Winnipeg Jets : 2018-19 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Toronto Maple Leafs

It took a couple of steps to get there, as the Jets traded away their first round pick to the St. Louis Blues as part of the deal that brought Paul Stastny to Winnipeg in Febuary. The Blues subsequently traded the pick to Toronto on the first day of the Draft weekend. Altogether, Winnipeg's 2018 selections in the draft went as such:

Round 2 - #60 - David Gustafsson (C), Sweden
Round 3 - #91 - Nathan Smith (C), United States
Round 5 - #150 - Declan Chisholm (D), Canada
Round 5 - #153 - Giovanni Vallati (D), Canada
Round 6 - #184 - Jared Moe (G), United States
Round 7 - #215 - Austin Wong (C), Canada.

Answer: Vegas Golden Knights

After having just suffered being knocked out of the 2018 playoffs in the third round by the Vegas Golden Knights, to Jets fans it almost felt like a betrayal for Stastny to accept this contract. But, professional hockey is a business, and free agency is all about getting the best deal for your talents; and he got a pretty good deal signing a three-year contract. The Jets signed three free agents over the summer:

Goaltender Laurent Brossoit from the Edmonton Oilers;
Right winger Dennis Everberg from Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk (KHL);
Centre Seth Griffith from the Buffalo Sabres.

The other players that left the Jets and signed as free agents with other teams were: Matt Hendricks (to Minnesota), Michael Hutchinson (to Florida), Patrice Cormier (to Barys Astana (KHL)), Buddy Robinson (to Calgary), Michael Sgarbossa (to Washington), Jan Kostalek (to Sparta Praha (ELH)), Jamie Phillips (to Charlotte Checkers (AHL)), Julian Melchiori (to Florida), and Tobias Enstrom (to Modo Hockey (Allsv.)).

Answer: Connor Hellebuyck

Connor Hellebuyck did it right. After earning the top goaltending spot ahead of Ondrej Pavelec in the 2016-17 season, he posted a 26-19-4 record in 56 games. That year in the off-season, Hellebuyck signed a one-year contract. He then went on to have a stellar season in 2017-18, putting up a 44-11-9 record in 67 games and setting a record for most wins in a season by an American goaltender. He was also a finalist for the Vezina Trophy for the top goaltender in the NHL.

With those accomplishments, Connor Hellebuyck signed his new, lucrative contract with the Winnipeg Jets, and the team secured a quality goaltender for many years to come. The other notable signing in the off-season was with the team captain, Blake Wheeler, who signed a five-year contract extension.

Answer: Patrik Laine

Laine scored three on November 1st against Florida (while in Finland for the NHL Global Series), then again on the 19th in Vancouver. The most impressive feat was his FIVE goals in the game against Blues in St. Louis on November 24th. Three hat tricks was the most scored by an individual during the 2018-19 season, a feat shared by two other players: Washinton's Alex Ovechkin and Boston's David Pastrnak.

Laine was not the only Jet to get hat tricks this season. Altogether, five different players hit the mark, including Nikolaj Ehlers (two hat tricks), Blake Wheeler (four goals against Columbus), Jack Roslovic, and Kyle Connor.

Answer: True

In his sixth full season with the Winnipeg Jets, Mark Scheifele has made a name for himself as one of the team's premiere players. He capped off the 2017-18 season with a record-breaking playoffs (most road goals in a single series - seven against Nashville), finishing second overall in scoring with fourteen goals. And then he followed this up with a strong start to the 2018-19 season, being named one of the NHL's Three Stars three times by Christmas, and tied for eleventh in the NHL for both goals and points at the All Star Break.

This was Blake Wheeler's second appearance in a row, and he was an excellent choice. Wheeler was the Jets' leader in assists and points in the 2017-18 season in addition to being a finalist for the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award.

Answer: Paul Maurice

At the end of the season, Paul Maurice's record (of 1,529 games) was 695-619-215, leaving just 69 more games to catch Ken Hitchcock for fifth place on the all-time list. And his 695 wins was good for seventh-highest on the list of winningest coaches. The remaining coaching staff for the Jets in 2018-19 were Associate Coach Jamie Kompon and Assistant Coaches Wade Flaherty, Charlie Huddy, and Todd Woodcroft.

Answer: Pacific

There was no other team in the NHL with as many wins against the Pacific Division (from outside the Division). The only teams that won their season series against Winnipeg were the Calgary Flames and the San Jose Sharks.

3-0-0 vs Anaheim Ducks
2-1-0 vs Arizona Coyotes
1-2-0 vs Calgary Flames
2-0-1 vs Edmonton Oilers
2-1-0 vs Los Angeles Kings
1-1-1 vs San Jose Sharks
3-0-0 vs Vancouver Canucks
2-1-0 vs Vegas Golden Knights.

Answer: Blake Wheeler

Blake Wheeler was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers from the Boston Bruins in a four-player swap on February 18th, 2011. That very same year, the franchise was moved to Winnipeg. He won his first team scoring title the next season. Just like in the 2017-18 season, Blake Wheeler reached 91 points in 2018-19, and that was good enough to finish fourteenth overall in points and third overall in assists.

Answer: Nashville Predators

The Central Division was close right from the top to the bottom, with only 10 points separating the top five teams (and the fourth and fifth place teams earning both wild card spots in the Conference). The teams that made the Playoffs from the Central Division:

Nashville Predators - 47-29-6, 100 points
Winnipeg Jets - 47-30-5, 99 points
St. Louis Blues - 45-28-9, 99 points
Dallas Stars - 43-32-7, 93 points
Colorado Avalanche - 38-30-14, 90 points.

Answer: St. Louis Blues

The divisional-playoff format has the first two rounds of the playoffs are always against Division rivals (with possible exceptions with the wild card teams where one team could cross over). Thus, of the teams listed (the final four in the playoffs this year), the only one that could have met the Jets in the first round was the St. Louis Blues.

Despite having a virtually identical record (both teams finished with 99 points) in the regular season, the difference could be seen in the latter half of the season. At the end of December, the Blues only had 34 points, compared to Winnipeg's 52 points. In the end, the Jets dropped the first round series in six games, with five of the games decided by one goal:

Game 1: St. Louis 2 - 1 Winnipeg
Game 2: St. Louis 4 - 3 Winnipeg
Game 3: Winnipeg 6 - 3 St. Louis
Game 4: Winnipeg 2 - 1 St. Louis (Overtime)
Game 5: St. Louis 3 - 2 Winnipeg
Game 6: Winnipeg 2 - 3 St. Louis.