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The Winnipeg Jets enter 2015-2016 coming off the most successful season since relocating in 2011. Led by the fast-paced, hard hitting philosophies of head coach Paul Maurice, the Jets earned 99 points to sneak into the playoffs. The leadership group rose up to the challenges of Maurice and have set the tone for what the “Winnipeg Way” is and the young core of Mark Scheifele, Jacob Trouba, and Adam Lowry all have showed immense promise. Despite being swept in four games to the veteran Anaheim Ducks, there is plenty to look forward to in the snowy plains of Manitoba’s capital. General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff seems to agree, as he stayed relatively quiet during the off season.

Here’s a look at what transpired this offseason and what to expect for the upcoming year.

Offence:

The Jets have a big, deep top 9 group led by captain Andrew Ladd and hulking winger Blake Wheeler, who has averaged a highly respectable 66 points per season during his four years in Winnipeg. After years of being thin up the middle going all the way back to their days in Atlanta, the emergence of young centers Mark Scheifele (6’3) and Adam Lowry (6’5) last year gives the Jets young options with size for the foreseeable future. Lowry forced his way onto the team during camp last year and is looking to improve offensively this year, having spent most of the offseason working on his foot speed and shooting capabilities. You can tell Maurice has high hopes for the lad; he’s been experimenting with him as the number one pivot, shifting longtime center Bryan Little to the wing. A lot of people might have his ceiling pegged as a high end number 3 center, but it seems there might be a little more than originally thought with the young Lowry. He did score 45 goals in his final season of junior, after all.

The Jets have intriguing options all throughout their lineup with Mathieu Perreault, Drew Stafford, Nik Ehlers, and Alexander Burmistrov 2.0 all vying for top 9 roles. Each are capable of providing complementary scoring while still (maybe with the exception of Ehlers) providing a responsible two-way game that allows them to be played in shutdown roles without sacrificing any defensive integrity. While losing utility forward Michael Frolik to unrestricted free agency this past off-season was by no means a positive, Burmistrov plays almost an identical game to him (the same positions too), and maybe, just maybe, offers a higher offensive ceiling. Burmi would need to show he still has the flair and skill he displayed in his 18 year old rookie season to warrant such an evaluation, but those who saw him score this goal in just his 20th NHL game, know that not just anybody can pull something like that off. The soon to be 24 year old did only score 63 points in 107 KHL games (.59 pts/game) so it remains to be seen what his ceiling is at the game’s highest level. He’ll be an intriguing player to follow.

After not re-signing the team’s longest tenured veteran, Jim Slater to an extension, the Jets fourth line will have a new center for the first time since Serge Aubin did the duties way back in 2005. I always thought Slater was a reliable fourth liner to have, but it seems Chevyldayoff wants to give young forwards Andrew Copp (age 21) and J.C. Lipon (22) a look.

Overall the Jets look very deep; comparable to the St. Louis Blues lineup before Tarasenko exploded, they’re just missing that one bonafide superstar to truly carry the load. With Little, Ladd, Wheeler, Stafford, Scheifele, Burmistrov, Ehlers, Perreault, and Lowry as your projected top 9, with WHL graduate Nic Petan waiting in the wings, there are oodles of interesting combinations for Maurice to experiment with.

Defence:

Credit goes to Paul Maurice for basically everything I’m about to say here, as defence has been a weakness of the franchise since their first season in 1999. For the first time in franchise history, goaltender Ondrej Pavelec not only had 6 competent defencemen in front of him, but an effective team defensive system to complement his size and athleticism.

It starts on the right-side for the Jets, where they might have the best 3-man unit in the League. Jacob Trouba, Dustin Byfuglien, and Tyler Myers are all capable top four defensemen with the skillsets to play big minutes against the opposition’s best. They’re all physical and can make a crushing hit (though Myers often chooses not to), all can rush the puck out of the zone, all can make a crisp first pass, and all have rockets from the point. Hm. Not bad.

On the left side is where slightly more questions are asked of the Jets. It figures to feature undersized Toby Enstrom and shutdown man Mark Stuart, with 6’3 sophomore Ben Chiarot looking to improve on what was a pretty impressive 40 game debut last season. Chiarot grew in confidence as the season went along, and by the end of the season was displaying great poise in rushing the puck out and finding an open teammate streaking up ice. He has quick explosive feet and really highlights the skillset that young defencemen need to make the NHL these days: mobility, with an ability to move the puck.

Don’t expect Toby Enstrom to put up 50 points anymore, but he still plays a reliable game highlighted by his excellent positioning and active stick work. Mark Stuart, as usual, will provide character in the dressing room while being an anchor on the first PK unit mentoring Jacob Trouba.

Overall, the Jets have admirable depth on the back end, with young World Junior Gold Medalist Josh Morrissey starting the year with the Manitoba Moose. The depth they have will allow them to be patient with him, and let him take some time in the minors before testing the NHL waters, should they deem necessary.

Goaltending:

For the last 5 years, Ondrej Pavelec has been the scapegoat of the Jets defensive woes for quite some time. After what happened this season, I reckon it’s fair to say that most of such criticism was unfair given the circumstances. With the improved team defense this year, Pavelec was able to better understand his teammates in front of him, and got to depend less on his athletic abilities and more on his positioning. Maurice’s system has certain areas that Pavelec should expect the shots to come from, and I think we were finally able to see what Pavelec is capable of with a team that actually plays 5-man defense. It reminds me a little bit of Brian Elliott thriving after going from defensively incapable Ottawa to the disciplined defensive style of the St. Louis Blues back in 2011. With Pavelec, you get a veteran goaltender going into his prime who possibly might only be scratching the surface with what he’s capable of. There’s still plenty more to prove before he can be considered a bona fide number one goalie, but I’ve seen him play since he came to the league as a 22 year old and there’s no reason to suggest he isn’t still capable of improving. A second year with solid team defense will give us a better indicator of who the true Ondrej is.

Not to be forgotten, Michael Hutchinson is proving to be a savvy pickup for GM Cheveldayoff. Deemed expendable by the Bruins in the summer of 2013 (thanks Malcom Subban), Hutchinson excelled in the AHL and played his first full season of NHL hockey last season, even starting 8 games in a row in mid January. Hutchinson plays a strong positional game and makes quick, efficient movements to stay square to the shooter as much as possible. He seldom makes Jets fans panic since he is rarely caught scrambling; he simply lets the puck come to him. For the upcoming season expect Hutchinson to challenge Pavelec for starts all season long, with Maurice alternating the two until one really takes the reigns and runs with it.

Outlook:

The Jets have all the tools and depth to make it to the postseason again, but with the highly competitive Central Division seeing improvements from the non playoff teams, it’s far from a guarantee. In some sense, regardless of whether they make it back to the big dance or not, the organization as a whole appears to be headed in the right direction, and should expect to see significant progress in the coming years. Coach Paul Maurice will have to keep his team focused for all 82 games, because the difference between a Wildcard spot and 6th in the division is likely to be very thin.