We’re in the heart of the NHL’s off-season, and as always at this time of year, THN.com is breaking down the state of each team in the league.
This time around, we’re continuing a process for our new “Summer Splash” series. In each file, we’ll be analyzing, in reverse order, the big-picture moves every franchise has made – free agent and trade acquisitions, departures, and hirings and firings where applicable.
To decide on the order of teams we’ve ranked this summer, we’ve focused on the teams that have improved, the franchises that have stayed the same and the organizations that have taken a step backward. There will be exceptions to the rules – mainly, regarding teams that aren’t markedly worse than they were last year, but that made fewer moves of note than they either should’ve or could’ve made – but for the most part, the criteria here is straightforward.
If your favorite team failed to get better, they’re going to be the subject of a Summer Splash file sooner than later, and if your favorite team got significantly better, you’ll have to wait a while longer to see what we have to say about them.
We began the Summer Splash series on Thursday by focusing on team No. 32, the Buffalo Sabres, and on Friday, we turned our attention to team No. 31, the Chicago Blackhawks. Today, we’ll be drilling down on the moves the 30th-overall team – the Winnipeg Jets – has made.
Additions
Jonathan Toews (C), Gustav Nyquist (LW), Tanner Pearson (LW)
The Breakdown: The Jets were the NHL’s best regular-season team last year, so it would be difficult for them to finish at the top of this team-by-team series by being markedly better. However, once you take into account the risks Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has taken with his roster moves, you see why we’ve ranked them near the bottom of this list.
To be sure, the Jets have taken a major gamble by signing veteran star center Toews to be their second-line center. Toews has been out of the league for two years, dealing with health issues, and there’s no guarantee he’ll return to the form that helped his Chicago Blackhawks win three Stanley Cups. There’s a real risk this move doesn’t work out, and we’ve factored that into placing the Jets low in our Summer Splash series.
Meanwhile, the other two additions Winnipeg has made are 35-year-old Nyquist and 32-year-old Pearson, both of whom are closer to the end of their NHL careers than their prime. Nyquist had only 11 goals and 28 points last season, while Pearson generated only 12 goals and 27 points. Thus, they’re both only secondary scoring options. And so, at a time when Central Division teams have been bulking up, the Jets have only made peripheral changes, as well as the massive gamble on Toews.
Departures
Nikolaj Ehlers (LW), Mason Appleton (C), Brandon Tanev (LW)
The Breakdown: Given that Winnipeg lost its third-best point producer in Ehlers, who signed with the Carolina Hurricanes, and didn’t adequately replace him, the Jets’ offensive attack, which was fourth-best in the league at an average of 3.35 goals-for per game, has taken a serious hit.
In addition, losing Appleton and Tanev – the latter of whom was Winnipeg’s big trade deadline acquisition – also hurts the Jets. Tanev brought snarl and defensive acumen, Appleton was a solid fourth-liner and Ehlers was Winnipeg’s fourth-best goal-scorer, posting 24 goals in only 69 games.
Losing those three isn’t going to result in the Jets missing the playoffs, but they’re not going to be as deep or dynamic as they were last year. The Jets may ultimately fall out of the top spot in the Central, in part, because they’re going to miss having a trio of productive NHL forwards in their lineup.
The Bottom Line
Don’t get it twisted – the Jets remain a good team. But we have to arrive at the conclusion they’re not as good as they were throughout the 2024-25 regular season and playoffs. That may change, as Cheveldayoff still has $10.54-million in salary cap space to play with. And the Jets are built to win now, so Cheveldayoff isn’t going to be making trades for draft picks and prospects. He’s going to spend to the cap ceiling on proven veterans and talent that can help make Winnipeg be more than just a great regular-season team.
The Jets showed signs of being that improved team last spring when they eliminated the St. Louis Blues in the opening round, but they were sent home for the summer in the second round by a Dallas Stars team that had difference-makers stepping up at key times in a way Winnipeg’s top players did not.
With the lack of high-end moves he’s made this summer, Cheveldayoff is banking that his core talents are going to evolve into needle-movers in the second round of the playoffs and beyond. However, as it stands, the Jets have clearly taken a step back. It’s not a gigantic step back, nor is it one they can’t recover from. But losing Ehlers, Tanev and Appleton are notable blows to their cause, and with Central rivals like the Colorado Avalanche and Stars on their heels, the Jets may indeed finish well below the top spot in their division.
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