Long-time broadcaster Paul Edmonds believes this Winnipeg Jets team is built different from years past and that this group could be on a special path as they get ready to start the Stanley Cup Playoffs tonight against the St. Louis Blues.
'White Out' a special thing for fans and the team
"For Winnipeg and surrounding area, it's unique because of the 'White Out'," Edmonds says as the excitement level builds towards game one. "It's always a special, unique night when the first time you see the 'White Out' at the street party and the building how it's all decked out. My favourite part is not only my excitement, and I've been through this before, not that it's old hat or anything, but I know what to expect, I've really enjoyed my kids get excited for this and the younger people on our staff that haven't experienced for this yet. They've come from all over the world for the Winnipeg Jets and they're overtly excited about what they're going to see and that's what excites me, seeing it through their eyes. It's really a community involvement, everyone rallies around this team and I think about the great games going back to Jets 1.0 when I was a fan and a kid to now getting to call games in that environment. It's a unique thing, it's a special thing right across the professional hockey league landscape, it's something we've hung our hat on across the province of Manitoba and I think it's a great tradition."
A different feeling this year
Edmonds has been broadcasting the Jets for the past 11 seasons, the last five of which he did all 82 regular season games plus playoffs. For him, he believes that Winnipeg claiming the Presidents Trophy as the NHL's best regular season team, has this year feeling different. "There is a business-first feeling here that I haven't experienced in the last many years. There have been some good teams that have been focused on getting to the Cup and win it, thinking about that 2017/18 team that went to the Western Conference Final and lost to Vegas was one of them, but this is a different sort of animal for the Winnipeg Jets. They have been and they have said it right from the outset, they are hugely disappointed in two first-round knockouts in the last two years. They came to camp this year talking about 5-10% better and they have been. Another special thing about this group is their ability to shrug off losses or park big wins and move on to the next day. They've always handled their business win or lose and they've had their midnight rule that no matter win or lose, at midnight you shut it off, flush it and move on to the next day. That's not just talk, I've seen it in action. Their record is outstanding when bouncing back after a loss, I think they are in the neighbourhood of 18-20 wins when coming off a loss this year. So, they've handled their business day-to-day in special form, unlike I've seen with past teams. That's the other thing when talking about the Presidents Trophy, there was no talk of that leading up to the season. The two things they wanted to accomplish were eliminate eight other teams out of the Western Conference to qualify for playoffs, they did that, and then they talked about winning the Central Division Championship and they won that. With that, came the Western Conference title and the Presidents Trophy, but that hasn't been communicated from the players inside the room or the coaching staff. Sure, there's a stigma about the Presidents Trophy, the players and coaches are not necessarily buying into that. That wasn't one of their objectives. They got to a point where they were leading the league and there were only a couple of games left, so if you're there, you might as well win it, which they did. It gives them home ice advantage throughout the playoffs as long as they're in, but it wasn't their objective. Their objective was to win a couple of things, the playoff spot, the Central Division for home ice and then move forward. I've seen a different slant in this team when it comes to their focus about not just winning a playoff spot, but getting past the first round and advancing as far as they possibly can go. I think part of that is the maturity they've had this year. There hasn't been any rookies on the team this year, it's been a very mature, experienced group and I think that will serve them well in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, starting tonight."
Connor Hellebuyck's crucial role
While the entire team has earned and deserves the credit for where they are, there is a belief that the Jets will go as far as Connor Hellebuyck will take them and if that's the case, Edmonds has complete confidence in the multi-time Vezina winner because of what he's done on and off the ice all season. "He's a special goaltender, there's no question about it," the veteran broadcaster says confidently. "When you look back in the annals of the NHL, the last goaltender that has been able to do what he has done was Bernie Parent and that's led the league in wins, goals against and shutouts. That tells you about the season he has had. The other part of it is, incrementally, he's gotten better every year. Another record for wins this year, the goals against, the minutes played, certainly the way he's handled Eric Comrie and the symmetry they've had will lead to another Jennings Trophy for Connor Hellebuyck. He works really hard at his craft and that's not only during the season, that's at all times. He has an excellent goalie coach and he'll tell anyone that, in Wade Flaherty, those two are joined at the hip. I think if one left, the other would go not too shortly after, they're a package deal. The team loves him, they feel confident when he is in the net, of course, but the main thing about him he's always been healthy. He doesn't extend himself to a more movement or needless movement. He's front and centre to the puck, he tracks it really well, maneuvers very well, he doesn't get himself out of position very often. With that, there is one area that he's really improved on, because we've seen him and he's going to win his third Vezina, there's no doubt about that, but the one thing that's really improved and this is part of being an elite goaltender in today's game, his handling the puck and moving the puck. I think he's gotten better at that over the last couple of years. He won't tell anyone that, he's short on secrets and details when it comes to his game and that's okay, because goaltenders have a unique personality, but I think when he's tried to improve his game, that's been one of the areas. He's always working at getting better and we've seen the proof of that labour, especially over the past couple of years."
Coach Arniel the perfect fit
"One of the biggest transitions you can have in hockey is going from an Assistant Coach to a Head Coach," he says emphatically. "When you're an Assistant, you're the go-to guy, you're the buffer, you're the good cop, if you will. Then you have to go into being the one who's making the final decision, you're the one telling players that are actually sitting down, or not playing, or they're being waived or traded or sent down. From that standpoint, it's been a very good transition for Scott Arniel, but let's not forget, 13 years ago he had an opportunity with Columbus and it didn't go very well, but he spent the next 13 years as either an assistant or associate coach with many organizations. Buffalo, New York Rangers, Washington and then with the Winnipeg Jets. So, the transition has been rather smooth. He was, and I tell people this all the time, when Rick Bowness came in and had to change the culture of the team and then the way he wanted to play a couple of years ago, Scott Arniel was brought in as the associate coach. I thought that was great because, I always believe in, and the Montreal Canadiens do this all the time and they've won more Cups than anybody else, they honour their alumni. Scott came in as an alumni from 1.0, still lives here full time, and his fingerprints have been all over this thing for the past three-plus years. From that standpoint, it wasn't a big change, it wasn't a big hurdle the players had to get over when it came to the system and the way the team wanted to play. Certainly, Arnie as we call him, has his own spin on some things, but it hasn't deviated from the original message from when the new coaching staff showed up here. He's done a great job."
Command and respect in the room
A really interesting thing Arniel has done throughout the year and for Edmonds, shows he has complete command and respect of the room, is how he's handled things at times after games. "One thing that I found really interesting and he just mentioned it to me the other day, sometimes, he doesn't go into the room. After a win or a loss. He lets the players and the leadership group sort things out in that room. He's not right on them all the time, he's a players coach, that's the way we describe it. He can be hard on them when he needs to be. Players these days, even though it's changed, still want to have that. They want to have a message, want to know where to be, he delivers that and he's on my ballot for Coach of the Year, as well."
Facing the St. Louis Blues
Looking at the opponent, the St. Louis Blues, Edmonds has been keeping an eye on them and as he's delved into more about what makes that group one of the hottest in the NHL, he knows it'll be a test but one he says the Jets are more than up for. "I think it all starts in goal with Jordan Binnington. This guy has won a Stanley Cup, he came out of nowhere in 2019 and backstopped the Blues to that incredible run that nobody predicted and he has the ability to steal a game. If you can steal one game, maybe you steal another game and then maybe you might steal a series. It starts for me there, but they also have a nucleus of guys that have been around like Colton Parayko, Brayden Schenn, guys who have been around when it comes to the Stanley Cup previous, there is a foundation for what they've done before. They also play fast and physical, they haven't deviated that Blues team in a lot of years. The personnel has changed, the staff has changed, but their DNA has not. This will be a very good matchup because it's two teams that play the same way, fast, aggressive, physical. One thing that I think and it may be recency bias, but Winnipeg handled St. Louis pretty well a couple of weeks ago in their last regular season game at home. It was a 3-1 win for the Jets, but it wasn't really that close when it came to the score. Am I anticipating a Jets win when it comes to the series? Of course I am. I do believe St. Louis will put up a very good fight, so I could see it go five or six games, for sure. But, you never know, because it comes down to goaltending. As Paul Maurice used to tell us, he always thought that the most valuable players, the Conn Smythe winner should be the guy wearing the goalie pads. So, we'll see if a goaltender can steal a series or win the series for either one of these two teams. I like this matchup for both teams and I think it'll be a great series."
Binnington's turnaround
Edmonds laughs when thinking back a few months when Canadians and Jets fans were cheering on Binnington over Hellebuyck at the 4 Nations and now that's done a complete 180 degree turn. "That spring boarded him into what's been a great run," the broadcaster says. "Along with Joel Hofer from Headingly, Manitoba, of course. As that one-two punch led them to that 12 game winning streak that they put together prior to Winnipeg put a stop to it with that 3-1 victory a couple of weeks ago. Binnington has really used that 4 Nations Faceoff to get his game to an elite level again and that would probably be the number one scary thing for Jets fans, knowing that kind of Jordan Binnington is possible for the Blues and then how Winnipeg will be affected throughout the series."
Pressure on the Jets
Going in as the NHL's top team combined with the lack of playoff success the past couple of years, Edmonds says there is pressure on this team and on this organization heading into the 2025 playoffs. "First off, to the pressure and expectations, I think that if Winnipeg is flying under the radar like they have through most of the season, they're okay with that. They've enjoyed that anonymity, if you will, when it comes to not being a favourite to win anything this year. I remember the first game this year was in Edmonton, they had a panel on Sportsnet that were not picking Winnipeg to do anything. After the first, Winnipeg was up 3-0 on the Oilers, then after the second, they were up 4-0 and they ended up beating the Oilers 6-0 and still on the panel they were not picking Winnipeg to do anything this season. Right from the outset, from game one, Winnipeg wasn't expected to do anything and if that feeling has been pushed into the postseason, the Jets are fine with that. But, with saying that, they do understand the expectation, at least in our market, to get past the first round and get over that hump, through that hurdle. The best quote has come from Scott Arniel and I'm paraphrasing, 'I know we will be judged by what we do from game 83 on.' That is the statement. He knows, the team knows that what they've done here with this incredible season, 56 wins, will really be forgotten quite quickly and the banners and the Presidents Trophy will be forgotten quickly if they do not make some noise in the playoffs. They understand that but if they can fly under the radar but meet their own expectations, they'll gladly take it."
Jets fans might be the reason for winning it all
Since returning to Winnipeg, the Jets fan support has always been there and throughout the year, they've earned more and more attention from across Manitoba and Edmonds believes that will play a huge role in the Jets success. "Their the 7th member of the Winnipeg Jets out there," he says proudly. "The building is so unique from the standpoint that it's the smallest in the NHL at 15,225, but because of the proximity to the ice, it makes a lot of noise. While other building's are loud, certainly when you go to Montreal, that's a real valley of noise, the way the constructed the Bell Centre and for anyone that hasn't been there, you should go, but it's different downtown at Canada Life Centre. It's going to be loud and I think it can influence a game for sure. If you can get that 7th man factor and you have that home ice advantage, everybody talks about having that last game, that game 7 at home, I don't know what the numbers are about teams winning at home in game 7's, but you'd rather be at home, have last change, the comforts, knowing the bounces, there are all kinds of advantages to being at home. The Jets are glad to have it and we'll see if it serves them well. It's like having the hammer in curling, if you have that last rock, you'll take it every time and the Winnipeg Jets winning the Presidents Trophy, they've earned it for every step of their journey and I think it could be a huge factor in the Jets advancing all the way."