Winnipeg Jets clean out lockers, wonder what went wrong and question their futures

Connor Hellebuyck might have looked at times during Winnipeg's first-round NHL playoff series like he was collecting pucks for the Colorado Avalanche, but the Jets goalie sees it differently.

"You're probably not going to believe when I say I was playing the best hockey in my career, but that's truly how I was feeling," he told reporters Thursday at the team's exit meetings with the media.

"Not only was I playing some of my best hockey, but I was in that zone where you're not thinking, you're just playing, and that's what you seek. 

"For me to not be able to put my foot down on a single game is really heartbreaking, because it's not typically how I do things."

Winnipeg had a stretch of 34 straight games during the regular season when it allowed three or fewer goals. And Hellebuyck won the Jennings Trophy for giving up the fewest goals in the league overall.

But in the playoffs, it was a different story. He let in at least five goals in each of the five games as the Jets were eliminated and outscored 28-15.

Hellebuyck was also drilled for 185 shots for an average of 37 per game, compared to the 140 the Jets directed at the Avs.

"I feel like a lot of those games, I was stealing some goals," he said, adding he's watched video and there weren't many he could have had. "I don't know if I even saw half of the pucks going in the net.

"That being said … I absolutely need to be better if we're going to win. I can't be giving up that many goals."

Captain Adam Lowry said the Jets leaned too much on their netminder and left him facing way too many Grade-A scoring chances.

"[There's] frustration we couldn't do more in front of him, so slow down those things," he said.

Both players said the Jets tried to make adjustments through the series but were simply outplayed by a team that had more pressure and a stronger desire to win every battle.

"You can make all the changes in the world, but it's kind of a futile experience" if you don't perform them, Lowry said.

"It's on all of us to make that stuff work," Hellebuyck added.

Both agree there are lessons from every loss and that the team — which they feel is on the cusp of being elite — will use those lessons to rise to that next level.

"We were so good [in the regular season]," Hellebuyck said. "I'm hoping that this series kind of opened our eyes to the last piece of the puzzle to go on a long run."

Those sentiments were universally shared by the players made available Thursday: Josh Morrissey, Nikolaj Ehlers, Kyle Connor, Tyler Toffoli, Sean Monahan, Dylan DeMelo, Mark Scheifele, Nate Schmidt, Neal Pionk and Brenden Dillon.

"We had a great team and great opportunity in front of us and obviously we fell short," said Monahan, whom the Jets acquired in a trade with Montreal in February.

"Clearly we under-performed," added DeMelo. "I really thought we had a really good group. We just didn't execute well. We didn't play well."

The Jets made some strides in Game 5, playing faster and harder than they had all series, Connor said, but quickly added "it's results-based business and … we need better from everybody, myself included."

Free agents, coach examine future 

As they packed up gear and looked ahead to summer, some players — Monahan, Toffoli, DeMelo, Dillon — also looked to an uncertain future. So did head coach Rick Bowness, saying he's talked about his future with his wife and family.

"Every year I sit there and talk to Judy, talk to the kids," he said. "I know what I'm going to do. I know what I want to do. That'll come out."

Bowness, 69, signed a two-year contract with the team in July 2022. A third year is a club option.

He was away from the team twice because of a seizure his wife experienced last October and then his own minor medical procedure in March.

As for the Jets' playoff performance, Bowness said "I take full responsibility. The standards that I had set for the team and myself, we didn't reach that standard. I put the onus on me to make sure that doesn't happen again."

DeMelo, who turned 31 on Wednesday, is a pending unrestricted free agent but said he would love to remain a Jet.

"There's no doubt about it. I'm definitely comfortable here," he said, announcing he and his wife are expecting their second child. 

"I feel like I've grown here as a player, as a person. I really enjoy the city and being here and the fans, and it feels like home for sure. So I hope it works out."

DeMelo added he's never been to the conference finals or beyond.

"I want to get there, and there's no doubt about it, that I feel that we can do this. You only get so many kicks at the can."

Monahan, 29, has only been a Jet for two months and is about to become an unrestricted free agent, but said he likes what Winnipeg has assembled.

"I want to give myself a chance to win, and this is a spot that definitely wants to win and has the makings of doing that," he said.

Dillon, who suffered a nasty gash to his left hand in Game 3 and missed the next two, said there was no serious damage and he would have been back by Game 7.

Now he's wondering if he'll be back at all.

"Am I frustrated that I'm not signed and sitting here and ready for next year? Absolutely. I'm a proud Winnipeg Jet" and will be until July 1, unless a deal is done sooner, he said.

"It's not always about going for the big money. I haven't won a Stanley Cup yet and I think that's gonna be a big part of it," said Dillon.

"You obviously want to feel wanted and feel like you're a big part of that. So those are kind of the things I'm weighing.… Hopefully we can make it work."