Illegal Curve Hockey

Winnipeg Jets Morning Papers

Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)

Note: The Jets sent 12 players to the dais inside the Matt Frost Media Centre on Thursday as well as head coach Rick Bowness (here) and GM Kevin Cheveldayoff (here) as they reflected on the season that was as well as looked ahead to the next one. Today is the first day of the off season but of course we will have plenty of content coming your way all the way to the NHL Draft in Vegas, Development Camp and then Free Agency.

Note II: Bit of a snafu when it comes to the Moose end of season media as my recording device with almost 20 interviews is currently unavailable. We will have to wait for Manitoba to release their videos before we start to feature them on site (or until I can get mine working).

Jets news:

Winnipeg Sun: Culture changed, Jets’ Bowness reaching for next level. Seems like he may be the one who sets the table but ultimately will he be the one to finish with a meal (i.e. playoff success) very much remains to be seen. But it’s clear he has a lot of pride in what he has helped this team to accomplish with the change in culture.

Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)

Winnipeg Sun: ‘Frustrated’ Dillon hoping to extend stay in Winnipeg, DeMelo too. If I was a betting man I think the Jets are more likely to retain Dylan DeMelo over Brenden Dillon if they are looking at a two to four year deal.

Winnipeg Sun: “I can’t do this alone”: Jets’ Hellebuyck candid after playoff exit. As he spoke I was thinking to myself inside the Matt Frost Media Centre that this was one of the most revealing and insightful chats from the top netminder in Winnipeg.

Winnipeg Sun: ‘Question everything’: Emotions swirl as self-reflecting Jets say farewell to another season.

Winnipeg Sun: Bowness, Cheveldayoff, coy about coach’s future with Jets. He did seem to be having an internal dialogue yesterday while an external one was happening measuring the quiet of retirement with wanting to take this team to the top of the mountain (which in Manitoba is Baldy Mountain in the Ducks at 832 metres).

Winnipeg Free Press: Finding answers Chevy’s top priority. (Paywall). While the mood this summer will be significantly different than the uncertainty that basically surrounded the club until October, it is probably even more important to get things done right over the course of the next few months.

Winnipeg Free Press: Jets’ playoff failure ‘heartbreaking’: Hellebuyck. (Paywall). The question is can this team learn from their past mistakes? Can they take those negative feelings and turn them around?

Winnipeg Free Press: Bowness’s future with Jets remains uncertain. (Paywall). He was coy for the most part during his chat on Thursday but he did have a few tells that made me think he was leaning towards a return provided, of course, the team wants him back for 2024-25 since it’s a team option for next season.

The Athletic Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Jets’ first 3 steps to a successful offseason after playoff disappointment. (Paywall). Murat has turned the page on last season and he’s ready to pen a new novel about the Jets and the 2024-25 campaign.

Sportsnet: Jets face critical off-season questions after ’emotional’ playoff exit. Seems like every off-season there are critical questions facing the Jets. Ah the joy of playing in a Canadian market.

Global News: ‘I take full responsibility’: Winnipeg Jets’ Bowness takes blame for playoff failure. It’s not just on him although he has a big piece of the way things went. The special teams cost this team dearly. That is priority number one to resolve for next season.

Jets video:

TSN: What’s the future of Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness? What does the off-season look like for the Jets? TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger joins SC with Jay Onrait to discuss all these questions and more.

TSN: Some takeaways from the Winnipeg Jets end of season media availabilities. An emotional Connor Hellebuyck was candidly honest about the pain of defeat from the Winnipeg Jets’ exit. TSN Winnipeg reporter John Lu joins 7-Eleven That’s Hockey host Gino Reda to discuss the goaltender’s words. They also spoke about head coach Rick Bowness, the pending UFAs in Winnipeg, Nikolaj Ehlers and more.

David Minuk

Working hard on a daily basis to provide the latest Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose news for our readers and listeners. I also appear on the Illegal Curve Hockey Show every Saturday on our YouTube channel as well as the Illegal Curve Post-Game Show after every single Jets game. And I occasionally jump in the play-by-play booth at Canada Life to provide colour analysis during Manitoba Moose games.