Scott Arniel’s time in Winnipeg is ticking
The first month of the 2026-27 season has been another tough one for the Winnipeg Jets, and it might cost their head coach his job.
With every team playing well over a dozen games, everyone has an idea of how good, or how bad, teams are going to be this season. Despite an optimistic start to the season amid the Connor Hellebuyck debacle, the Jets have come crashing down over the past few weeks. With losses in nine straight games, seven of which have come in regulation, Winnipeg has stumbled down the Western Conference standings. With that, many wonder how much time head coach Scott Arniel is going to be given to turn the season around, or will he be removed from his post in order for the Jets to have a new voice in the room?
On Tuesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton discuss how bad things have been for the Jets, and how much longer Arniel will last at the helm.
Tyler Yaremchuk: It started well. Everyone thought trading Hellebyuck would be like the dark gray cloud gone away, with the Jets flying into the sky. No, they’ve been straight down…Scott Arneil in Winnipeg, how [much on the hot seat] is he?
Carter Hutton: I’m on nine on him. I’m gonna give him a nine. Like the frying pan smoking, his time is numbered here. Nine straight losses. I know there is a factor of like the Connor Hellebuyck, and the players you have and guys that want to be there, but this just isn’t a good hockey team. It’s not a deep hockey team. I don’t think there’s been adjustments. I worry about them executing structure and playing well, and I think it goes down to coaching too. Granted, there is some pieces, or lack of down in their depth, but you talk about even like Vilardi down in their lineup. He’s been non-existent. There are some players that have ill-performed. They’ve tried to split up Scheifele and Connor to get a little bit more offense. It just hasn’t been clicking. So, for [Arniel], he is in the hottest seat of all the coaches right now in the NHL, in my opinion.
Tyler: It’s a 9.5 for me. It’s something where with every single loss, you go like, ‘Ooh, are we waking up tomorrow and starting our show with some coaching talk?’ So, I’m with you on that front. It’s got to be piping hot.
You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…
