Few concrete answers for Jets’ tailspin GM Cheveldayoff continues to preach patience despite club’s basement status By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 5:29 PM CST Monday, Jan. 5, 2026

Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff isn’t ready to abandon ship — or even declare a “mayday” — despite the fact his hockey club has sunk to the very bottom of the NHL standings.

Instead, the longtime architect is still preaching patience as the Jets hit the midway mark of a season that began with Stanley Cup aspirations and is now teetering toward unmitigated disaster.

“To this point, obviously it’s been very disappointing. Top to bottom, it starts with me,” Cheveldayoff said Monday during a 30-minute state-of-the-union media session marked by pointed questions and few concrete answers.

“I think everyone would feel like there’s a level of responsibility here that we need to find a way to be better. Your record is your record and all you can do is control what’s in front of you. Adversity is part of this game, it’s part of life.”

The 15-21-4 Jets have lost nine straight games (0-6-3) and 22 of their last 28 (6-18-4), leaving them nine points out of the final Western Conference wild-card spot as they prepare to open a five-game homestand Tuesday against the Vegas Golden Knights.

It represents a stunning fall from grace for a Presidents’ Trophy-winning team that went 56-22-4 last season — and would need to go 41-1-0 over its final 42 games just to match that total.

“The fire still burns very, very deeply here.”

“Didn’t necessarily see it coming,” said Cheveldayoff.

“But if you look at all the different things, it’s a tough league to win in and certainly the situation that we’re in — be it (losing) one-goal games, be it not maybe playing to the defensive structure that has become our signature for the last couple of years — all of a sudden you find yourself in this predicament.”

Cheveldayoff, who has been at the controls since the franchise relocated from Atlanta in 2011, assembled the current underperforming roster, including recent free-agent signings Tanner Pearson, Gustav Nyquist, Cole Koepke and Jonathan Toews, along with trade addition Luke Schenn — moves that have not panned out as hoped.

Although there has been no indication his job is in jeopardy, might he be feeling some heat?

“It’s not so much about how do you feel. It’s, ‘Do you still have the passion? Do you still have the willingness to put it in the grind?’” he replied.

“Because I think in this job here, you serve obviously at the pleasure of ownership. The ability to have that passion — and if you don’t have it, then you should be getting out of the game. The fire still burns very, very deeply here.”

How about the job security of second-year head coach Scott Arniel, who was a runner-up for the Jack Adams Trophy a year ago but now can’t seem to spark his struggling squad?

“Scott and his coaching staff are working extremely hard. There’s no (doubt) about that,” said Cheveldayoff.

“I’ve just got to do my job. You start worrying about what’s going to happen…  you’re not focusing on what’s happening today.”

“I think there’s a frustration level with them as well. They’re trying to do everything that they can. From a management perspective, we have to look at different avenues at some point in time here to see if there is something available. But again, it’s not an ideal situation and I know they feel the same disappointment that I do.”

To that extent, Arniel was asked if he’s losing any sleep over his employment status these days.

“I’m not thinking about that. I’ve just got to do my job. You start worrying about what’s going to happen, the unknown, what’s going to happen down the road, you’re not focusing on what’s happening today,” he said.

“So that’s all I can do, is be the best coach I can be. It’s part of the business, but at the end of the day I’ve got to make sure me and my staff, that we’re doing the right things to prepare our group.”

Co-owner Mark Chipman has a strong voice in the operations of the team. Although he doesn’t typically speak publicly with media, he does chat with Cheveldayoff on a daily basis.

“Mark obviously cares deeply. He’s probably a bigger fan more than he is the owner, so to speak, and you know he feels it,” said Cheveldayoff.

“He shares that disappointment. But again that’s sports, and that’s the reality of the National Hockey League. And you can’t take anything for granted. And, like I say, all you can do is how you handle that adversity.”

So what is Cheveldayoff going to do about it? Despite the prolonged skid, he has yet to make a trade, place a player on waivers or promote anyone from the Manitoba Moose outside of injury-related recalls. The same healthy 23-man roster has remained intact for weeks.

Is maintaining the status quo really the plan?

“You’re always looking, you’re always trying to evaluate what options are out there, whether it’s internally, whether it’s externally,” he said.

“Some decisions that we make obviously work, some decisions that we make don’t. It’s one of those things where you don’t just change things overnight.”

The lack of movement has renewed scrutiny of the organization’s once-prized draft-and-develop pipeline. Only Cole Perfetti and Dylan Samberg have become regulars since 2017. Cheveldayoff acknowledged that’s partly the cost of years spent pushing all-in.

“We’ve traded a lot of draft picks. We’ve done a lot of that, and I think we’re paying a little bit of a price for that right now,” he said.

“When you have that opportunity to try to push forward a group, you do the things that are available for you to do. That being said, you’re sitting here today with lots of capital that was expelled over the course of those years. There’s an opportunity cost with every decision that you make.”

One of the season’s low points came Saturday in Ottawa, when a Jets fan wearing a paper bag over his head — emblazoned with “From First to Worst” — was shown on Hockey Night in Canada.

“Certainly fans in our market are very, very passionate, and that is something we care deeply about,” said Cheveldayoff.

“Again, this isn’t something you plan out, and obviously sports are unpredictable. That’s the nature of the game here now. But from a fan’s perspective, we’re going to continue to look and work, and I feel their disappointment as much as they do.”

“It is on my shoulders each and every day.”

Fan anger and attendance concerns have become increasingly relevant as losses mount.

“It is on my shoulders each and every day. You don’t just sit there last year and win a President’s Trophy and feel like, ‘OK, put your feet up, it’s all good,’” said Cheveldayoff.

“The NHL is a very expensive league for people to come and watch. Certainly, the players are aware of it, too. That’s how their salaries are paid. It’s the passion that pays us all, so to speak. You can never, ever take anything in this game for granted, certainly not the fans.

“But I think if you’re a true fan of any team, the ups and the downs and the celebrations and the heartbreaks are all part of fandom. What makes sports the most unpredictable thing is that.”

Despite seemingly insurmountable odds, Cheveldayoff still believes this team can compete for a championship.

“I think if you look at this core, it’s a strong core. It’s a good group of players. A lot of them are still in their prime and are going to be in their prime for a period of time,” he said.

“I think that it’s just the opportunity to find some additional players, some additional people that fit to surround that core to make it better.”

As a result, don’t expect a major organizational pivot toward selling or rebuilding, not with Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Josh Morrissey and Adam Lowry all under long-term contracts.

“My commitment to them hasn’t wavered. My commitment to ownership hasn’t wavered,” said Cheveldayoff.

“In a situation like this, all we can control right now is the next game in front of us. I don’t think that group in there feels that they’re down and out of it. I think if you look at the way things have happened even with some other teams in the NHL this year, things can happen quickly the other way as well if you get on the right track.”

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