Jets shift focus to Moose, Manitoba faces Griffins in Calder Cup semifinal

Winnipeg’s last live playoff story now runs through the Manitoba Moose, and it starts with a test that looks a lot like the rest of their spring: a hot opponent, a short runway and no margin for another slow start. Game 1 of the Central Division semifinal against the Grand Rapids Griffins is Saturday afternoon in Winnipeg, with the Moose needing to protect home ice before chasing at least one road win at Van Andel Arena to keep their Calder Cup run moving.

The timing matters beyond the AHL bracket. The Winnipeg Jets were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 13 in Vegas, closing a season that began with the high of the 2024-25 Presidents’ Trophy and ended without a postseason payoff. That leaves the Moose carrying the city’s only active playoff chase, and it puts the organization’s development machinery back in the spotlight, from management down to the prospects and call-up players who have split time between Winnipeg and Manitoba all season.

Grand Rapids arrives with a heavier early-season résumé. The Griffins opened 2025-26 at 29-1-1-1 through their first 32 games, then banked nearly two weeks to rest and prepare for this series. They also already handled Manitoba in Winnipeg, outscoring the Moose 13-5 in a two-game set on April 3 and 4. The Moose, meanwhile, had to grind through a late-season slide, finishing their last 20 regular-season games at 8-10-0-2 before stumbling into the postseason race and then surviving it.

Manitoba clinched its playoff berth on April 7 with a 4-3 win over Milwaukee, then had to claw through the Admirals in a first-round series that turned on resilience. The Moose dropped Game 1, 4-1, faced elimination, and answered with wins in Games 2 and 3. David Gustafsson’s goal with 42.6 seconds left in regulation saved Game 2, and Domenic DiVincentiis followed with 31 saves in the decisive 2-1 Game 3 win on April 26.

That kind of push is exactly why this series carries more than one city’s pride. Winnipeg has built NHL talent through this system for years, with Kyle Connor, Adam Lowry, Cole Perfetti, Mark Scheifele, Josh Morrissey, Elias Salomonsson, Dylan Samberg and Connor Hellebuyck all tracing part of their path through the AHL. The Moose have been in Winnipeg for 25 seasons, first joining the city in 1996, beginning AHL play in 2001, moving to St. John’s in 2011 when the Jets returned to the NHL, and coming back to Winnipeg in 2015 as the Jets’ top development affiliate. A strong run now would not just extend the season. It would give the organization another hard-edged check on the pipeline after a disappointing NHL spring.