Jets’ season on thin ice Without major shakeup, Cup hopes for club rapidly fading By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 6:33 PM CST Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025

DENVER — The Winnipeg Jets cancelled their scheduled practice here on Thursday, apparently deciding a day away from the rink was the best course of action.

That’s a curious move for a club that has struggled to show up on game nights for large stretches of the season — the latest example coming Wednesday in St. Louis, where the Jets suffered their 15th loss in the past 21 outings (6-13-2).

How bleak are things for the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners, who were just three points clear of the NHL basement prior to Thursday’s slate of games? Allow us to count the ways.

General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff hasn’t made a move beyond sending a few promising young skaters back to the farm, seemingly unwilling to disrupt the slow, aging lineup he assembled. A frustrated head coach Scott Arniel appears to have run out of fresh ideas. Underperforming players have few words to explain what’s happening — and not happening — on the ice.

And last, but certainly not least, fan disappointment and anger is threatening to morph into something even more troubling: apathy. Recent crowd sizes have shrunk. The downtown rink often has the atmosphere of the Millennium Library. And the product on the ice is anything but entertaining.

It would be one thing if the Jets were bad but fun. Instead, they’re bad and boring — as we were reminded again Wednesday when the Blues, who entered play as the worst defensive team in the NHL, held what was supposed to be a desperate, highly motivated Jets club to 24 shots and no goals in a 1-0 triumph.

It marked the fourth time in 33 games Winnipeg has been blanked. The 15-16-2 Jets are a tough watch these days, to put it mildly. And just when it feels like they’ve hit rock bottom, along comes an even deeper sinkhole.

Next up is a Friday night clash with the Colorado Avalanche, who just so happen to sit atop the league standings with an incredible 24-2-7 record. Hide the children, folks. This one could get ugly.

Cheveldayoff recently told the Free Press that the answers to his team’s troubles “must come from within.” Is that really still the mindset? Is he not seeing what has become painfully obvious to anyone who’s watched this Jets club struggle on a near-nightly basis?

Perhaps it’s time to start asking some different questions. Among them:

1) Are there truly no better options available right now?

The Manitoba Moose are off to a strong start, with plenty of players producing and likely champing at the bit for a chance to make an impact in Winnipeg. Why aren’t any of them being given one?

Go up and down the list: Younger pros like Brayden Yager, Brad Lambert, Nikita Chibrikov, Danny Zhilkin, Parker Ford and Samuel Fagemo. More established skaters like David Gustafsson, Mason Shaw, Walker Duehr, Phil Di Giuseppe and Jaret Anderson-Dolan. All might have something to offer.

Blues head coach Jim Montgomery, speaking prior to Wednesday’s game, mentioned that two young players would be making their NHL debuts. He talked about how that could inject energy and excitement into a struggling veteran group in need of a jolt. His team went out and played that way, too.

There’s been no such boost for the Jets, who continue to roll out largely the same tired lineup night after night. Are they really afraid of losing players like Gustav Nyquist (no goals in 24 games), Tanner Pearson (five points in 27 games) and Colin Miller (a healthy scratch for 23 games so far) who are all pending unrestricted free agents?

It’s worth the risk. If they get claimed, so be it. If not, send them to the AHL and make room for hungry players who — at the very least — can’t bring any less to the table.

An organization that prides itself on loyalty and patience now appears to be trapped by its own philosophy. It’s starting to look like they’re more worried about hurting feelings than winning hockey games.

2) Speaking of which, how much longer can the Jonathan Toews experiment last?

This once feel-good story is showing little sign of a happy ending. Toews’ play continues to trend in the wrong direction, with just a single secondary assist over his past 17 games. His role has diminished, his ice time has been slashed, and he looks to have very little left in the tank.

Isn’t it time, at the very least, to consider a healthy scratch or two? Call it load management if you want. It’s hard to believe the fiercely proud Toews is enjoying this. And aside from winning some faceoffs, the 37-year-old is not helping his hometown team in any tangible way. That hoped-for playoff payoff now feels like a pipe dream.

Other than solid fourth-liner Cole Koepke, the summer signings — Toews, Nyquist and Pearson — have been a bust. And that lands squarely on Cheveldayoff, who didn’t do enough to fill the holes left in his lineup following free agency.

3) What are core members like Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey thinking?

You can’t blame them. Along with Gabe Vilardi, they’ve routinely been Winnipeg’s best players. But it hasn’t been nearly enough.

This was supposed to be a win-now team. Instead, the Jets look like a group whose wide-open window from a year ago may have slammed shut — with the only race they’re truly competitive in being for the No. 1 overall draft pick. This wasn’t what they had in mind when they put pen to paper and inked long-term extensions.

Shouldn’t the organization be doing everything possible to pry that window back open? If not, what message are you sending to your core?

4) What’s next for Arniel?

We’ve lost count of how many times the coach has stressed the need for better starts, discipline and puck management — only to watch his team do the exact opposite.

Arniel tried one-on-one meetings last month in California. He publicly called out his team in Carolina. He fell on the sword after a closed-door players’ meeting in Buffalo. And now, here in Denver, perhaps he’s trying to kill them with kindness by gifting an unexpected day off.

Some might suggest he’s lost, or losing, the room. But it’s important to remember he’s just a season removed from taking this group to new heights, and it was just last Saturday the Jets came out with their most complete game of the year, a dominant 5-1 victory over Washington.

Making that the norm, rather than the exception, has been the challenge. If his message is getting stale, that might just be more of an indictment of the players rather than the head coach.

What’s left in his bag of tricks? Splitting up Scheifele and Connor to see if they can each drive a line would be dramatic, but he seems unwilling, or unable, to do it. With Cheveldayoff offering no reinforcements from the Moose, the waiver wire or the trade market, Arniel is left rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

5) Where have the high standards gone?

For years, this group has talked about accountability and pushing each other to be better. That’s hard to find now, with so many players struggling mightily, including several key returnees.

Vlad Namestnikov has one assist in 22 games. You might soon spot his face on a milk carton. Linemate Nino Niederreiter has no points in nine games. Cole Perfetti — in what was supposed to be a breakout season — has regressed significantly with just two goals in 19 games, not helped by the high-ankle sprain suffered in the pre-season.

Dylan DeMelo, skating on the top pair with Morrissey, has been prone to costly turnovers —including the one that led to the Blues’ goal Wednesday — and unnecessary penalties. Dylan Samberg doesn’t look like himself following a broken wrist in camp. Neither does captain Adam Lowry as he works his way back from hip surgery.

This ship is taking on water, and it has far too many passengers.

6) What’s left to salvage at this point?

Unfortunately for the Jets, this season is teetering perilously close to being lost. Catching Colorado, Dallas or Minnesota for a top-three spot in the Central appears unrealistic. That leaves a desperate scratch-and-claw attempt for a wild card berth that would likely end in a first-round meeting with a powerhouse.

Cheveldayoff must tread carefully. Sacrificing top prospects or high picks for a short-term patch would be reckless. It may be time to take a deep breath, accept that this isn’t the year, and look toward a retool.

Sell whatever spare parts you can. Create opportunity. And finally, start getting a glimpse of what the future might look like — because the present isn’t working.

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