2017–18 Winnipeg Jets season explained

League:	NHL
Season:	2017–18
Year:	2017
Team:	Winnipeg Jets
Conference:	Western
Conferencerank:	2nd
Division:	Central
Divisionrank:	2nd
Record:	52–20–10
Homerecord:	32–7–2
Roadrecord:	20–13–8
Goalsfor:	277
Goalsagainst:	218
Generalmanager:	Kevin Cheveldayoff
Coach:	Paul Maurice
Captain:	Blake Wheeler
Altcaptain:	Dustin Byfuglien Mark Scheifele
Arena:	Bell MTS Place
Attendance:	15,321^[1]
Minorleague:	Manitoba Moose (AHL) Jacksonville Icemen (ECHL)
Goalsleader:	Patrik Laine (44)
Assistsleader:	Blake Wheeler (68)
Pointsleader:	Blake Wheeler (91)
Plusminusleader:	Mark Scheifele (+19)
Pimleader:	Dustin Byfuglien (112)
Winsleader:	Connor Hellebuyck (44)
Gaaleader:	Connor Hellebuyck (2.36)

The 2017–18 Winnipeg Jets season was the 19th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 25, 1997, and the seventh in Winnipeg, since the franchise relocated from Atlanta prior to the start of the 2011–12 NHL season.^[2] The Jets clinched their second playoff spot since relocating from Atlanta after beating the Nashville Predators 5–4 in a shootout on March 25, 2018. The Jets finished the season with 114 points, the second-best record in the NHL. Both are the best-ever finishes for both the Thrashers/Jets franchise and any Winnipeg-based NHL team.

On April 11, 2018, the Jets won their first playoff game in franchise history when they defeated the Minnesota Wild 3–2 ending an 8-game playoff losing streak. On April 20, 2018, the team won its first playoff series when they defeated the Wild 5–0 and advanced to the Second Round. They then took the Presidents' Trophy-winning Nashville Predators to seven games to advance to the Western Conference Final – the deepest playoff run for a Winnipeg-based NHL team. The original Jets only got as far as the second round during their run in Winnipeg, in 1985 and 1987. Their season would come to an end during the Western Conference Final where they lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games.

Schedule and results

Pre-season

The pre-season schedule was published on June 12, 2017.^[3]

2017 pre-season game log: 2–3–2 (Home: 2–1–1 ; Road: 0–2–1)
	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 18	Minnesota	3–2	Winnipeg	SO		15,294	0–0–1	Recap
2	September 20	Edmonton	4–1	Winnipeg			15,294	0–1–1	Recap
3	September 21	Winnipeg	0–1	Minnesota		Hellebuyck	16,518	0–2–1	Recap
4	September 23	Winnipeg	2–6	Edmonton			18,347	0–3–1	Recap
5	September 25	Calgary	2–5	Winnipeg		Mason	15,294	1–3–1	Recap
6	September 27	Ottawa	3–5	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,294	2–3–1	Recap
7	September 30	Winnipeg	2–3	Calgary	SO	Mason	19,289	2–3–2	Recap

Regular season

The regular season schedule was released on June 22, 2017.^[4]

2017–18 game log

October: 6–3–2 (Home: 3–2–0 ; Road: 3–1–2)
	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts	Recap
1	October 4		7–2	Winnipeg			15,321	0–1–0	0	Recap
2	October 7	Winnipeg	3–6			Mason	19,289	0–2–0	0	Recap
3	October 9	Winnipeg	5–2				18,347	1–2–0	2	Recap
4	October 12	Winnipeg	4–2			Hellebuyck	15,589	2–2–0	4	Recap
5	October 14		1–2	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	3–2–0	6	Recap
6	October 17		5–2	Winnipeg		Mason	15,321	3–3–0	6	Recap
7	October 20		3–4	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	4–3–0	8	Recap
8	October 26	Winnipeg	1–2		OT	Hellebuyck	18,445	4–3–1	9	Recap
9	October 27	Winnipeg	1–2		OT	Mason	14,224	4–3–2	10	Recap
10	October 29		1–7	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	5–3–2	12	Recap
11	October 31	Winnipeg	2–1			Hellebuyck	18,814	6–3–2	14	Recap

November: 9–3–2 (Home: 5–0–1 ; Road: 4–3–1)
	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts	Recap
12	November 2		2–5	Winnipeg			15,321	7–3–2	16	Recap
13	November 4		5–4	Winnipeg	OT	Hellebuyck	15,321	7–3–3	17	Recap
14	November 6	Winnipeg	4–1			Hellebuyck	17,895	8–3–3	19	Recap
15	November 10	Winnipeg	2–5			Hellebuyck	18,110	8–4–3	19	Recap
16	November 11	Winnipeg	4–1				16,078	9–4–3	21	Recap
17	November 14		1–4	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	10–4–3	23	Recap
18	November 16		2–3	Winnipeg	SO	Hellebuyck	15,321	11–4–3	25	Recap
19	November 18		2–5	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	12–4–3	27	Recap
20	November 20	Winnipeg	3–5			Hellebuyck	17,113	12–5–3	27	Recap
21	November 22	Winnipeg	2–1			Mason	18,230	13–5–3	29	Recap
22	November 24	Winnipeg	4–1			Hellebuyck	16,035	14–5–3	31	Recap
23	November 25	Winnipeg	0–4			Mason	17,189	14–6–3	31	Recap
24	November 27		2–7	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	15–6–3	33	Recap
25	November 29	Winnipeg	2–3		OT	Hellebuyck	13,017	15–6–4	34	Recap

December: 8–5–2 (Home: 6–1–0 ; Road: 2–4–2)
	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts	Recap
26	December 1		4–7	Winnipeg			15,321	16–6–4	36	Recap
27	December 3		0–5	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	17–6–4	38	Recap
28	December 5	Winnipeg	1–5			Hellebuyck	19,515	17–7–4	38	Recap
29	December 7	Winnipeg	4–6				10,768	17–8–4	38	Recap
30	December 9	Winnipeg	3–4		OT	Hellebuyck	19,092	17–8–5	39	Recap
31	December 11		1–5	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	18–8–5	41	Recap
32	December 14		5–1	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	18–9–5	41	Recap
33	December 16	Winnipeg	0–2				17,964	18–10–5	41	Recap
34	December 17		0–4	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	19–10–5	43	Recap
35	December 19	Winnipeg	6–4			Hellebuyck	17,432	20–10–5	45	Recap
36	December 21	Winnipeg	1–2		SO	Hellebuyck	17,565	20–10–6	46	Recap
37	December 23	Winnipeg	2–5			Mason	13,589	20–11–6	46	Recap
38	December 27		3–4	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	21–11–6	48	Recap
39	December 29		2–4	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	22–11–6	50	Recap
40	December 31	Winnipeg	5–0			Hellebuyck	18,347	23–11–6	52	Recap

January: 7–2–2 (Home: 4–0–0 ; Road: 3–2–2)
	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts	Recap
41	January 2	Winnipeg	2–3		OT		13,058	23–11–7	53	Recap
42	January 5		3–4	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	24–11–7	55	Recap
43	January 7		1–4	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	25–11–7	57	Recap
44	January 9	Winnipeg	7–4				17,398	26–11–7	59	Recap
45	January 12	Winnipeg	1–2			Hellebuyck	21,588	26–12–7	59	Recap
46	January 13	Winnipeg	1–4			Hellebuyck	19,207	26–13–7	59	Recap
47	January 20	Winnipeg	2–1		SO	Hellebuyck	19,289	27–13–7	61	Recap
48	January 21		0–1	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	28–13–7	63	Recap
49	January 23	Winnipeg	5–4		OT	Hellebuyck	17,237	29–13–7	65	Recap
50	January 25	Winnipeg	3–4		SO	Hellebuyck	17,174	29–13–8	66	Recap
51	January 30		1–3	Winnipeg			15,321	30–13–8	68	Recap

February: 7–4–1 (Home: 5–4–1 ; Road: 2–0–0)
	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts	Recap
52	February 1		3–2	Winnipeg	OT		15,321	30–13–9	69	Recap
53	February 3		0–3	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	31–13–9	71	Recap
54	February 6		3–4	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	32–13–9	73	Recap
55	February 9		5–2	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	32–14–9	73	Recap
56	February 11		3–1	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	32–15–9	73	Recap
57	February 13		3–4	Winnipeg	OT	Hellebuyck	15,321	33–15–9	75	Recap
58	February 16		1–6	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	34–15–9	77	Recap
59	February 18		2–7	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	35–15–9	79	Recap
60	February 20		4–3	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	35–16–9	79	Recap
61	February 23	Winnipeg	4–0			Hellebuyck	18,912	36–16–9	81	Recap
62	February 24	Winnipeg	5–3				18,532	37–16–9	83	Recap
63	February 27		6–5	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	37–17–9	83	Recap

March: 11–3–1 (Home: 7–0–0 ; Road: 4–3–1)
	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts	Recap
64	March 2		3–4	Winnipeg			15,321	38–17–9	85	Recap
65	March 4	Winnipeg	3–2			Hellebuyck	11,407	39–17–9	87	Recap
66	March 6	Winnipeg	3–0				18,006	40–17–9	89	Recap
67	March 8	Winnipeg	3–2			Hellebuyck	14,023	41–17–9	91	Recap
68	March 10	Winnipeg	1–2			Hellebuyck	19,929	41–18–9	91	Recap
69	March 12	Winnipeg	2–3		OT	Hellebuyck	18,506	41–18–10	92	Recap
70	March 13	Winnipeg	1–3				17,534	41–19–10	92	Recap
71	March 15		2–6	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	42–19–10	94	Recap
72	March 18		2–4	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	43–19–10	96	Recap
73	March 20		1–2	Winnipeg	OT		15,321	44–19–10	98	Recap
74	March 23		2–3	Winnipeg	OT	Hellebuyck	15,321	45–19–10	100	Recap
75	March 25		4–5	Winnipeg	SO	Hellebuyck	15,321	46–19–10	102	Recap
76	March 27		4–5	Winnipeg	SO	Hellebuyck	15,321	47–19–10	104	Recap
77	March 29	Winnipeg	2–6			Comrie	21,839	47–20–10	104	Recap
78	March 31	Winnipeg	3–1			Hellebuyck	19,101	48–20–10	106	Recap

April: 4–0–0 (Home: 2–0–0 ; Road: 2–0–0)
	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts	Recap
79	April 2	Winnipeg	6–5				17,122	49–20–10	108	Recap
80	April 3	Winnipeg	5–4		OT		21,302	50–20–10	110	Recap
81	April 5		1–2	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	51–20–10	112	Recap
82	April 7		1–4	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	52–20–10	114	Recap

Legend:

Playoffs

See main article: 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs.

2018 Stanley Cup playoffs

Western Conference First Round vs. (C3) Minnesota Wild: Winnipeg won 4–1
	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Series	Recap
1	April 11	Minnesota	2–3	Winnipeg			15,321	1–0	Recap
2	April 13	Minnesota	1–4	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	2–0	Recap
3	April 15	Winnipeg	2–6	Minnesota		Hellebuyck	19,175	2–1	Recap
4	April 17	Winnipeg	2–0	Minnesota		Hellebuyck	19,277	3–1	Recap
5	April 20	Minnesota	0–5	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	4–1	Recap

Western Conference Second Round vs. (C1) Nashville Predators: Winnipeg won 4–3
	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Series	Recap
1	April 27	Winnipeg	4–1	Nashville			17,307	1–0	Recap
2	April 29	Winnipeg	4–5	Nashville	2OT	Hellebuyck	17,274	1–1	Recap
3	May 1	Nashville	4–7	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	2–1	Recap
4	May 3	Nashville	2–1	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	2–2	Recap
5	May 5	Winnipeg	6–2	Nashville		Hellebuyck	17,513	3–2	Recap
6	May 7	Nashville	4–0	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	3–3	Recap
7	May 10	Winnipeg	5–1	Nashville		Hellebuyck	17,523	4–3	Recap

Western Conference Finals vs. (P1) Vegas Golden Knights: Vegas won 4–1
	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Series	Recap
1	May 12	Vegas	2–4	Winnipeg			15,321	1–0	Recap
2	May 14	Vegas	3–1	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	1–1	Recap
3	May 16	Winnipeg	2–4	Vegas		Hellebuyck	18,477	1–2	Recap
4	May 18	Winnipeg	2–3	Vegas		Hellebuyck	18,697	1–3	Recap
5	May 20	Vegas	2–1	Winnipeg		Hellebuyck	15,321	1–4	Recap

Legend:

Player statistics

Final Stats^[5]

Skaters

Regular season
Player					data-sort-type="number"
	81	23	68	91	13	52
	82	44	26	70	8	24
	82	29	31	60	14	26
	60	23	37	60	19	18
	76	31	26	57	8	16
	69	8	37	45	15	112
	82	16	27	43	2	28
	70	17	22	39	4	38
	82	6	30	36	9	48
	79	12	17	29	3	22
	82	9	19	28	17	14
	81	7	19	26	15	47
	55	3	21	24	9	34
	45	8	13	21	9	8
	61	8	10	18	13	18
	31	5	9	14	5	2
	57	2	12	14	15	32
	60	5	8	13	−1	39
^†	19	4	9	13	6	4
	62	3	8	11	6	22
	43	1	5	6	8	20
^†	18	1	4	5	7	0
	23	2	1	3	−2	6
	27	1	2	3	−1	10
	15	2	0	2	0	6
	24	1	1	2	2	0
	1	1	0	1	0	0
	9	1	0	1	2	21

Playoffs
Player					data-sort-type="number"
	17	3	18	21	2	10
	17	14	6	20	6	10
	17	5	11	16	2	20
	17	6	9	15	5	0
	17	5	7	12	2	4
	17	3	7	10	2	2
	16	4	3	7	7	8
	15	0	7	7	4	2
	17	4	2	6	−4	11
	17	1	5	6	5	2
	17	2	1	3	6	17
	16	1	2	3	−1	4
	16	0	3	3	3	15
	10	0	3	3	4	2
	13	2	0	2	2	6
	16	1	1	2	2	6
	17	0	2	2	−4	8
	9	1	0	1	1	4
	6	1	0	1	2	14
	1	0	0	0	−1	2
	2	0	0	0	1	0
	5	0	0	0	0	4
	11	0	0	0	−2	2

Goaltenders

Regular season
Player
style=white-space:nowrap	67	64	3,965:54	44	11	9	156	2.36	2048	.924	6	0	2	0
style=white-space:nowrap	13	12	684:53	5	6	1	37	3.24	392	.906	1	0	1	0
style=white-space:nowrap	3	3	128:45	2	1	0	7	3.26	75	.907	0	0	1	0
style=white-space:nowrap	3	3	180:26	1	2	0	12	3.99	94	.872	0	0	0	0

Playoffs
Player
style=white-space:nowrap		17	17	1,015:07	9	8	40	2.36	511	.922	2	0	0	2
style=white-space:nowrap		1	0	20:00	0	0	0	0.00	7	1.000	0	0	0	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Jets. Statistics reflect time with the Jets only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Statistics reflect time with the Jets only.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

Transactions

The Jets have been involved in the following transactions during the 2017–18 season.

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 21, 2017	To Vegas Golden Knights 1st-round pick in 2017 3rd-round pick in 2019	To Winnipeg Jets CBJ's 1st-round pick in 2017 Expansion Draft considerations	^[6]
February 26, 2018	To St. Louis Blues Erik Foley Conditional 1st-round pick in 2018 Conditional 4th-round pick in 2020	To Winnipeg Jets Paul Stastny	^[7]
February 26, 2018	To Montreal Canadiens 4th-round pick in 2018	To Winnipeg Jets Joe Morrow	^[8]

Notes:

The Vegas Golden Knights selected Chris Thorburn in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft.

Free agents acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
			2-year, $8.2 million	^[9]
			3-year, $12.99 million	^[10]
			1-year, $650,000	^[11]
			1-year, $650,000	^[12]
			1-year, $650,000	^[13]
			1-year, $700,000	^[14]

Free agents lost

Date	Player	New team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
			1-year, $725,000	^[15]
			1-year, $700,000	^[16]
			1-year, $650,000	^[17]
			1-year, $1.3 million	^[18]
			1-year, $650,000	^[19]
			1-year	^[20]
			Unknown	^[21]
			1-year	^[22]

Player signings

Date	Player	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
		2-year, $2.8 million	^[23]
		1-year, $700,000	^[24]
		2-year, $2 million	^[25]
		3-year, $2.275 million entry-level contract	^[26]
		1-year, $650,000	^[27]
		1-year, $2.25 million	^[28]
		6-year, $31.746 million contract extension	^[29]
		3-year, $2.54 million entry-level contract	^[30]
		7-year, $42 million	^[31]
		1-year, $925,000 entry-level contract	^[32]
		3-year, entry-level contract	^[33]

Draft picks

See also: List of Winnipeg Jets draft picks. Below are the Winnipeg Jets' selections at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 23 and 24, 2017 at the United Center in Chicago.

Round		Player	Pos	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	24¹	Kristian Vesalainen	LW	Frölunda HC (SHL)
2	43	Dylan Samberg	D	Hermantown High School (USHS)
3	74	Johnny Kovacevic	D	Merrimack College (Hockey East)
4	105	Santeri Virtanen	C	TPS U20 (Jr. A SM-liiga)
5	136	Leon Gawanke	D	Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (QMJHL)
6	167	Arvid Holm	G	Karlskrona HK (J20 SuperElit)
7	198	Skyler McKenzie	C	Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
7	211²	Croix Evingson	D	Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)

Draft notes:^[34]

The Columbus Blue Jackets' first-round pick went to the Winnipeg Jets as the result of a trade on June 21, 2017, that sent a first-round pick in 2017, a third-round pick in 2019 to Vegas and ensured that Vegas selected Chris Thorburn in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft from Winnipeg in exchange for this pick.^[35]
The Montreal Canadiens' seventh-round pick went to the Winnipeg Jets as the result of a trade on June 25, 2016 that sent a seventh-round pick in 2016 to Montreal in exchange for this pick.^[36]

Notes and References

Web site: 2017-2018 NHL Attendance . ESPN.com . November 7, 2021.
Book: National Hockey League. The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2011. 2010 . Triumph Books . 19. 978-1-60078-422-4.
Web site: Jets announce 2017 pre-season schedule. NHL.com. September 19, 2017. June 12, 2017.
Web site: Jets Release 2017-18 Regular Season Schedule. NHL.com. September 19, 2017. June 22, 2017.
Web site: Winnipeg Jets Stats - 2017-2018. NHL.com. September 19, 2017.
Web site: 2017 NHL expansion draft results: All the Golden Knights' trades . sbnation.com . June 21, 2017. live . June 26, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170622061453/https://www.sbnation.com/2017/6/21/15835324/nhl-expansion-draft-2017-trades-vegas-golden-knights-roster . June 22, 2017 .
Web site: Jets acquire Paul Stastny from St. Louis. NHL.com. February 26, 2018. February 26, 2018.
Web site: Jets acquire Joe Morrow from the Montreal Canadiens. NHL.com. February 26, 2018. February 26, 2018.
Web site: Jets sign Steve Mason. . July 1, 2017 . July 1, 2017.
Web site: Jets sign Dmitry Kulikov. . July 1, 2017 . July 1, 2017.
Web site: Jets sign Michael Sgarbossa. . July 1, 2017 . July 1, 2017.
Web site: Jets sign Buddy Robinson. . July 1, 2017 . July 1, 2017.
Web site: Jets sign Cameron Schilling. . July 1, 2017 . July 1, 2017.
Web site: Jets sign Matt Hendricks. NHL.com. August 29, 2017. August 27, 2017.
Web site: Bruins Bolster Depth with Three Signings on First Day of Free Agency. nhl.com. July 1, 2017.
Web site: Carolina Hurricanes sign defenceman Brenden Kichton to two-way deal. sportsnet.ca. July 1, 2017.
Web site: Devils Sign Defenseman Brian Strait To A One-Year, Two-Way Contract. nhl.com. July 1, 2017.
Web site: Rangers Agree to Terms with Ondrej Pavelec. nhl.com. July 1, 2017.
Web site: Capitals Sign Anthony Peluso. Caps PR . July 1, 2017 . July 1, 2017.
Web site: Khokhlachyov to Spartak; Howden to Minsk. August 18 transfer highlights. en.khl.ru. August 24, 2017.
Web site: PACK SIGN FORWARD SCOTT KOSMACHUK. hartfordwolfpack.com. September 16, 2017.
Web site: Adler sign Mark Stuart. adler-mannheim.de. October 15, 2017. German.
Web site: Jets sign Ben Chiarot. nhl.com. June 26, 2017.
Web site: Jets sign Brandon Tanev. nhl.com. July 11, 2017.
Web site: Jets sign Andrew Copp. nhl.com. July 14, 2017.
Web site: Jets sign Mason Appleton. nhl.com. July 14, 2017.
Web site: Jets sign JC Lipon. nhl.com. July 21, 2017.
Web site: Jets sign Connor Hellebuyck. nhl.com. July 26, 2017.
Web site: Jets extend Bryan Little. nhl.com. September 16, 2017.
Web site: Jets sign Luke Green. nhl.com. September 26, 2017.
Web site: Jets extend Nikolaj Ehlers. NHL.com. October 5, 2017. October 4, 2017.
Web site: Jets sign C.J. Suess. NHL.com. March 25, 2018. March 25, 2018.
Web site: Jets sign Mikhail Berdin. NHL.com. May 20, 2018. May 19, 2018.
Web site: 2017 NHL Entry Draft Pending Transactions Transactions. Pro Sports Transactions. June 1, 2017.
Web site: Jets swap first-round picks with Golden Knights. June 21, 2017. June 21, 2017.
Web site: Draft Day Recap. June 25, 2016. June 25, 2016.