‘Every year you have to start again’ Jets bench boss Arniel talks rebuilding from last season’s struggles By: Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe Posted: 5:42 PM CDT Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026

Scott Arniel has a lot on his plate these days.

But the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets took some time Thursday to sit down with Free Press hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe to discuss a number of topics on the eve of a new hockey season. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Wiebe: What was the evaluation of last season like? What did you personally do in an attempt to improve after going from first-overall to 26th-overall?

I just went back and looked at things and made sure my communication was where it needed to be with my players. Was my communication where it needed to be with my boss, with my general manager (Kevin Cheveldayoff)? How our coaching staff worked. How we handled highs and lows. Things I felt I could have done better.

With not having (then injured Adam) Lowry and (Cole) Perfetti and (Dylan) Samberg to begin with, it just seemed like we never got cohesive. And I wanted to make sure, coming in here with what was going to be a short camp, that the detail part was really looked after.

The last part was looking at other teams and how they do things. Talking to other coaches. It’s easy, through analytics, you can look at the best five or top ten teams. I gave assignments to all our assistant coaches and gave them a month to get their work done.

It was all playoff and regular-season stuff and they came back and we pretty much built our training camp through that. We used video of some of the best teams — Carolina’s forecheck, Utah’s transition. There were different teams we used different examples for.

McIntyre: Hockey is an emotional game. When things don’t go well, tensions can run high. Did you have to do any relationship rebuilding with players after a tough year?

I have to take a lot of responsibility for what went on.

The biggest thing is when I started to reach out to players and listen. When you sit the next day after you get beat out, there’s not a lot of deep thought put into that meeting. When I talk to guys after, those were long phone calls. Especially with our guys that have been here for a little bit, like 12 or 13 guys.

It was more about really picking their brain. I asked them all, ‘What could I have done better for you,’ or, ‘What could I have done better for the team?’ And, vice versa, they started to take some of that responsibility as well, not that I was looking for that.

It was them talking about areas they could be better, and how can I help to keep them on track that way. They had things for me, whether it was how we handled a meeting, how we handled special teams, the lineup.

It was connecting back with the players again, and really listening to them. That was early, and around the first of August, that was my second call with them. So I got two really good conversations with those guys.

For as long as we had off, it was a lot of work put in this summer. Watching other teams, being around free agency, being around the draft, development camp, coming into the office, talking to Chevy a lot more. Having a bit more of a deep dive.

I do not want to say we took it for granted last summer, but we thought it was going right back to what it was. It’s interesting, I did talk to some coaches, and they said every year you have to start again. I kind of knew that, but then I experienced it firsthand.

Wiebe: Team defence was your bread-and-butter during your first three years with the team, including the first two as an assistant. How do you get back to that identity?

That is our identity and that is something, when I’ve talked to other coaches, they just hated playing against us because it was so hard to get to the net or so hard to get a scoring chance. And then you had (Connor Hellebuyck) sitting there.

For me, a couple things: the analytic side, what goes into that high-danger area. How do they get there, how often they get there, and then protecting that. And then the second part, which I don’t think early on we could do very well because we weren’t quick, but now we’re quick. We can do it.

And that’s what you hear me barking all the time: “Quick. Close. Go. Go. Go.” If we do that, that gets back to how we were the last couple years, where we didn’t give teams enough time to find their A play.

McIntyre: It’s been a long time since there’s been a player around here to capture the excitement of fans like Viggo Bjorck. How do you manage him? He probably wants to do everything he can; you probably don’t want to put too much on his shoulders, but he does represent hope and a new wave here.

Without a doubt, he’s the second-line centre this organization has been looking for for quite a while. We’re all hoping it happens fast and quick here. But there’s going to be growing pains.

Two things for me: It’s 84 games, something he’s never done. It’s the grind, the size, the speed of the NHL, the travel, the three-in-fours, the four-in-sixes that he’s going to have to learn to play and manage himself. And I have to do that as well with him.

And he’s also going to learn about a Canadian market. It’s this every day. You can hide in some of those U.S. markets as a young kid and kind of work your way along.

But he’s got such a great demeanour, such a great personality and, on the other side, his hockey mind is just really, really sharp. So that’s extremely helpful. For him and for us, because he picks up things really quick.

There’s going to be ups and downs, but that’s where his teammates are there to help support him and stay upright. And it’s us as a staff recognizing when it’s time to back off, when is it time to push him more.

Wiebe: You’re in the final year of your contract. Are there challenges as a coach to being in that position?

I mean, it’s not comfortable. I’ll be honest. But at the end of the day, I’ve (dealt with) it as a player and now as a coach. It’s a situation where you go put the work in.

There’s lots of players that may be in that same situation. I’m telling them go put the work in. Go put the work in and let the results speak for themselves. That’s really been my mindset since the end of the season.

Hopefully it gets taken care of, but at the end of the day I have a job to do and, if I focus on that, it’s not going to help what we’re trying to do. I’ll just put my head down and move straight ahead.

McIntyre: What keeps you grounded? This job can be all-encompassing. How do you manage the work/life balance so it doesn’t overwhelm?

You do have to find something to turn your brain off.

I’m a huge reader. My summertime was all sports psychology and coaches (books). I just wanted to refresh some ideas. I’ll always have a biography or sports book, but I’ll also have fiction somewhere.

My escape when we jump on a plane and are flying somewhere: instead of opening my computer and looking at the game and getting all frustrated, I might just look at a fiction book and try to turn my brain off that way.

My grandkids have been unbelievable. Being able to FaceTime and get away. It’s amazing when they start telling you their tough problems. It’s making sure when I’m with my wife we’re not talking hockey. When we have a day off, we have to take a day off.

Wiebe: What has you most optimistic about the coming season?

The unknown about the NHL — six teams were in (the playoffs) last year and six teams (which made it the season before) were out.

You gotta get off to a good start. You really have to be dialled in. It’s happening so fast this week, with four (games) in six days. It may not work out perfectly, but we have to get to our game.

We still have a really good hockey team in my opinion. We really do.

Outside this city, we’re often looked at as, ‘Oh, we were always a one-trick pony, or a two-trick pony.’

Now, we need Lowry and his line to do what they can do. We know what (Mark Scheifele) and those guys can do. We need Viggo to step up and his line for secondary scoring. We need our fourth line to help carry some heavy lifting with Low. And then obviously your D are a part of that.

To me, I think our group is really strong. And I think they all have something to prove. We were all embarrassed by last year, and it’s made for a long summer. When you have guys motivated that way, that certainly helps you. It’s a lot easier to push those guys when they are in that mindset.

McIntyre: There is a lot of outside noise: The Hellebuyck situation. People believing last year was the real Jets, not the year before. The idea that nobody wants to play here. How much of that can be internal motivation?

Our players never read social media or media, right? No, they all know the noise, too. I actually don’t. That’s one thing I don’t do, no disrespect to you guys, but I don’t read or follow because all I’m going to do is worry about it.

If you go look back three years, before my first year, what the expectations of us were, it was the same thing: Middle of the pack, going to struggle in the Central Division.

If that’s the way people feel, then hopefully the opposition takes us for granted. But you have to go and do it. We can say we love the underdog role. Well, if you’re going to play the underdog role, you better go do it.

But that’s always been Winnipeg. I think if you’ve built a dynasty or have a team that’s won numerous (Stanley) Cups or been in the Finals, you’re going to get looked at a lot differently. Until you prove yourself year after year after year, you’re kind of going to be in that boat.

McIntyre: Following up, you’re as embedded in this organization and community as anyone. You know what hockey means. What would taking this team to the very top mean to you?

I started here in 1981 and we had some great teams. Ran into some other great teams. Never had a chance to really go all the way.

It’s always been an aspiration, it’s always been my drive to hold that Cup up and go on — I don’t know, would it be a bus? Or a float? — down Portage and Main and be able to pick up that big silver Cup and hold it over my head. That would be amazing.

It’s always something I’ve thought of. Not that I didn’t want to do it in Washington when I was there or New York when I was there, but it all started here for me. My wife being from here, that’s why it would mean so much to me.

And then, it’s like, ‘finally. Now leave us alone.’

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