Jets in tough in Vegas

Slim and none, and slim just left Vegas.

Three members of Winnipeg Jets are waiting for awards at the end of the year in Sin City on Wednesday, and their chances of taking home the equipment are not too big.

In the seven seasons since Jets' return, only two previous nominations have taken place: Andrew Ladd for the Messier award in 2015 and Patrik Laine for the Calder trophy as the best debutant last year.

Here's a look at this year's nominees and why they are against it.


It is easy to forget how uncertain it looked in the 2016/17 season when it scored a goal - at an average of 2.89 and an equally low percentage rate of .907.

"He made some changes in training, his game, his approach, he becomes a professional athlete."

But that's probably not enough to get the best goalkeeper reward.

Hellebuyck ranked just behind Pekka Rinne Nashville in GAA and save a percentage, and Rinne was also the league leader in the offs, with eight.

While Hellebuyck defeated Rinne in his second playoff match, voters can not take into account after the season.

So expect the 35-year-old Fin finally finished fourth in the final.

Hellebuyck, 10 years younger, will probably get another shot before it's too long.

If it were with hard hockey numbers, Wheeler would leave with his 91-point season after the end of his career, which included a very ballyhooed period in the center when Mark Scheifele went downstairs.

"Regardless of whether there are any prejudices or not, I can not come up with a person more suited to this distinction, considering his transformation as a player ... what he meant in our group this year," Cheveldayoff told his captain. "When you have a group of veterans, a middle-aged group and a young group, someone must be in this room to collect everything together and do a great job."

But this award applies to intangible and social values, as well as leadership in the team.

And the pre-season filming in Las Vegas made Deryk Engelland lead the story that jerked the hearts of everyone, stories about the relationships of a completely new band and city, through tragedy.

Engelland, 36-year-old defender, also scored points in his career and assisted.

Wheeler would certainly not be a bad choice.

As good as Cheveldayoff and the company managed to build a Jets team that finished second in the overall standings and won two playoff rounds, the Vegas Golden Knights story is absurd.

But last year, aces appeared in Vegas.

It's a pity for the next GM expansion after George McPhee's act, assembling a team that went all the way to the Stanley Cup final season out of season.