Uncertainty surrounding the Winnipeg Jets’ core continues to linger as the team attempts to return to being contenders at the top of the NHL standings.
The Jets are one season removed from winning the Presidents’ Trophy with a 56-22-4 record. Star netminder Connor Hellebuyck was the catalyst for their surge in 2024-25, going 47-12-3 with a 2.00 goals-against average and .925 save percentage.
His performance made him the Jets’ first-ever Hart Trophy winner in either incarnation of the team. He also landed his third Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender and second William M. Jennings Trophy for the fewest goals allowed.
However, the team took a large step back last season with a 34-point drop in the standings as the Jets missed the final wild-card position in the Western Conference by eight points.
Hellebuyck’s play also took a hit after he went 23-23-11 with a 2.86 GAA and .895 save percentage. He was quick to voice his displeasure about the team’s future Stanley Cup chances during the Jets’ locker clean-out in April.
“To take the step back that we did this year, it felt very wrong. From the Presidents’ Trophy to this just felt like that should never happen – and it did, and I’m a part of it,” Hellebuyck said on April 17. “I’m not going to tell you that right now I feel amazing about winning a Cup tomorrow – no team out of the playoffs is going to say that. No player out of the playoffs is going to say that.
“From my perspective, I would like to see – I mean, complacency is not going to get us moving forward, so something’s got to happen. I’m not going to sit here and throw every guy under the bus because, honestly, I’m a goalie and I know goaltending really well.”
Hellebuyck is entering the third season of a seven-year, $59.5 million contract that carries an annual cap hit of $8.5 million. He has a no-movement clause for the remainder of this coming season that shifts into a modified no-trade clause -- one that allows him to submit a list of 10 teams he cannot be traded to -- from the 2027-28 campaign until he can become an unrestricted free agent after the 2030-31 season.
While the 33-year-old didn’t outright request a trade after the season, he also didn’t give the Jets and their fans a vote of confidence that he wants to remain in the organization.
“For me, it’s winning a Stanley Cup – that’s my goal, and that’s all I have left,” said Hellebuyck. “I don’t play this game for the money, I don’t play it for the fame. I do it for my own personal fun and part of that is winning a Cup. So for me, I’m just looking at how I can get that? How can I get there?
“You know, I don’t want to go and leave any speculation. I love the city and I love playing here. The fans have given me so much, and I’ve given so much back to the fans, and there’s a real connection there. I wish more people around the league would see that and could see that.”
Despite his attempt to quell the speculation, rumours ran rampant around the 2026 NHL Draft in June that the star netminder was on the market. However, nothing materialized, leaving the situation unresolved as training camp approaches.
Due to their lackluster finish last season, the Jets selected eighth overall in the draft and took skilled forward Viggo Bjorck out of Sweden in the first round.
The 5-foot-9 forward played for Djurgardens IF in Sweden’s top professional league last season as a 17-year-old, recording six goals and 15 points. He also had three goals and nine points at the 2026 World Juniors en route to a gold medal and represented Sweden at the World Hockey Championship in May, registering a goal and six points.
Winnipeg signed Bjorck to his entry-level contract in July and he is expected to play in North America next season.
In the off-season, Winnipeg added some insurance in net, adding goaltender Stuart Skinner on a two-year, $7.5 million contract. Skinner backstopped the Edmonton Oilers to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals in 2024 and 2025.
He finished last season with the Pittsburgh Penguins when he was traded from Edmonton, along with defenceman Brett Kulak and a 2029 second-round draft pick, in exchange for netminder Tristan Jarry and forward Sam Poulin in December.
Skinner went 23-17-9 last season with a 2.92 GAA and an .888 save percentage split between the Oilers and Penguins in 2025-26.
Winnipeg also shored up their blueline by signing defenceman Mario Ferraro to a three-year, $12 million deal. Ferraro played his entire seven-season career with the San Jose Sharks and had a career-high seven goals and 23 points in 82 games last season with a minus-1 rating while averaging 21:02 of ice time.
Additionally, the team locked up a core piece of young talent by re-signing forward Cole Perfetti to a five-year, $30 million contract. Perfetti, 24, had 12 goals and 32 points in 68 games last season.
“It was an interesting July 1. Obviously set to fill a few boxes that we need and had available and actually... It was a long day,” general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff told team reporter Jamie Thomas on July 3. “I think we’re a much faster team. You look at the back end, with Ferraro there, he’s a good all-around player. He can move, he can skate, he really competes. He’s excited about the opportunity that’s here for him.
“There’s lots of guys that, when you talk to them even after their exit interviews and stuff like that, they had some down years and they’re looking forward to trying to get back to the levels that they were at before. Whether it was injury wise or for whatever reasons, those are the things that you’re looking for come September.”
Winnipeg Jets Off-Season Signings
- Cole Perfetti: Five Years, $30M - $6M AAV
- Mario Ferraro: Three Years, $12M - $4M AAV
- Viggo Bjorck: Three Years, $6.225M - $1.075 AAV (Entry-Level)
- Stuart Skinner: Two Years, $7.5M - $3.75M AAV
- Isak Rosen: Two-Years, 1.85M, $925KAAV
- Tyrel Bauer: Two Years, $1.75M - $875K AAV
- Walker Duehr: Two Years, $1.7M - $850K AAV
- Noah Gregor: One Year, $850K
- Henry Thrun: One Year, $850K
Winnipeg Jets Off-Season Trades:
- Acquired John St. Ivany from Pittsburgh Penguins for David Gustafsson
