Winnipeg Jets Morning Papers

Note:  The Jets were off the ice on Monday but did hold a media availability as they discussed their second round opponent.    The team is on the ice today as they continue to prepare for a series with the Predators which will kick off in Nashville although the dates of games remains a mystery at this time.  Jets Playoff Practice Report goes live at 11 am when practice begins which you can read here.

Note II:  The Moose hit the ice at the IcePlex at 10 am for a skate before they take off for Michigan.  They split their weekend series with the Griffins and now it becomes a best of three to be played in Grand Rapids.  One noteworthy event that took place on Monday for the Jets farm club was they signed Jets prospect goalie Mikhail Berdin to ATO.

Jets news:

NBC Sports: Patience pays off for Jets in building Stanley Cup contender.  Slow and steady wins the race.

Winnipeg Sun:  Jets hope Wild win closes experience gap.  We are no longer talking about a team without a playoff win or even a series win.  Will that be sufficient to bring them up to the same level as a team that went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final?  We shall soon find out.

Winnipeg Sun:  Season series means nothing.  Most coaches will tell you that while the regular season is important the playoffs are an entirely different animal.  

Winnipeg Sun:  Jets, Preds should be must-see TV.  Paul lists off all the reasons you should be glued to your TV the entire time this series goes on between these two squads.

Winnipeg Sun:  Jets forward not a Calder finalist despite leading rookies in goals.  Probably cost him some bonus money but the fact is he has had a remarkable season and I suspect that the three finalists would prefer to be in the playoffs than on the outside looking in.

Winnipeg Sun: Jets’ playoff fever catching on.  It has been fantastic to see all the fans downtown when there would usually be none and the local businesses are certainly benefiting from the boost in downtown population.

Winnipeg Free Press:  NHL’s two best teams in regular season ready to lock horns in second round of playoffs.  (Paywall).  It is going to be beyond epic when these two titans clash.

Winnipeg Free Press:  Rookie scoring leader Connor not worrying about Calder snub.  (Paywall).  No point in lamenting what he didn’t win but it certainly won’t diminish the season he had in his rookie campaign.

Winnipeg Free Press:  NHL’s absurd playoff system penalizes Jets for finishing second in league.  (Paywall).  Hard to disagree although this could end up being the most epic second round in NHL history.

Winnipeg Free Press:  Fans will make Winnipeg a go-to town for NHL players.  (Paywall).  Drafting is always gonna be key for this organization but ultimately if you have a winning product on the ice players who want to win will be attracted to a market that doesn’t allow you to golf year round.

The Athletic:  Toby Enstrom’s return will be a big boost for the Jets against the Predators.  (Paywall).  He certainly will help with his ability to make a crisp breakout pass and his partnership with the Jets big man on the back end will certainly prove valuable.

CBC: Now that it’s Nashville, Jets start to stalk Predators.  The chess match is on as these two adversaries began to study the other, figure out their opponents weakness in order to exploit it.  This is a battle of two very evenly matched teams so it may come down to the small details.

CBC: Predators won’t allow people outside of region to buy playoff tickets.  Not a bad move to try to eliminate a few more folks yelling ‘True North’ during the anthem.

Tennessean: Predators, Jets should not be playing yet — but we’ll take it! A view from the other side.

Jets video:

Sportsnet:  Jets will beat the Predators, make the Cup Final.  Don Cherry is making a prediction that folks in Manitoba will embrace. 

TSN: Predators, Jets to extend regular season chippiness into playoffs.  The Predators and Jets are both very good defensive teams but their clashes in the regular season were high-scoring affairs. That’s Hockey discusses and weighs in on whether or not their physical play brought about by their dislike for one another will be magnified in the post season.

TSN:  I made Foligno sweat a bit, but we hugged it out after series.  Leafs Lunch host Andi Petrillo with Gord Miller and Andy Chiodo are joined by Jets defenceman Tyler Myers to discuss how the team is feeling after advancing to the second round and how they feel given the great expectations and the buzz around Winnipeg.

Jets audio:

TSN 1290 Winnipeg:  The Jets draft and develop plan has been a success. Tim Campbell of NHL.com joins Andrew Paterson and Rick Ralph on the Afternoon Ride. They discuss the atmosphere in Winnipeg following the Jets series win over Minnesota, the Jets veterans experiencing playoff success for the first time, the number of Jets draft picks making a significant impact, how the focus remains on the task at hand, what he learned about the Jets after defeating Minnesota in five games and how the Jets match-up vs. Nashville.

TSN 1290 Winnipeg: Jets and Preds will be a physical series. Jets analyst Trevor Kidd joined host Kevin Olszewski to recap Winnipeg’s round one victory over Minnesota and look ahead to a match-up with the Nashville Predators.

TSN 1050 Toronto:  Connor Hellebuyck has been a rock for us.  Jets defenceman Tyler Myers joined Leafs Lunch with Andi Petrillo, Gord Miller and Andy Chiodo to break down the Jets moving on to face the Predators, the play of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, how key Coach Paul Maurice has been.

TSN 1290 Winnipeg: Jets/Preds series is a coin flip.  TSN’s Bob McKenzie joined the Big Show to chat NHL playoffs and give his preview of the Jets and Predators doing battle in what is shaping up to be a legit pick’em.

Moose news:

Illegal Curve:  Moose sign Jets 2016 6th rounder Mikhail Berdin to ATO.  His celebration when he scored back in November during a USHL game was epic.