Winnipeg Jets 2021 Predictions, Team Odds and Season Preview
With players like Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler and Patrik Laine, the Jets are loaded with talent up front and have a Vezina winning goalie in Connor Hellebuyck. At a slim -105 on the NHL futures board to make the playoffs, this is a Jets team that could surprise some people.
Winnipeg Jets 2021 NHL Odds
Bettors don’t have much faith in the Jets this year, as they are tied with Ottawa on the NHL futures board at +750 to be the next Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup and league wide they sit at +3,300. Their season point total over/under is set at 60.5, which in a very tight North Division is an attainable number. Connor Hellebuyck has the best Winnipeg odds on the player props, as the reigning Vezina winner is +800 to repeat, second only to Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevsky.
Winnipeg Jets 2019-20 Season
Record: 37-28-6 (80 points); Fifth in Central; Lost in Qualifying Round, 1-3 (Flames)
Leading Scorers: Kyle Connor (73 points), Mark Scheifele (73 points); Kyle Connor (38 goals)
On a team with a very weak defence, there wasn’t a lot of hope for the Jets’ 2019-20 season. Winnipeg likely would have missed the playoffs if the full 82 game regular season was played, but thanks to their offensive depth and a Vezina winning season from Connor Hellebuyck, the Jets just barely slid into the NHL bubble. Up against Calgary in the best-of-five qualifying round, Winnipeg lost both Patrik Laine and Mark Scheifele to injuries in the first game and was never really able to get back into the series. It was a disappointing end to a season that really exposed the Jets’ desperate need for help on the blue line.
Winnipeg Jets Trades / Acquisitions
It was a quiet off-season in Winnipeg, but it did see the return of Paul Stastny via trade, the signing of depth forward Nate Thompson in free agency and the drafting of elite prospect Cole Perfetti. At 35-years-old, Statsny’s offensive production will certainly have dipped since the last time he put a Winnipeg Jets jersey on, but he is still a responsible and reliable second line centre. In a fourth line role Thompson is a great shutdown centre and while Perfetti likely isn’t ready for a full time NHL job, but with the OHL season delayed it wouldn’t be surprising to see Perfetti get at least a couple games in at the NHL level.
Players to Watch
If there’s one player you can look at to see how the Jets made it to the NHL bubble last season, it’s Connor Hellebuyck. Over the last three seasons Hellebuyck leads the league in games played (188), minutes played (10,938) and shots faced (5,895). He’s the only goalie to play over 180 games in that stretch of time and no one has played within 500 minutes of him. Hellebuyck is a goalie that gives his team the chance to win every night. Bettors on the NHL futures board are liking Hellebuyck’s chances to win a second straight Vezina Trophy, as he’s sitting at +800 to repeat, second only to Andrei Vasilevsky.
Patrik Laine: Laine’s situation is the perfect storm for a big offensive year. Trade speculation has surrounded him all off-season and even if he does stay in Winnipeg, he is playing in the final year of his contract. He has a lot of incentive to score and bettors on the NHL futures board seem to agree. After Kyle Connor, Laine is the favourite to be the Jets’ top goal scorer at +185, while his season point total over/under is set at 48.5. For a player who scored 63 points in 68 games last year, taking the over is tempting.
Kyle Connor: Entering his fourth full season in the league, Connor has continued to get better each year. For the last three seasons he has had 31 goals, 34 goals and 38 goals, respectively, and at 24-years-old he likely hasn’t hit his peak yet. He is +115 on the NHL futures board to lead Winnipeg in goal scoring, +300 to lead the team in points and his season point total over/under is a conservative 51.5.
Best Bets
Winnipeg was the third best team to cover the puckline spread last year, going 42-28 overall, including 31-11 as the underdog, but only 11-17 as the favourite. Also, be careful if you’re betting the over with this team. Last year, the Jets average goals per game (2.96) and goals against per game (2.92) were both below the league average of 2.99. Combine that with a Vezina Trophy winner like Connor Hellebuyck and there could be a lot of Winnipeg games that miss the over, this year.
Winnipeg Jets 2021 Season Prediction
Winnipeg’s forecast is tough to gauge in this shortened season. They’re in a realigned North Division with the rest of the Canadian teams, which likely helps them, but there isn’t much that separates most of those teams. Expectations have dropped over the last two or three years, but with offensive talent like Kyle Connor, Patrik Laine, Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele, along with Vezina winner Connor Hellebuyck, the Jets should have a solid chance to win every night.
At -105 to make the playoffs and +800 to win the North Division, no one is going all-in on Winnipeg. It remains to be seen if the Jets are a playoff team, but if their goaltending can salvage the defence, they should have a great shot at the post season, although a deep playoff run likely isn’t in the cards.