Can the Winnipeg Jets soar to a Stanley Cup?

Being a Jets fan has had a completely different meaning in the worlds of both the NFL and the NHL this year.

If you’re a New York Jets fan, you are going through all the emotions right now with your Super Bowl hopes dwindling at a rapid rate.

On the other side of the coin, if you’re a Winnipeg Jets fan, you are absolutely loving life during the early stages of the NHL season.

The Jets have managed to start the 2024-25 NHL season with a 14-1-0 record and are sitting on top of the Central Division.

This has gone on record as the greatest 15-game start for any team in NHL history and has done it in a convincing fashion.

Winnipeg has never won a Stanley Cup since the team was originally founded in 1999 where it was originally the Atlanta Thrashers until 2011. They have made the playoffs a total of eight times but have yet to reach the Stanley Cup Finals.

The last time that any Canadian team in the NHL won the Stanley Cup was in 1993 when the Montreal Canadiens put away the Los Angeles Kings in Game 5 to win the last of their record 24 Stanley Cups.

In recent memory, the only teams that have come close to ending that streak were when the Canadiens made the finals in 2021 and last season when the Edmonton Oilers fell short in Game 7 to the reigning champions, the Florida Panthers.

This leads to the hard-hitting question. After a historic start to their season, can Winnipeg be the first Canadian team since 1993 to bring the Stanley Cup back to the north?

Winnipeg made the playoffs last season after coming out of the regular season with a record of 52-24-6. They went into the playoffs with an eight-game win streak and were shockingly eliminated in the first round by the Colorado Avalanche.

The Jets are on a steady incline to be one of the first teams in the league to make playoff contention at this moment.

While it is easier said than done, Winnipeg is trending in a direction where they can get to the end and win their first-ever Stanley Cup.

This team does not seem to have any weakness that they have shown yet whether it is offensively, defensively or even on the coaching side.

Over half of their active roster have managed over 10 points made within the first 15 games. Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele are on their way to reaching 20 points respectively.

With elite goal-tending from their goalie Connor Hellebuyck, he is defensively keeping this team where it wants to be with a .935 save percentage. Hellebuyck has only allowed a total of 22 goals against them thus far.

There is still plenty of the season to go through with the competition heating up on the ice. Should the Jets remain consistent throughout the rest of the season, making the playoffs won’t be an issue for them.

When it comes down to the wire and the playoffs officially begin, either the Jets will soar their way to a history-making moment or they will run out of fuel in their tank trying once again.

Hudson Hvizdak is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email hph5358@psu.edu.