Are the Winnipeg Jets serious Stanley Cup contenders?

Another win on Sunday for the Winnipeg Jets has them riding a four-game win streak, and now they sit on top of the Central Division with a 16-8-2 record. After seeming like they were going to be selling in the offseason and become more of a rebuilding team, this is a surprising turn of events.

Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli talked about the Jets success so far this season, and whether or not they’ve put themselves in the Cup contender category.

Frank Seravalli: I don’t know if I’m in the Cup contender category yet, but what the Jets have done this season has been incredibly impressive. They’re in first place in the Central Division for the first time in a calendar year, and this team has shown tons of fight.

What I love about their team to this point in the season is that they’ve also shown that they can defend, and that will go a long way in terms of this team ultimately entering that conversation.

Connor Hellebuyck has been unconscious. His last 10 games, so his last month of hockey, 7-3-0 with a .936 save percentage, almost 94%.

He’s a workhorse, he’s been a beast this year, but the Jets are really well balanced, it feels like. You’ve got your stars, the Kyle Connors and the Mark Scheifeles and the Josh Morrisseys who’ve been great, but the contributions Winnipeg’s gotten from Cole Perfetti and even Nikolaj Ehlers, who’s having a bit of a down season, the Jets are kind of well situated. Nino Niederreiter’s been in that conversation this year, he earns himself an extension.

I like what I’ve seen from Winnipeg in terms of not just their ability to score and hang in the fight, but also their ability to keep pucks out of their own net. Hellebuyck helps, but this isn’t a team that’s really ever in big trouble it feels like. The Jets settle in in their own end and are able to compete and play.

Tyler Yaremchuk: I really like their blueline, I like that you’ve pointed that out, it’s not just Hellebuyck standing on his head making 40 saves every night to help them win games. I like the look of this group, and then you mention the forward group. It’s balanced, they’re scoring a lot this season, and again, the beginning of the season, a lot of people maybe would have expected them to be sellers before the extensions for Hellebuyck and Scheifele.

Now I look at the Jets and if they can add one more center to the mix here, all of a sudden they’re looking like a real tough team to stop. I wonder if Kevin Cheveldayoff is going to feel some pressure to add.

Frank Seravalli: I’m sure there’s certainly a part of him in his own mind that’s thinking maybe this team deserves to add.

But I think they’re a great reminder of when you look at their forward group, it’s not always about the biggest, splashiest, sexiest addition. Look at Niederreiter and the cost to acquire him at the deadline last year. Look at how Namestnikov has fit into this team. Then you add in the growth that we’ve seen from Perfetti. Then Gabriel Vilardi’s been good and that trade from the L.A. Kings basically adding an entire forward line. They’ve really beefed things up around the rest of that group that it’s not so reliant on their stars, which I think has really helped them.

You can watch the full episode here…