2026-27 NHL team preview: Winnipeg Jets

Sep 27, 2026, 11:52 EDT

Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

LAST SEASON

After winning the Presidents’ Trophy in 2024-25, the Winnipeg Jets very much did not replicate that feat in 2025-26. Instead, they tumbled down the Central Division and overall standings, dropping from 116 points to 82 while finishing eight wins behind the Wildcard-occupying Utah Mammoth. Only six teams in the entire NHL scored fewer goals than last year’s Jets, which might not have been so bad if not for their similarly unimpressive goal and chance suppression results.

All in all, it was a pretty bad year, and it only became worse once word started to trickle out that Connor Hellebuyck — a three-time Vezina Trophy winner and the Jets’ undisputed top player — sought to leave Winnipeg despite still having five seasons left on his contract. Hellebuyck’s future in Winnipeg had been a popular topic of discussion amidst a wave of American players requesting trades out of Canadian markets, particularly after Team USA captured gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics; the 33-year-old goaltender finally confirmed the news of his trade request on Aug. 27, and after he failed to report to the Jets’ 2026 training camp despite being under contract, the Jets suspended Hellebuyck without pay for the start of the 2026-27 season.

Hellebuyck is coming off one of the weakest years of his career (23-23-11, .895 save percentage), but he’s still an MVP-level goaltender at his best who can singlehandedly elevate an otherwise unremarkable team into contention. With a potential return to Winnipeg seemingly all but completely ruled out, Hellebuyck will just have to sit at home until he’s traded — or if he chooses to swallow his pride and rejoin the Jets. In the meantime, Winnipeg’s goaltending tandem consists of Stuart Skinner and Domenic DiVincentiis, the latter of whom has yet to play in a single NHL game in his career to date. That’s a lot of weight to put on Skinner’s shoulders, especially considering the shaky performances we’ve seen from him in high-leverage game situations.

Despite all the dark clouds hovering over the Jets, there are still some reasons for optimism. Star forward Mark Scheifele is coming off a career year in which he scored 103 points in 82 games, and now that the history of the two Winnipeg franchises has been consolidated into one set of records, Scheifele is just 22 points back of tying Dale Hawerchuk’s Jets career total. Kyle Connor, Gabe Vilardi, and Josh Morrissey also had strong years in 2025-26. And while the Jets’ depth was one of their weakest points last season, they appear to be responding by finally embracing a new youth movement. It probably won’t be enough to get them back to the top of the table, and it’ll be difficult to feel truly optimistic about them until the Hellebuyck situation is resolved, but the Jets have a relatively defined path they can follow to get out of this mess and start writing a new page in their ever-changing history books.

KEY ADDITIONS & DEPARTURES

Additions

Mario Ferraro, D
Viggo Björck, C
Stuart Skinner, G
Jack St. Ivany, D

Departures

Jonathan Toews, C (Retired)
Gustav Nyquist, RW (UFA)
Eric Comrie, G (SJ)
Jacob Bryson, D (Det)
Ville Heinola, D (VGK)
David Gustafsson, C (Pit)

OFFENSE

Scheifele, the first draft pick in Jets 2.0 history, remains the team’s primary offensive catalyst heading into his age-33 season. He’s never been particularly adept as a two-way center — and his underlying results reflect that — but he can certainly generate chances, and his chemistry with Connor remains palpable. Fortunately for the Jets, Connor has shown no signs of following his U.S. Olympic teammate out the door, describing the Hellebuyck situation as “heartbreaking” and maintaining that the team would welcome the star goaltender back with open arms.

As has become customary, Connor and Gabe Vilardi will flank Scheifele on the Jets’ top line to start the 2026-27 season. Each scored at least 30 goals last year, with Connor leading the way at 39. Beyond those three, however, no Jets forward scored more than 13 goals in 2025-26. That’s just one of the many possible ways to express how bad Winnipeg’s forward depth was last year, and just how desperately they need it to improve this coming season.

The Jets allowed Nikolaj Ehlers to leave for the Carolina Hurricanes in free agency ahead of the 2025-26 season, and their response was to sign Gustav Nyquist and Jonathan Toews. Ehlers, of course, scored 89 points across the regular season and playoffs to help Carolina win the Stanley Cup; meanwhile, Nyquist managed exactly one goal in 51 games in what will likely go down as his final NHL season, while Toews couldn’t keep up after two seasons away from the game and retired for good in June.

It was always unrealistic to expect that the Jets could replace Ehlers with two veterans in their late 30s, but even they couldn’t have foreseen how poorly it’d end up going for them. Unsurpisingly, it appears the Jets are slated to pivot toward a much younger group of secondary scorers in the 2026-27 season, with one particularly interesting name among them: Brad Lambert, the No. 30 overall pick in 2022 who has had a particularly up-and-down go of things in the Jets organization to date. We expect that Lambert will occupy a middle-six role this season, which would mark a definite shift for a Jets team that has been reluctant to give its prospects any kind of rope in recent seasons. It’d be smart for the Jets to consider sticking some of their skilled younger players on a line with two-way standout and captain Adam Lowry, to see if he can impart any of his defensive wisdom upon them.

The success of Winnipeg’s forward group will probably hinge on what we project to be the second line of Cole Perfetti, Viggo Bjorck, and Lambert. We’ll talk more about Bjorck later, but the real wild card is Perfetti, who looked like a shoo-in to become a top-six forward coming from the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit but regressed from 50 points in 2024-25 to just 32 last season. The Jets really need Perfetti to bounce back in 2026-27 and become a true line-driving forward.

DEFENSE

Winnipeg’s defensive group has been headlined by Morrissey ever since Dustin Byfuglien’s abrupt departure following the 2018-19 season. The 31-year-old lefty has developed into a true difference-maker over the past half decade, earning a spot on Team Canada at both the 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2026 Winter Olympics. Would a healthy Morrissey have made the difference for Canada in the gold-medal game against Team USA in Milan? We’ll never know for sure, but he certainly would’ve helped.

The Jets’ defensive group generally remains strong, with Dylan Samberg, Neal Pionk, and Dylan DeMelo rounding out a solid top four and newly signed Mario Ferraro likely serving as an upgrade on the dearly departed Logan Stanley. It’s hard to get too excited about many of these guys, but they typically manage to get the job done without much trouble. Samberg’s emergence as a bona fide top-four option has been one of very few unambiguous success stories for this Jets player development team over the past few seasons. The 27-year-old lefty is a bargain at $5.75 million and should be in line for another strong year on the second pairing with Neal Pionk.

Another intriguing name to watch is Elias Salomonsson, who showed a ton of promise (including a team-best 53.03 expected goals percentage at 5-on-5) in 32 games with the Jets last season before sustaining a shoulder injury during the AHL playoffs. The 22-year-old right-hander will almost certainly reclaim his spot on the third pairing once he returns from his recovery, and according to Jets head coach Scott Arniel, he’s “ahead of schedule.” Expect to see Salomonsson back in the Jets’ lineup sometime around the middle of October; until then, it’ll probably be Jack St. Ivany or Tyrel Bauer in his place.

Ferraro was the Jets’ biggest UFA signing of the summer, and after being miscast as a top-four option over his last six seasons with the San Jose Sharks, he’ll now get to be a bit more insulated in Winnipeg. Having just turned 28 last week, Ferraro is signed for the next three years at a highly reasonable $4-million cap hit, and he’ll be able to slide up the rotation in a pinch if and when the injury bug bites.

GOALTENDING

The Hellebuyck situation has understandably overshadowed everything else Jets-related this summer. With the start of the 2026-27 regular season drawing nearer, the veteran netminder remains at home without any imminent sign of a resolution, and while Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff probably missed his window to trade Hellebuyck this offseason, it wouldn’t be surprising to see teams circle back with interest depending on how their incumbent goaltenders perform out of the gate.

One of the first signs that Hellebuyck probably wouldn’t be back was when the Jets quickly signed Stuart Skinner to a two-year deal on July 1. The 27-year-old netminder split the 2025-26 season between the Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins, posting a 23-17-9 record, two shutouts, and an .888 save percentage in 50 games. Skinner certainly outperformed Tristan Jarry, whom he was traded for midway through the season, but he has a long way to go to replace Hellebuyck.

Beyond Skinner, the Jets’ other goaltending options have just three games of NHL experience between them. All of those belong to prospect Thomas Milic, who posted an .871 save percentage across a trio of appearances with the Jets in 2025-26. But for now, it appears the Jets will start the season with 22-year-old Domenic DiVincentiis as Skinner’s backup. The 2022 seventh-round pick went 13-16-2 with an .896 save percentage in 34 games with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose in 2025-26, and he’ll likely make his NHL debut with the Jets early in the 2026-27 season.

COACHING

Arniel is entering his third season as head coach and his fifth overall with the Jets. The 64-year-old previously served as an associate coach in Winnipeg for two seasons under Rick Bowness before being tapped to replace him ahead of the 2024-25 season. Arniel guided the Jets to 116 points and a playoff series win in his first year on the job and was named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award. The 2025-26 campaign wasn’t nearly as successful for Arniel, although that probably had more to do with the roster he was given than anything else.

A rugged left winger in his playing days, Arniel appeared in 730 NHL games — including 406 with the original Jets — between 1981 and 1992. He subsequently spent seven more seasons in the minor leagues, finishing off his playing career with the IHL’s Manitoba Moose in 1998-99. After retiring, Arniel remained with the Moose as an assistant coach between 1999 and 2002 and returned to serve as their head coach from 2006 to 2010. The Jets are Arniel’s second stop as an NHL head coach; he previously served in the same capacity with the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2010 to 2012.

Marty Johnson, Davis Payne, Dean Chynoweth, and Wade Flaherty currently serve as Arniel’s assistant coaches in Winnipeg.

ROOKIES

It’s Bjorck time! The man they call Viggo is currently pencilled in as the Jets’ No. 2 center mere months after being selected eighth overall in the 2026 NHL Draft. Bjorck earned rave reviews — including from Sidney Crosby himself — for his performance with Team Sweden at the 2026 IIHF World Championship, and while he’ll never be the biggest or strongest player in the Jets organization, he might already be among the most skilled.

Bjorck is 5-foot-9 and 177 pounds, but he’s never let his modest frame get in the way of his dominance. He’s a tremendously elusive player who uses his ceaseless motor to win battles. He was arguably Sweden’s best player at the 2026 World Juniors, putting up nine points while averaging around 20 minutes of ice time across seven games. It remains to be seen whether Bjorck will be able to withstand the rigors of a full NHL season as a teenager, but he has more than enough talent to become a highly successful Jet in the long run.

BURNING QUESTIONS

1. Where will Hellebuyck end up? It’d be disingenuous to claim that the biggest question around the Jets doesn’t involve Hellebuyck, who has dominated leaguewide rumors and coverage all summer long. Hellebuyck makes a ton of sense for the Buffalo Sabres, especially now that both Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Alex Lyon are on the shelf. The Hurricanes would fit, too, particularly if Alex Nikishin is involved. But don’t rule out the Sharks, who could really use an established No. 1 as they look to level up. We’ll see.

2. Can Skinner rebound? And no, we don’t mean this rebound. This year’s Jets will live and die by their goaltending, both in terms of what they get for Hellebuyck and what they get from Skinner. Inconsistent at the best of times, Skinner helped the Oilers reach back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals but generally crumbled once he got there, with that infamous performance in Game 6 vs. the Florida Panthers in 2025 still front of mind for most fans in Edmonton. Of course, Hellebuyck’s last three playoff outings have been even worse, so the bar is pretty low for Skinner to overcome … if he can get the Jets to the postseason in the first place.

3. Can Brayden Yager break through? Acquired from Pittsburgh in a one-for-one swap for Rutger McGroarty two years ago, Yager was just OK in his first pro campaign with the Moose, recording 10 goals and 30 points in 68 games with the club in 2025-26. He probably won’t live up to his billing as the No. 14 overall pick in 2023, but Yager has enough skill and utility to become a quality bottom-six forward for these Jets. Opportunity knocks, but can the Saskatoon product take advantage?

PREDICTION

It’s going to be challenging for the Jets to stand out in the Central Division. It took an MVP season from Hellebuyck to get them to the top of the table in 2025, and they tumbled all the way to seventh in the Central this past season. With the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, and Minnesota Wild all in their way, it’s tough to imagine the Jets locking down a divisional playoff spot — and even a Wild Card would be difficult.

The Jets aren’t a bad team, but in the NHL, the enemy of excellence is mediocrity. Their top end is good, but not great, and their forward depth is quite underwhelming. Big years from Bjorck and Perfetti could change that, but for now, the Jets look a lot more like a seventh-place team than a first-place one. Barring an unforeseen collapse from an established Central titan, it’d be pretty surprising to see the Jets anywhere near a playoff spot in 2026-27.

_____

PRESENTED BY THE DAILY FACEOFF NEWSLETTER

Your daily hockey fix, delivered straight to your inbox. Get connected to every NHL storyline with breaking news, lineup updates, trade buzz, and expert analysis—delivered every morning. Sign up for the Daily Faceoff newsletter and don’t miss a beat!

Recently by Mike Gould

MORE FACEOFF.IN YOUR INBOX.

CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER