Winnipeg Jets: How Long Will the Honeymoon Last?

Without a doubt, hockey fans in Winnipeg are over the moon that their beloved Jets have returned. The franchise can do no wrong.

But how long will that last?

New franchises are allowed a certain honeymoon period, and perhaps Winnipeg fans will allow the Jets a long one. After all, they were heartbroken when the original Jets left and are now ecstatic.

It may take a while before their fans start complaining about coaching decisions, play on the ice or choices made by the front office. Jets’ management should make no mistakes, though; it won’t last forever.

This is a notion that already has the attention of head coach Claude Noel. After an early disappointing loss last month to the Phoenix Coyotes, Noel lashed out at his team in the postgame press conference aired on the NHL Network.

He claimed, “It sure looks like our team thinks we have a free pass to fail. I’m not sure what the wake-up call is.”

Despite what some of the players may have felt, they do not have a free pass.

The fans in Winnipeg are smart hockey fans and are well aware of what they inherited from Atlanta. While not an expansion team, with the way the Trashers were managed they might as well be.

The Jets have one of the youngest rosters in the NHL; with that youth comes inconsistent play.

It has shown on the ice. They still struggle to keep the puck out of their own net and are currently 27^th in the league in goals allowed, despite a good looking young goalie in Ondrej Pavelec.

They have a young star player in the making with Alex Burmistrov, who is playing way beyond his years and could someday be a Selke Trophy winner.

Winnipeg fans are aware of the youth on this team. They are patient and just enjoying hockey right now.

That patience will last a couple seasons longer.

The Jets need to keep pushing to make their team competitive. Hockey-crazed markets, like the one in Winnipeg, can be demanding for players, coaches and franchises as a whole.

Pressure on the Jets to win is going to slowly build over the next two seasons and if they aren’t icing a playoff contender by 2012-13, the fans are going to get restless.

That restlessness will display itself with Internet blogs, message boards, talk radio and boos at the MTS Centre. There will be calls for players, coaches and general managers to be given the axe.

That’s down the road, though.

Winnipeg fans will have to watch a young NHL team go through some growing pains. After all, complaining of growing pains is better than not having a franchise at all.

For now, the honeymoon is still strong.