obviously, we're disappointed, but I think we're in a pretty good spot. I just feel we can be a little bit better each game. That game, Game 2, was a big improvement from Game 1, as far as we were concerned. If we can continue to do that, we're happy with the position we're in."

Winnipeg spots Nashville a 3-0 lead in Game 3 – then roars back for a wild 7-4 victory.

DUSTIN BYFUGLIEN: "I think everyone just knows you can't quit. Never quit. Just keep working and you never know what's going to happen."

BLAKE WHEELER: "Momentum's a crazy thing, especially this time of year."

After alternating wins through the first six games of the series, Winnipeg continues the trend with an impressive 4-1 victory in Game 7 to advance to the Western Conference final.

MARK SCHEIFELE: "You know, it was fun hockey. They're an unbelievable team. Top to bottom they're so solid. And we think we're pretty good, too. It was a fight to the end, as you saw. It was win a game, lose a game, win a game, lose a game. It was a fun series to be part of but it's awesome to be on the good side of it.''

Winnipeg explodes for three quick first-period goals en route to a 4-2 win over the expansion Vegas Golden Knights in Game 1.

PATRIK LAINE: "We want to win every game, and now, we're one win closer. We know the next one is going to be hard. It keeps getting harder and harder. It was nice to get the first one out of the way and just focus on the second one."

It does indeed get harder. Winnipeg never holds another lead in the series, dropping four straight games for the first time all season. Marc-Andre Fleury steals the show while the Jets appear to be running on fumes.

MATHIEU PERREAULT: "It's hard to believe it's over, really. We tried so hard, too. We left it all out there. It's so disappointing when you put so much effort into it and the result's just not there. It's hard to swallow ... That's why it's the hardest trophy to win in sports."

CONNOR HELLEBUYCK: "I thought this was our year."

MARK SCHEIFELE: "Every game was tight. Every game was a matter of inches, almost. They capitalized when they needed the chance and it just sucks."

The Jets have their exit meetings with coaches and management and speak with the media for a final time. It's clear this memorable season has raised the bar for the future.

KEVIN CHEVELDAYOFF: "You know, there's a genuine hurt. It's going to take a few days, probably more, to really come to grips with just the emotion that goes into what we've just gone through. And that's good. I think that's really good. My message to a lot of the guys was take a couple days off, or a couple weeks off, enjoy your families and then let's get ready."

BLAKE WHEELER: "As hard as maybe it is to admit, maybe trial by fire is how this works."

BRYAN LITTLE: "It was a great experience. We all had a lot of fun going through it together. But at the same time, it makes you want it a lot more. It makes you want to get to that Stanley Cup final and play for the Cup. Once you get a taste for it, you want to be right back there. You want to hit fast forward to next year already."

CONNOR HELLEBUYCK: "We learned a tremendous amount about this. Yes, we're going through hardship right now. But we're going to be so much better from it. We're talking about being a dynasty and really making pushes every single year." https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/a-sudden-end-to-a-special-season-a- solid-future-483636433.html

A sudden end to a special season, a solid future

By: Scott Campbell

It was stunning how quickly the Winnipeg Jets were disposed of by the Vegas Golden Knights.

I'm not shocked that Vegas won, though I predicted the Jets would win the series. It’s more that it took only five games.

I predicted the battle could be a long one for a couple of reasons, and under those conditions, it doesn’t take much to swing a series like this one way or the other.

My two big concerns were that Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury would continue at the lights-out pace he’d been playing at and that the team might maintain its "play fast" game at such a consistent level.

It's a style of play I felt gave Winnipeg the most trouble over the course of the season.

How could I get it so wrong, after respecting their strengths, along with recognizing their terrific top line?

The shot metrics numbers were significantly in the Jets' favour, backing up what many people saw — a team that was carrying the play for a good chunk of the series.

Teams producing like that during the regular season have an excellent chance of having good things come their way, but the small sample of a playoff series can be a killer.

The No. 1 villain here is obviously Fleury — if he continues this run it’ll go down as one of the greatest-ever goaltending performances.

He was so good it took only a couple of uncharacteristic miscues from counterpart Connor Hellebuyck to help swing the series when it was in doubt.

That, and the Golden Knights' ability to come off their defensive roles and move the puck up in lightning-quick fashion was impressive; hitting seams that gave them enough dangerous scoring chances and a few huge goals were just too much for Winnipeg.

While some Jets players and coach Paul Maurice denied they finally ran out of gas after eliminating the , I’m not so sure. In the final period of the season, the Jets were outshot and Hellebuyck had to make a couple of big saves to keep it within a goal.

Passes weren’t as crisp and a little off target, and there was no big push as you’d expect with their year on the line.

Maurice admitted things weren’t quite right — the effort was there, but the hands, legs and brains weren’t in sync at the end. This wonderful Jets run was over.

My optimism for this season started when I felt GM Kevin Cheveldayoff had made the Jets a definite playoff team by adding goalie Steve Mason and defenceman Dmitry Kulikov in free agency last summer.

Those moves, combined with my continued belief in Hellebuyck, and their top-end talent and depth, led me to think they could finish anywhere from first place in the Central Division (if everything went right) down to being a comfortable playoff qualifier.

While Mason had little effect due to injury and Kulikov settled in as a solid third-pair defenceman, it was the maturing of a lot of individuals, and the team as a whole, that helped them jump to heights previously unseen.

We all have our favourite moments, but I really started to believe this club was special during a series of games during November and December. When this team got rolling in the offensive zone it looked unbeatable at times, and the underlying numbers backed it up.

There’s a long list of players who had terrific years, and we’ve talked about them many times.

But success starts at the top, with owner Mark Chipman now having proof that his vision seven years ago was dead on.

While I liked the original plan, over the years I felt Cheveldayoff was, at times, overvaluing some players and not looking to fill in obvious holes with better options, stalling the rebuild. I wasn’t part of the "fire Chevy" crew, but I wasn’t sold on his overall package until he filled those two spots last off-season.

Oddly enough, neither player that made me so confident in the Jets chances had a positive impact in the playoffs. It was the fact that he went hard at the two weak spots that made me a believer.

Regardless, the GM is getting his well-deserved accolades from around the hockey world.

He’s handed Maurice a team that should contend for the Stanley Cup for years to come. While I was critical of the coach during the past two years of losing I was also confident he could get this team to the playoffs in comfortable fashion.

While I have him in a group of 20-some similar NHL coaches, he now has an excellent chance to move up by guiding this club to a few successful playoff runs. It’s the supreme test for all involved.

It won’t be easy to get this far again, especially if Cheveldayoff has to eventually deal away some good contributors because of the salary cap.

But the best news is that their dream of winning the ultimate prize is now as legitimate as any team out there, and even more so than many organizations.

It’s all one can ask at this point.

Finally, when the Jets disappear, so do I. My sincere thanks and appreciation go to you, the readers and commenters.

The same to Free Press staff that help get my column out there, and sports editor Steve Lyons, who fixes everything, and gave me a chance to write some fun stories.

Sportsnet.ca https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/31-thoughts-tavares-definitely-listening-islanders-pitch/

31 Thoughts: Tavares ‘definitely listening’ to Islanders’ pitch

By Elliotte Friedman

8. The Jets will take a serious run at signing Connor Hellebuyck long-term. A couple things about Hellebuyck: He played 3,332 minutes in 2014–15, 3,158 in 2015–16, 3,047 in 2016–17 and 4,981 this season. It was another level and he ran out of steam. What was most interesting was before Game 5 against Vegas, he changed his routine. Usually, when the camera enters the room right before pre-game skate, he stares directly at it. This time, he looked away. That’s someone still figuring out the process, which is no big deal.

I know there were some raised eyebrows at his comments comparing his goaltending to Marc- Andre Fleury’s, but I have a theory on that: He’s Mike Weir. Weir was well known for blaming spike marks or something on the green for missed putts, etc. When I asked someone who knew him about it, he said it was a defence mechanism, that Weir was so hard on himself for misses that a sports psychologist moved the goalposts to ease the pressure. Hellebuyck didn’t need the media to tell him how good Fleury was — he knows. But that’s the way some guys handle it, and I have a greater understanding of it than I did years ago. The guy’s a stud; he will only get better and the Jets know this price isn’t going down.

9. With the exception of Kovalchuk, most of the European players NHL teams are looking at are signed. One more to keep an eye on for this year is 28-year-old left-hand-shot defenceman Bogdan Kiselevich. It sounds like one of the reasons he is still available is Winnipeg is among the interested parties, and the Jets had more important things to worry about lately. But a couple of teams are privately beginning to peek at next spring.

23. I closed by asking Hartnell if he feared for his life antagonizing Dustin Byfuglien. He laughed.

“I don’t know him off the ice at all, but when he gets angry it’s a scary thing. It put a smile on my face feeling very useful those games. We had a couple of chuckles at each other.”

TSN 1290 (AUDIO LINKS) https://www.tsn.ca/radio/winnipeg-1290/mckenzie-it-s-so-hard-to-get-to-the-stanley-cup-final- 1.1095086

McKenzie: It's so hard to get to the Stanley Cup Final

TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie joined the Big Show Friday, discussing the off-season needs of the Winnipeg Jets, NCAA coaching opportunities in the NHL, the Golden Knights' cup run, Steven Stamkos game seven performances and Seattle's upcoming Expansion Draft. https://www.tsn.ca/radio/winnipeg-1290/wiebe-jets-ran-out-of-gas-in-the-conference-final- 1.1093349

Wiebe: Jets ran out of gas in the Conference Final

Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun joined Andrew Paterson and Rick Ralph in studio on the Afternoon Ride. They recapped the Winnipeg Jets season. Topics included: The Jets loss to Vegas in the Western Conference Final, which players have played their last games with the Jets and the future of the Jets RFAs. www.winnipegjets.com https://www.nhl.com/jets/news/busy-summer-ahead-for-jets-gm-cheveldayoff/c-298779356

Busy summer ahead for Jets GM Cheveldayoff Trouba, Morrissey just two of the RFAs on the list by Tyler Esquivel @Mr_Skeyval / WinnipegJets.com

WINNIPEG - While the work on the ice for the Winnipeg Jets may be over, the focus shifts to what's shaping up to be a busy offseason for the club.

All season long, players, coaches, and management praised the team's depth as being a key piece to their success. Now, a large portion of the "depth" is looking for a new contract - 14 players from the current roster, to be exact.

Five of the 14 skaters set to hit the free agent market include veteran forward Paul Stastny, Toby Enstrom, Shawn Matthias, Matt Hendricks and Michael Hutchinson. The other nine including Jacob Trouba, Josh Morrissey, Joe Morrow, Tucker Poolman Adam Lowry, , Brandon Tanev, Marko Dano and Vezina-nominated goaltender Connor Hellebuyck will become restricted free agents on July 1st, 2018.

As is standard when Jets General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff meets with the media on the final day of the season, he fields questions in regard to his summertime tasks. With this offseason being a busy one, he knows of the work ahead.

"We've evolved as a team from a standpoint that our summers are very real as far as the challenges that come into play. That happens when you have really good players. You have tough decisions to make, you've got trying to make numbers work in the short-term and the long-term. These are things that are very real," said Cheveldayoff.

Only a handful of the players set to become restricted free agents met with the media on Tuesday. When asked about their current contract situation, many were candid in their desire to pull on a Jets sweater for years to come.

"I love being a Winnipeg Jet. (Contract negotiations) get taken care of in the off season. Right now, it's just so soon after the year, still disappointed on the way things ended. All those things get sorted out over time in the summer." said Morrissey.

"I love the city, I love playing here, I love the fan base. Nothing would make me happier to sign long-term. But that's the business side of hockey that's so unpredictable," added Hellebuyck.

This summer marks Jacob Trouba's second foray into restricted free agency. The first time saw the Michigan product sign a two-year deal with the Jets on November 7, 2016. When asked if this negation would go down a similar path, Trouba responded quickly.

"Been down that road once, the quicker the better," he said with a grin.

"I get the sense there is a bit of unfinished business here with this team. We all have such good relationships on this team. It's fun to be a part of. It's a special team, and you want to play for a contender. That's what we have here," said the 24-year-old.

As is standard in business negations, it's all about finding a balance. All of Winnipeg RFAs, except Morrissey, are eligible to file for arbitration. Cheveldayoff says that's all part of the process.

"We have a lot of players that have contracts coming up that are (arbitration) eligible. So there is a process that's going to be in place there. Don't write articles that the sky is falling if we have five or six guys filing for arbitration. We've been through that process. It's about getting contracts in place and different things like that," said Cheveldayoff.

Obviously, dollar value for the player and the team are the key piece in contract negotiations. However, when it comes to playing in the NHL, there are a number of external factors that come into play as well, such as team atmosphere, facilities and the city itself. Cheveldayoff believes Winnipeg checks off many of those boxes.

"I think when (the player are) here, and I think going through the time that we did, the sacrifices the players have to make, I really think the core of the families really became united," said Cheveldayoff. "I'm so thankful we've embraced a lot of the alumni of the Winnipeg teams of the past because that's exactly what (the alumni) talked about. They talked about how their families loved it here, they talked about how their families were always together… That is distinctly and uniquely part of our Winnipeg Jet culture."