Winnipeg Jets To Dismantle Team After Disappointing First Round Exit?

The Winnipeg Jets seem to be in shambles after their first round loss as the head coach Rick Bowness and the players aren't on the same page. Although Bowness is right to say that the team didn't have a good series and showed little pushback as they did at times during the regular season, Blake Wheeler is also right in that it's a team matter to discuss behind closed doors.

Before this disappointing end to the season, the Jets were already looking like they were going to be in a tough spot this offseason. Pierre-Luc Dubois does not want to re-sign no matter how hard the Jets try to convince him. The center is a RFA this summer and if he goes to arbitration, he will be awarded a one-year deal and become a UFA next summer, being lost for nothing. This has led to discussions of his trade this offseason to the Montreal Canadiens already.

Though Dubois is the most likely candidate to be gone this offseason, the roster could very well be blown up ahead of time as the contracts of a number of their leaders and stars are coming to an end soon. Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, Connor Hellebuyck, Nino Niederreiter, Brendan Dillon, and Dylan DeMelo all have one year left while Nikolaj Ehlers, Neal Pionk, Nate Schmidt have two years left.

Hellebuyck gave the Jets another very good season and they squandered it, while Josh Morrissey will have a very tough time replicating the success he had this season. It looks like the team is headed downhill without anything to show for it with the strong core they had for years. It might be time to dismantle and get assets back before losing everything in free agency.