In a script that’s all too familiar in this province, the Jets have once again been unceremoniously eliminated in the opening round of the NHL playoffs. Some thoughts:

After last year’s playoff debacle the Jets shipped off hard-working Blake Wheeler. Winnipeg went on to have one of their best seasons ever, finishing as the best defensive team in the NHL. The hope was that whatever toxicity used to be in the Jets dressing room was now gone, freeing up the players to play to their true ability. But this year’s disappointing playoff version of the Jets looks almost as woeful as last year’s version. To their credit Winnipeg worked hard and played like they cared in game 5 against Colorado, but it was way too little, way too late. That sound you hear is Blake Wheeler laughing.

As the playoffs approached much was made of an unnamed NHLer calling the Jets “frauds” on a popular podcast. The anonymous player said the Jets regular season success wasn’t real and that the team would be quickly eliminated in the opening round. Ouch. The truth hurts.

Expect our rental players (Tyler Tofolli and Sean Monahan) to get out of Dodge as fast as possible. Had the Jets made a deep playoff run, they may have wanted to stick around but after seeing the team’s total collapse at the absolute worst time of the year, they will leave and the idea of an ominous cloud hanging over this franchise come playoff time, will only get stronger. They had zero impact in the playoffs so it won’t be difficult to see them go.