Winnipeg Jets during the 2025-2026 quarter season: the good, the bad and the uncertain

After a 3-0 loss at home to the Minnesota Wild on Sunday afternoon, the Winnipeg Jets have reached the fourth-season milestone of their 2025-26 campaign. A 12-9-0 record with a +8 goal differential puts the Jets at 24th overall in the NHL standings. While this may sound alarming, the rest of the league’s rankings are extremely close so far in the season. The Jets are just 3 points away from a spot in the playoffs, and just 4 points away from being in the top 10 of the standings.

Regardless of the rankings, the atmosphere in Winnipeg is not the same as last season after the 21 games. A 9-3-0 start to the season has since turned into a 3-6 mark, and the team looks nothing like the team that was at the top of the standings at this point last season. Before the Jets begin a five-game road trip in Washington tomorrow night, it’s a good time to stop and assess what went right, what went wrong, and what remains uncertain about this Jets team as the season progresses.

The good

Goal scoring has been a positive for this team, especially for the Jets best players. 67 goals in 21 games doesn’t exactly tell the full story of this Jets team, especially when you realize that 30 of those goals have come from the Jets top line. Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor are tied for the team lead with eleven goals, and Gabriel Vilardi is not far behind with eight goals. This trio has been able to repeat the great success of last season so far, and they have once again been a big part of the Jets offense every night.

The special teams also performed above average this season. While the Jets aren’t the top power in the league like they were last season, they have had a few nights where things have looked similar to last season. A power play of 23.9% puts the Jets at 7th overall, while their PK of 83.8% also puts them at 7th in the league. If you’ve been following my post-game recaps, I often make it sound like the Jets aren’t doing a good job with their special teams. The fact is that this team is still successful when it comes to special teams, they just need to improve their consistency to get back into the top 5 of the league in these metrics.

The bad

The depth scoring is one of the biggest concerns for this Jets team right now. I’ve often praised the Jets’ top 1st line (and rightfully so), but the rest of the team has failed to score when needed. Excluding the top line, only Josh Morrissey (5) and Vladislav Namestnikov (6) have more than 5 goals. Some slack could be given to players like Cole Perfetti and Adam Lowry, who are still relatively fresh from returning from injury. Other players, such as three (Cole Koepke, Tanner Pearson and Gustav Nyquist) from the Jets off-signing seasons, have combined for just three goals.

On the defensive side, the Jets are giving up more scoring opportunities and goals than last season. Both Connor Hellebuyck and Eric Comrie’s stats are down (or slightly down) from last season, and the team has faced issues surrounding the consistency of their defensemen. With Connor Hellebuyck out for more than four weeks, the Jets’ goaltending situation will have to be carefully controlled in the coming period. Backup goaltender Thomas Milic will make his NHL debut during the Jets’ upcoming road trip, so the Jets will soon find out if he can fill some of the void while Hellebuyck recovers.

The insecure one

There is uncertainty at several levels within the Jets organization right now, including what they do with their top prospects. Jets fans have come to realize that the team is not currently “built” for their prospects to excel with their current roster. Brad Lambert has asked the Jets to explore trade options for him, so it will be interesting to see what kind of return the Jets can get for their once top prospect. Ville Heinola has not formally requested a trade, but this offseason there have been rumors that the Jets will try to get something in return for the 24-year-old defenseman, who would benefit from a change of scenery.

Nikita Chibrikov is pointless in eight games, and it appears he will need an extended stint with the Manitoba Moose to regain some confidence before getting more playing time in the NHL. Some good uncertainty for Jets prospects will be how Elias Salomonsson and Thomas Milic handle their NHL debuts. Salomonsson will be a good temporary replacement with Neal Pionk injured, and a good debut could go a long way in getting Salomonsson some games this season. The same can be said for Thomas Milic, who got off to a great start this season with the Moose, and will now get a chance to show what he can do in the NHL on the upcoming road trip with the Jets.

Next

While it’s still a ways off, there is some uncertainty as to how the Jets will approach the trade deadline this season. With the NHL standings so unusually close around the fourth season, it’s hard to know which teams will be buyers and which will be sellers. The Jets won’t be sellers unless they have a disastrous losing streak, but it will be interesting to see if they take another cautious approach at the deadline. Last season the Jets were at the top of the standings as the deadline approached, so it was understandable that they were happy with the group they had. This time around, the Jets could be more aggressive at the deadline if they need to make moves to give them a real chance at a deep playoff run. Whatever happens, it will be fun to see the Jets in the next quarter of the season, and we’ll check in mid-season to see if the Jets are back on track for a playoff spot.

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