The Winnipeg Jets are preparing for the marathon 82-game stretch ahead. Training camp has closed, and the final cuts have been made.
The team has been eliminated early in the previous two Stanley Cup Playoffs, and it has a new head coach. With a change in coaching and a need to prove themselves to fans, will the Winnipeg Jets push further this season?
It all begins on the road when the Winnipeg Jets travel to Edmonton to face the Oilers in their season opener on Wednesday night.
2023-24 By The Numbers
2023-24 Regular Season Record: 52-24-6
Home Record: 27-11-3
Away Record: 25-13-3
2023-24 Season Finish: Second in both the Central Division and the Western Conference.
Additions: Brayden Yager, Mason Shaw, Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Dylan Coghlan, Haydn Fleury, Eric Comrie & Kaapo Kahkonen
Subtractions: Sean Monahan, Tyler Toffoli, Rutger McGroarty, Brenden Dillon, Nate Schmidt & Laurent Brossoit
2024-25 Projected Numbers
Regular Season Record: 50-27-5
Season Finish: Third in the Central Division and fifth in the Western Conference.
Key Things to Watch This Season
Last season was quite the rollercoaster of a season. It didn’t include a mid-season collapse, but it did give us a really strong reason to continuously breathe in and out deeply. Here are the key things to watch with the Jets for this season.
A Vezina Balanced Season?
Connor Hellebuyck is coming off of a Vezina-winning season in 2023-24. He also took home the Jennings trophy which was the cherry on top for a monstrous season. Additionally, the outlook of this team is significantly more positive as this time a year ago, Hellebuyck (and Scheifele) were unsigned and it seemed like both already had one foot out the door. This season will be a test of whether or not the Winnipeg Jets can balance Hellebuyck’s workload with either Kaapo Kahkonen or Eric Comrie. Hellebuyck even mentioned himself that he put too many expectations on himself and with Brossoit gone, the Jets will have to find a healthy balance more than ever.
Familiar Head Coach, New Assistant Coaches, New Philosophy
Scott Arniel, former assistant coach of the Winnipeg Jets and. at times, interim head coach of the team is no stranger to the Jets. With Arniel at the helm, as Rick Bowness retired this past offseason, Arniel has shown a completely new philosophy with the team in front of him. Additionally, the new assistant coaches, Davis Payne and Dean Chynoweth are promising hires for the way the team is shaping up. Behind the bench is certainly a fun storyline to watch this year.
Can Heinola Get Healthy and Earn NHL Games?
Unfortunately, Ville Heinola is out due to an ankle infection right now. After fracturing his ankle in the last 2023 preseason game, Heinola recovered and spent the latter portion of the 2023-24 season with the Manitoba Moose in the AHL. This year, it was discovered during Heinola’s medicals that the screw in his ankle was infected and that he would be missing time.
With Heinola likely to find himself in the AHL on a conditioning loan, you have to wonder if there are enough games in rotation for Heinola to obtain his spot as the seventh defenseman for the Jets. I realistically think that Heinola will get a conditioning loan on maximum term and get a handful of games. I do see him winning over a spot sooner rather than later.
Will The Jets Follow Through in the Playoffs?
There is one burning question for the Winnipeg Jets this season, and that is the need to follow through in playoffs. The Jets have been a really strong regular-season team in the past two seasons, but completely fell apart in the postseason.
When you have this strong of a team with some heavy-hitting prospects who could and likely should’ve made the NHL roster this year, putting the best players out of training camp on the ice is necessary. Once the season progresses, we will likely see more changes to the roster, but who stays and who goes is the question.
This roster is competitive but lacks the depth necessary to go on a long run in playoffs should they get back into the playoffs again.
The Need to Sell More Tickets
Aside from the Arizona Coyotes playing in a 5,000-seat Mullett Arena, they drew the lowest attendance out of all 32 NHL teams last season and second to last was the Winnipeg Jets. While this team isn’t threatened by relocation, the ticket sales were worrying for the diehard Jets fans across the province. This will be a storyline throughout the Jets’ entire 2024-25 season.
Players to Watch
Gabriel Vilardi: After being limited to 47 games last season due to injuries, Vilardi managed to still post a near point-per-game with 36 points (22G, 14A) on the Jets’ top line. If healthy, he should produce far beyond expectations and be a significant asset to the Jets’ top six.
Nikolaj Ehlers: The Jets’ top pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) will be looking for a pay raise and will likely be a key contributor to the Jets’ top six. Posting 61 points (25G, 36A) in 82 games last season, Ehlers is a player to watch the entire year.
Rasmus Kupari: Kupari had a hard time finding his footing with the Winnipeg Jets in 2023-24. He played 28 games and posted one assist in that run. With a big opportunity to explode offensively, the 24-year-old is a player to watch this year.
Haydn Fleury: Originally signed to be playing with the Manitoba Moose, Fleury will start the season with the Winnipeg Jets and could prove to be a heavily underrated UFA signing. With a chance to solidify the Jets’ defensive depth, Fleury could run away with the opportunity in front of him right now.
Kaapo Kahkonen: Right from the day Kaapo Kahkonen signed with the Winnipeg Jets, I was a fan of the signing. The 28-year-old goaltender has been a career backup and fringe starter and has found himself on bottom teams for the majority of his NHL career. His numbers have been swamped by some of the teams he’s been apart of, but without a doubt, he’s still posted some impressive career numbers to date. Kahkonen should runaway with the backup goaltending job this season without a question.
Projected Lineup
Kyle Connor – Mark Scheifele – Gabriel Vilardi
Cole Perfetti – Vladislav Namestnikov – Nikolaj Ehlers
Nino Niederreiter – Adam Lowry – Mason Appleton
Morgan Barron – Rasmus Kupari – Alex Iafallo
David Gustafsson
Josh Morrissey – Dylan DeMelo
Dylan Samberg – Neal Pionk
Haydn Fleury – Collin Miller
Dylan Coghlan
Ville Heinola & Logan Stanley (Injured)
Connor Hellebuyck
Kaapo Kahkonen
Eric Comrie
