Jets telltale trip begins in Washington Club looking to flip script as puck drops on season-defining road games By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 6:02 PM CST Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025

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This article was published 25/11/2025 (309 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WASHINGTON — Just before jumping on the team charter Tuesday afternoon, Winnipeg Jets forward Morgan Barron was asked about yet another extended stretch away from home, sweet home.

“It’s always fun to get out on the road,” he told reporters following his team’s practice.

Is it, though? The last time the Jets packed their bags, they were among the NHL’s elite with an impressive 9-3-0 record. But their plane wasn’t the only thing that went south — their overall game did, too, as they managed just two wins over six contests in hostile territory.

A return to Canada Life Centre didn’t offer much relief, producing only one victory in three outings last week. Just like that, the Jets have gone from looking like legitimate Stanley Cup contenders to sitting in a precarious spot below the playoff line.

Now a challenging five-game trip awaits for the 12-9-0 club, beginning Wednesday here in the U.S. capital, and you get the sense this stretch could be season-defining — or, if it resembles the last one, season-deflating.

“I think we have a bad taste in our mouth from the results of last trip,” Barron said. “So it’s a good opportunity to go into some great buildings and some tough atmospheres and really kind of come together.”

Motivation comes in many forms, and the Jets shouldn’t be lacking any over the next eight days. Here’s a few storylines to keep an eye on:

A “D” DEBUT

It appears Elias Salomonsson, the organization’s top blue-line prospect, is set to make his NHL debut against the Capitals.

“Something I dreamed of, so a lot of emotions right now,” said the 21-year-old, who was selected in the second round (55th overall) of the 2022 draft. “It should be awesome.”

Salomonsson was called up from the Manitoba Moose and skated Tuesday on the second-pairing with Dylan Samberg. That’s the spot normally occupied by Neal Pionk, who left Sunday’s 3-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild with a lower body injury.

“When we first heard, we thought it was a lot more severe. I thought I’d be giving you the ol’ ‘week-to-week,’ but now I got the ‘day-to-day’ which is really good news,” Arniel said of Pionk.

Still, even if Pionk is cleared, the plan is to get Salomonsson his first taste of NHL action.

“He’s progressing to be an NHL player,” said Arniel. “For Sal to come in here now and get some reps, get some experience, get that first game under his belt, all of those things that come with going into the game, he’ll get it real quick.”

Salomonsson has six assists in 17 AHL games this season and is known as a strong puck moving defenceman that plays with an edge. His girlfriend, who lives with him in Winnipeg, is now planning to follow him to D.C. while his parents, who are in Sweden, were scrambling to make last-minute travel arrangements.

A SECOND “HOT LAP?”

The Jets are one of the older teams in the league, so they don’t see many “hot laps,” which is the traditional solo skate before warmup for a debuting player.

But they’re likely to see not one, but two, this week. In addition to Salomonsson, expect goaltender Thomas Milic to face NHL firepower for the first time.

Eric Comrie is now the No. 1 netminder with Connor Hellebuyck likely sidelined until at least Christmas after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery last weekend. Comrie will make his fourth straight start Wednesday in Washington, and he’s expected to be in net for the Black Friday matinee in Raleigh against the Hurricanes.

That would open the door for Milic, 22, to get the call Saturday in Nashville.

“I think (Milic) has been our best player down there, for sure. He won us a lot of games,” Salomonsson said of his Moose-turned-Jets teammate. “He’s so quick out there, sees the game really well. So think he earned a call up for sure.”

Comrie would then likely finish up the trip with games in Buffalo and Montreal next Monday and Wednesday.

Perhaps these injections of energy and excitement will be infectious and give the Jets the jolt they desperately need.

NEW-LOOK LINES

Offence has been an issue for the Jets, who have already been blanked three times this season. That has Arniel firing up the line blender and setting it to “max.”

The top trio of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Gabe Vilardi remains intact — which is no surprise given their elite production. Everything else, however, got a makeover at Tuesday’s skate.

Barron, who has played centre all season, is shifting back to the wing alongside Jonathan Toews and Gustav Nyquist. The idea is to pair his speed with their veteran savvy and hope the mix pays off.

“I’ve said all along I’m happy to play anywhere. Whatever the team needs at the time. Obviously some change but I’m excited for it,” said Barron.

Nyquist (0 goals, 6 assists in 16 games) and Toews (one goal, no assists in his last nine games) are both searching for offence.

Vlad Namestnikov — last year’s second-line centre — moves from wing back to the middle between Cole Perfetti and Tanner Pearson.

“I just wanted to see Vladdy back in the middle. Obviously we know what he did for us last year and I just think he’s a puck possession guy and it’ll help that, maybe spark those other two guys,” said Arniel.

That leaves captain Adam Lowry with Nino Niederreiter and Alex Iafallo, while Cole Koepke was the extra forward.

“I just wanted to see Vladdy back in the middle. Obviously we know what he did for us last year and I just think he’s a puck possession guy.”

PUCK LUCK TURNS?

Go figure: The Jets opened the season hot despite what they themselves admit was some shoddy shinny. Elite goaltending and strong special teams masked plenty, but the results were undeniable.

Lately, however, the opposite has happened. Underlying numbers suggest Winnipeg has significantly improved at five-on-five, yet results haven’t followed.

The site MoneyPuck has a clever “Deserve To Win” meter for every NHL game which gives an analytic-based assessment of how the action unfolded. Essentially, they calculate what should transpire based on key metrics such as scoring chances, high-danger chances, shot attempts and the like.

According to their program — which involves running the data through 1,000 simulations — the Jets should have beaten both Carolina (58.8 per cent “deserved”) and Minnesota (65.1 per cent “deserved”).

“The first 10 games we were showing a lot of red. Our record was real good, but it wasn’t a recipe that was going to have success for 82 games,” said Arniel.

“Our last 10 games has been way better, and the numbers have really improved defensively. The scoring part, the offence needs to obviously continue to improve and get better. But, at the end of the day, I like more of how we’re playing without the puck. We’re limiting the amount of chances. Right now, though, we’ve got to stay in those one-goal games. The results I’d like to see go a little bit our way.”

Translation: The Jets hope their puck luck turns and some of those analytics-based “deserved” wins start showing up in the standings.

“We don’t feel like we’ve really played — maybe one or two — complete 60 minute efforts,” said Barron.

“If you can continue to do that, we’re going to be a great team. But we have to prove we can do that. Internally we have that belief. But it’s a matter of stringing those periods together and stringing games together. I think for us, the big emphasis is peaking at the right time and kind of continuing to grow. If we keep moving in the right direction throughout the course of the year, I think it will put us in a really good spot.”

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