Stuart Skinner isn't shy about what he thinks the Winnipeg Jets can do this year.
Speaking with The Mug NHL, the goaltender laid out exactly why he believes in this group.
"In my opinion I think this team has what it takes to win," Skinner said. "It's just a matter of being able to go through that for the whole year."
That's a goalie putting real weight behind a locker room that's coming off a rough finish.
Winnipeg went 35-35-12 last season for 82 points, 26th overall, and closed the year on a four-game losing streak.
Skinner posted a .888 save percentage across 50 games with 17 wins and 2 shutouts in his first year wearing a Jets sweater.
He shares the crease with Connor Hellebuyck, who carries an $8,500,000 cap hit and posted a .895 save percentage of his own.
Skinner's message to a locker room that lost its footing late
The part worth sitting with is the second half of what Skinner said.
"Playing at a consistent level and sticking together through everything," he said, describing what it'll actually take to get there.
That's not the kind of quote a goalie gives if he thinks the room needs distance from a bad finish. It's the opposite.
Consistency was exactly what Winnipeg didn't have late in the year. A four-game skid to close things out doesn't happen to teams playing their best hockey.
Head coach Scott Arniel now has a goalie on record saying the pieces are there. That puts real pressure on the group to prove it early.
Is Skinner's faith backed by anything concrete, or is it the kind of thing every player says in September? Camp will start answering that question fast.
Winnipeg has the crease depth and the belief from inside the room. What they don't have yet is proof it translates over 82 games.
Do you believe the Jets can be legitimate Cup contenders this season?
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