from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail,

“I think you can make forward strides in the Central Division and not know about it,” Maurice said – and on some levels, he was right. For the last handful of years, the Central has served as the National Hockey League’s gold standard. Two years ago, every team accumulated 90 points or more, so for the Jets to make the playoffs then was an extraordinary accomplishment.

This year, they went with a younger team that may get younger still next year and ultimately paid the price, managing just 78 points to finish last in the division.

In the bottom-line world of professional sport, a 21-point slide is unquestionably a setback. But the Jets have never sacrificed development to expediency, or the siren call of trying to fast track a rebuild.

NHL general managers rarely say this when they dissect a lost season, but every draft-and-develop organization that’s doing it right eventually gets to a point where a championship window opens. At that point, you have to amend the slow-but-steady approach and do what you can to give your team a chance to win big.

The Jets are not there yet; and they probably won’t be for a couple of years, either.

Their window will open when goaltender Connor Hellebuyck has established himself as an NHL starter, when Jacob Trouba has evolved into a top-two defenceman and when Mark Scheifele becomes an elite No. 1 centre.

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