Perfetti getting his groove back Jets forward finding his game on newly-configured second line By: Ken Wiebe Posted: 5:50 PM CST Monday, Jan. 12, 2026

To suggest that Cole Perfetti has fully turned the corner might be a slight exaggeration, but the Winnipeg Jets forward is clearly trending upward.

By chipping in a pair of two-assist efforts on the weekend to help the Jets earn consecutive victories for the first time since mid-November, Perfetti is demonstrating both the consistency and offensive production that has been missing for various points of a season that has been frustrating for many individuals and for the team as a whole.

No matter how you want to describe it, having Perfetti more involved offensively is something the Jets desperately need.

“Yeah, that’s that player that we’ve kind of been waiting on,” Jets head coach Scott Arniel said after Sunday’s 4-3 win over the New Jersey Devils. “Getting his game up to speed in the sense of he’s doing some things (like) moving with the puck, (showing) his vision and playmaking and he’s getting himself into areas where he’s getting that shot.”

Clearly, it’s been a tough slog this season for Perfetti, who suffered a high ankle sprain in an exhibition game against the Calgary Flames near the end of training camp and missed 14 games at the start of the campaign.

“You can see (that) now (Perfetti) is feeling a lot better.”

He’s essentially been trying to play catch-up ever since and these 30 games have featured more valleys than peaks.

But Perfetti has a goal and six points in his past six games on the second line with Jonathan Toews (two goals, six points in past nine games) and Gabe Vilardi (two goals and seven points during the past six games) that is clicking.

“That line is showing some chemistry,” said Arniel. “You can see (that) now (Perfetti) is feeling a lot better. For those kind of guys, goal scorers, those kind of offensive guys, it’s like a 50-pound weight is taken off them when all of a sudden they get those goals or they get touches. Even if they don’t score, if they’re creating, they’re feeling good about themselves and you’re seeing it with Cole.”

How does Perfetti see the turn of the tide?

It’s a combination of things coming together.

“Maybe a little bit of puck luck, a little more confidence,” said Perfetti, who has three goals and 13 points overall. “We’re doing well as a line and taking care of our own zone and, in turn, we’re getting a lot of O-zone time. And yeah, I would say feeling a little bit more confident in myself and my ankle, all that kind of stuff. It’s feeling a lot better.”

Given the nature of the injury, Perfetti might not be up to full speed until the off-season, but after this sprint to the Olympic break, there’s another extended period of time for the healing process to continue that wouldn’t be there during a normal season.

“A little reset, (some) family time, just kind of get your mind off the game and just hang out with family and, most importantly, rest the body,” said Perfetti. “I came out of the break feeling a lot better and just rejuvenated. And I think a lot of us did. We’ve been playing better hockey (ever) since.”

Perfetti is known to be someone that can be extremely hard on himself when things aren’t going well, which is an area of expertise for Toews — who has spoken openly this season about dealing with that throughout most of his storied career.

“I don’t think it’s all a bad thing. It’s good to have that drive and ambition,” Toews said last week. “You obviously see a young guy with his talent and his ability and he’s going to be hard on himself because he expects big things.

“But at the same time, there are situations where you’ve just got to let things go, you’ve got to laugh it off, and you’ve got to keep going, regardless of whether the puck goes in or not. You have that good feeling, that good sense of confidence about yourself and I could see him sometimes getting upset or wound up. And you know, I see myself in that. So, it takes one to know one, I guess. But I’m just trying to remind him that he’s a hell of a player. He’s a tremendous talent and it’s fun to see him improve and get better every day.”

Having Toews around as a sounding board for Perfetti is one of those intangibles that isn’t measurable in the traditional point totals, but it’s become increasingly evident during this recent stretch — and figures to continue to be.

“He’s been really good for me,” said Perfetti. “Mindset wise, I sometimes dwell on things and replay things in my head, or let it get to me. And he’s really good at just moving on to the next shift, the next day, the next game, whatever it is. And, it’s starting to wear off (on Perfetti).

“If you go out there on the ice and you don’t like your last shift, or you get scored on, or you miss an empty net or whatever the case may be, just kind of erasing it from your mind and moving on to the next shift. It’s crazy how good he is at that, and just moving forward. It’s been really good for me.”

“I sometimes dwell on things and replay things in my head, or let it get to me. And he’s really good at just moving on to the next shift.”

THE RECALL: The Jets took Monday off after playing three games in four days, but they announced that defenceman Colin Miller has been placed on injured reserve and that Isaak Phillips has been recalled from the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League.

Miller (lower body) was injured in the first period of Sunday’s game and will miss at least seven days of action.

Since top defence prospect Elias Salomonsson was not recalled at this time, this likely signals that Phillips is going to be the seventh D-man and Luke Schenn will draw back into the lineup on Tuesday against the New York Islanders as the Jets close out this five-game homestand.

Phillips, who has 56 NHL games on his resumé with the Chicago Blackhawks, has three goals and 13 points in 33 games with the Moose this season.

On Monday, the Jets also reassigned centre Jacob Julien from the Norfolk Admirals of the ECHL to the Moose.

Julien, chosen in the fifth round of the 2023 NHL draft, got into a pair of games with the Admirals after missing the first half of the season with an injury he suffered in the prospects tournament in Montreal back in September.

The Moose continue a six-game road trip on Tuesday against the Rockford IceHogs.

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