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Seattle spark remembers Jets fondly – Winnipeg Free Press

Posted on by Neons

Brandon Tanev remembers the spring of 2018 well.

The Seattle Kraken forward, who spent the first four years of his NHL career as a spark plug for the Winnipeg Jets, enjoyed his most productive season (14 goals, 15 assists) to date and played a key checking role in the Jets' fourth game. straight.

It's also the deepest Tanev and the Jets 2.0 have gone into the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Adam Lowry (left) and Brandon Tanev celebrate after Tanev pulled the strings in front of a raucous crowd in Winnipeg against the Nashville Predators in the second round of the 2018 playoffs. (John Woods/Free Press files)
Adam Lowry (left) and Brandon Tanev celebrate after Tanev pulled the strings in front of a raucous crowd in Winnipeg against the Nashville Predators in the second round of the 2018 playoffs. (John Woods/Free Press files)

“Playoff time in Winnipeg is something special,” Tanev said Tuesday after Seattle's morning skate. “Experiencing it for the first time, seeing Whiteout, going to the rink, it was amazing how passionate the fans were.

“We had a great team. Obviously, (we) went too far there. Unfortunately, (we) didn't get past Vegas in the conference finals, but this group of guys — this team, this experience, what it means to the city — was special to all of us.”

Indeed, it was a magical spring. While the Jets fell short of their goal, they have a chance to make up for those shortcomings with a group that has had similar success in this year's iteration and has similar expectations when the playoffs begin next week.

The 2017-18 Jets posted a 52-20-10 record in the regular season, were one of the best defensive teams in the league (fifth in goals allowed) and had one of the deepest rosters in the playoffs after trading a veteran. center to add insurance to the forward group (Paul Stastny) and defenseman (Joe Morrow) on the blue line.

They also had a world-class goalkeeper.

Sound familiar?

“It's a very similar structure to what we had in those years, but I think this is a team that understands their identity and works for them all year,” Tanev said of this year's Jets team that broke the 50-win mark. Topped the league in goals allowed for the first time since 2017-18 and added forwards Sean Monahan, Tyler Toffoli and defenseman Colin Miller before this year's trade deadline.

So, which Jets team will win the best-of-seven series?

It's a coin flip, said center Adam Lowry, who was teammates with Tanev and now Detroit Red Wing Andrew Kopp during that run.

“I look at our (defensive) corps. It was one of the best cases I've seen in a long time,” Lowry said. “Stylistically, I think we play a little bit better as a group defensively, but when you have Buff (Dustin Byfuglien), (Tyler) Myers, Troub (Jacob Trouba), Jmo (Josh Morrissey), (Dmitry) Kulikov, (Tobias . ) Enstrom, (Ben) Chiaro – it was very deep in the back.

“Obviously, Helle (Connor Hellebuyck) was great back then. I think he's even better now.”

The Winnipeg captain said he enjoyed his time skating with an energetic guy like Tanev.

“He's a spark, he brings that energy, he brings everybody to that foreboding style, he never drops pucks.”– Captain Adam Lowry

“It's funny, you see him in Seattle with his energy — it's contagious,” Lowry said. “He's a spark, he brings that energy, he brings everybody to that foreboding style, he never drops pucks.

“If you have a camera, he's going back to the chair, he's cursing, he's always yelling. I almost became a mediator between them and Mystan. But the way he is on the ice, he doesn't turn it off on the ice. “He's always got a lot of energy — he's ready, he's competitive, he's fun to be around.”

Tanev joined Lowry and some of his former Winnipeg teammates for dinner Monday night.

“So many fun memories playing with him. He's a very good friend of mine,” Lowry added.

Only six players remained from the team that came so close to the NHL Finals that spring. In the front row, it's Lowry, Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele and Nicola Ellers, as well as defenders Josh Morrissey and Hellebuyck.