Complete Preview for the Winnipeg Jets' 2014-15 Season

The upcoming season will be the Winnipeg Jets' fourth season in Manitoba, and once again, the team will begin a campaign in which making the playoffs is the ultimate goal. Last year, the Jets finished seventh in the Central Division, they allowed more goals than they scored, and the team continued to wallow in mediocrity.

Something will have to give this year, because four consecutive years of not making the playoffs with the same core roster is flat-out unacceptable. There isn't much to talk about from the 2013-14 season, but here is a look back before looking forward to the upcoming campaign.

What We Learned in 2013-14

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We learned in 2013-14 that it is OK to be mediocre in Winnipeg. The market has been starved for hockey since the original Jets left for Phoenix in 1996, and having a team that is average is better than not having hockey at all.

Despite their poor play and bad record since coming to Winnipeg, each game at the MTS Centre has featured thousands of dedicated fans taunting the opponents and their most talented player.

See Ryan Miller when the Buffalo Sabres came to town. Also, see the taunting of Alex Ovechkin when he came with the Washington Capitals.

The reason this is brought up is because it is a unique situation to have: a mediocre team supported by a fanbase. Prior to the resurgence of the Chicago Blackhawks, the United Center was rather empty. 

The support shown by the fanbase may be interpreted by ownership and management as an acceptance of the team's poor play, and that is the wrong attitude to potentially have.

Last year, the Jets finished last in their division with a record of 37-35-10 and 84 points, and it was another year in which the team underperformed.

There is no reason for the Jets to be as bad as they are given the players on their roster. When you consider the prospects on the way and the makeup of the current roster, the issue at hand should be very blatant at this juncture.

Management has failed to shape the image of this team, and the core of this team was together when the team was in Atlanta. In addition, the franchise has failed to address issues responsible for the team's demise, despite the issue being nothing new.

Ryan Lambert of Puck Daddy outlined a lot of the issues with the Jets in a column, but the biggest issue he mentioned was Ondrej Pavelec:

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The fact is Pavelec has cost the Jets lots of points per season every single year. {...}

His first season in Winnipeg was his best, and his .906 save percentage still cost the team 16 goals versus league average (.914), about five points in the standings. In the lockout-shortened 2013 season, his .905 cut nine goals from the team's numbers, costing them three points. Last year, his .901 cost them 22 goals, or about seven points.

In the last two seasons, those additional points would have put the Jets into the playoffs. Cheveldayoff continues to stand by Pavelec.

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On paper, the Jets have a talented roster with players such as Evander Kane, Blake Wheeler and Andrew Ladd in the top six. They also have a decent defense that features Zach Bogosian, Tobias Enstrom, Jacob Trouba and Mark Stuart.

It isn't the greatest in the world, nor is it the worst. At the very least, it is average or slightly above it, and that should be good enough for the team to make a playoff appearance.

However, the lack of consistent goaltending has held the team back and prevented it from standing a chance at making the playoffs.

Until there is a shakeup in the ranks, no one will ever have to be accountable because the message has been that it is acceptable to be mediocre. Claude Noel was the sacrificial lamb last year, but Kevin Cheveldayoff's unwillingness to improve his roster is just flat-out unacceptable. 

Looking Forward to 2014-15

The Jets added a pair of bottom-six forwards this summer in left winger TJ Galiardi and center Mathieu Perreault. Perreault is the better of the two, and he is coming off a 43-point campaign with the Anaheim Ducks.

In Winnipeg, he will have the chance to add some offense to the bottom six, but it is unlikely he will reach the heights he did in Anaheim. Galiardi, on the other hand, was signed for his defensive prowess, and he will become a top penalty-killer for the Jets once he's healthy.

The forward took a stick to the eye during a preseason contest against the Edmonton Oilers, but that shouldn't stop him from producing this season.

Last season, the Jets killed off 83.2 percent of penalties taken, and the addition of Galiardi should help them maintain or improve upon their ranking of being ninth best. 

In addition to these additions, there is another player fans should be excited to see in 2014-15. Last season, Mark Scheifele tallied 34 points in 63 games, and the 21-year-old should take another step in 2014-15.

He has a solid frame at 6'2" and 195 pounds, and he showed with the Barrie Colts in the OHL that he could be a force to be reckoned with. His game will get better with experience, and he's a forward that fans should be excited about.

With that in mind, here is a complete look at the Jets' potential forward contingent for 2014-15.

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Andrew Ladd	Bryan Little	Blake Wheeler
Evander Kane	Mark Scheifele	Dustin Byfuglien
TJ Galiardi	Mathieu Perreault	Michael Frolik
Eric Tangradi	Jim Slater	Chris Thorburn

Ultimately, the Jets failed to make any significant additions this summer, and that should result in another season of hitting the golf courses in April and drafting very early.

Winnipeg is a prime candidate to finish with one of the worst records in its division, and if Pavelec continues to regress, Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel could be Winnipeg-bound in 2015-16. That wouldn't be the worst thing for the future of the franchise, but a fourth consecutive season of missing the playoffs could lead to a roster shakeup and a front-office change.