Jets mailbag: Injuries, prospects and salary cap on fans’ minds

The Winnipeg Jets are off and running on a new NHL season — and local hockey fans are already in mid-season form when it comes to questions about the club.

Free Press hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe are here with all the answers in the latest edition of their monthly mailbag.

If a player is injured early in the season and can’t play for the rest of the year, what happens to his salary? What happens if it’s a career-ending injury and he’s still under contract for many more years?

GARY

Inside job: Late tip from Scheifele gives Jets first win

Mark Scheifele went to the hard areas and his brilliant hand-eye coordination took care of the rest.

With the game tied just past the midway point of the third period, the Winnipeg Jets forward got inside position on defenceman Cody Ceci and then deftly redirected the puck out of the air after a point shot/pass from Josh Morrissey for what turned out to be the game-winning goal in a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday afternoon.

“I’m not much of a talker on the ice anyway, but he’s a pretty good player,” Scheifele said of Morrissey, quickly deflecting praise. “He knew what he was doing.”

Scheifele and Morrissey have spent many hours working out together during recent off-seasons and this play was another example of how some of that extra work can pay dividends.

Rad tunes and fashion decisions

As Morgan Barron prepared for Thursday’s Winnipeg Jets season opener, a surprising thought crossed his mind.

“What should I wear?”

In the past, that decision was simple: suit and tie, no questions asked. It was the National Hockey League way — a long-standing dress code that left little room for interpretation.

But thanks to a new collective bargaining agreement struck this summer between the league and the union, players now have far more creative freedom when it comes to game-day attire.

Jets know what to improve after dropping season opener

The hiccups were bound to arrive: they were just a little more pronounced than Scott Arniel would have liked.

The head coach of the Winnipeg Jets wasn’t thrilled with a good chunk of the season opening 5-4 loss to the Dallas Stars and he wasn’t afraid to share that in his post-game media address.

After going through the process of breaking down the film, Arniel felt similarly — especially about the breakdowns in coverage and the inability to win as many one-on-one battles that are required to come out on top against a Central Division opponent and fellow Stanley Cup contender.

“Lots of teaching. They know there’s some areas we need to improve on. Talked about it, looked at it. Get ourselves reset,” Arniel said.

As Toews debuts with Jets, Connor shines in season-opening loss to Stars

WINNIPEG - The spotlight was on Jonathan Toews when the Winnipeg Jets stepped on the ice for their season opener against the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

It ended shining brightly on Kyle Connor, Winnipeg's newly minted highest-paid player.

Connor delivered a hat trick in Winnipeg's comeback attempt, but the Stars skated off with a 5-4 victory that featured a goal and two assists from Mikko Rantanen.

“Yeah, for sure,” Connor said when asked if his performance was satisfying after he signed an eight-year, $US96-million contract extension on Wednesday.

Jets’ comeback comes up short

It had everything you could want heading into a season-opener: The hometown hockey hero making his highly anticipated debut. Two new banners being raised to the rafters. Four shiny team trophies on display in the concourse. A raucous sold-out crowd and two opponents with a rich recent history.

Unfortunately for the Winnipeg Jets, the Dallas Stars spoiled their day yet again.

Last spring it came in Game 6 of their emotional second-round playoff series in the form of a heartbreaking 2-1 overtime loss down in Texas. Now, 145 days later, it was in Game 1 of the 2025-26 campaign — a wild 5-4 setback.

This was always going to be a tough first challenge for the Jets. They were facing a loaded Stars team widely regarded as one of the pre-season favourites to win the Stanley Cup — and doing so without three key members in shutdown centre Adam Lowry (hip), shutdown defenceman Dylan Samberg (wrist) and scoring winger Cole Perfetti (ankle).

Puck drops on Toews’ next chapter

Brent Seabrook didn’t need long to pour freezing cold water on a theory that has been making the rounds.

Seabrook, a longtime teammate and former roommate of Jonathan Toews when they played for the Chicago Blackhawks, has been around long enough to know that the Winnipeg Jets centre didn’t put himself through everything on this long and winding road to recovery just to say that he could make it back.

While it’s true there are no guarantees in professional sports, Seabrook is convinced that Toews can still be an important contributor on a winning hockey club.

“Average? That doesn’t sound like Johnny Toews. That doesn’t sound like him,” Seabrook said in a recent telephone interview. “He’s not going to come back and do something if he’s not ready. He knows where he’s at — where his body is at and his game is at.

Key storylines to follow as puck drops in Winnipeg Jets 15th season

On your marks. Get set. Go! The Winnipeg Jets are set to begin the marathon that is the NHL season, looking to ultimately leave all 31 rivals in the dust. And while it would be nice to cross the finish line first once all 82 games are in the books — just as they did a year ago — the real focus is on being the last team standing at the end of the playoffs.

Jets sign Connor in $12-M, eight-year contract extension

One of the biggest questions surrounding the Winnipeg Jets has been answered. After negotiations heated up Tuesday, the Jets and star winger Kyle Connor have agreed to terms on an eight-year extension worth US$96 million that carries an average annual value of US$12 million.

Toews only surprise omission on Jets opening-day roster

All signs point to Jonathan Toews being ready to resume his NHL career on Thursday in the Winnipeg Jets season opener.

Winnipeg Jets chasing more than regular-season glory this year

WINNIPEG - The Winnipeg Jets are aiming to be the best team in the NHL this season – but in June rather than April.

After claiming the Presidents’ Trophy last season for posting the most regular-season points (116), the Jets will try to rinse and repeat while improving enough to win the Stanley Cup.

It won't be an easy start with three key players on the shelf before the team even opens the regular season at home Thursday against the Dallas Stars.

Second-line winger Cole Perfetti is out week-to-week after suffering a high-ankle sprain in the club's final pre-season game last Friday.

Clearing waivers might be best for defenceman Heinola’s development, club

It appears Winnipeg’s longest-running sports soap opera isn’t ready to go off the air — er, ice — just yet.

The latest plot twist in the Ville Heinola saga came Monday, when 31 NHL general managers essentially said, “Nah, we’re good,” after being given the chance to land the talented but rarely used young defenceman for free.

Heinola clearing waivers was no doubt a surprise to plenty of fans who believe the Jets have held the smooth-skating 24-year-old Finn back from bigger opportunities.

A fresh start will have to wait, at least for now. Heinola will remain with the organization that drafted him 20th overall in 2019 but has only dressed him for 53 NHL games so far.

Jets limping into regular season

The hits just keep coming for the Winnipeg Jets, who will open the new NHL season this week in a world of hurt.

Add winger Cole Perfetti to the growing list of wounded players. The young forward suffered a high-ankle sprain in last Friday’s preseason finale in Calgary and is officially listed as week-to-week.

“Not the best news we wanted to get,” coach Scott Arniel said following Sunday’s practice. “If it’s broken, you usually have a pretty good timeline. When it’s a high-ankle sprain, it’s a little trickier.”

Perfetti joins captain Adam Lowry (recovering from offseason hip surgery) and shutdown defenceman Dylan Samberg (broken wrist) on the shelf. Neither is expected back until some point in November, and it’s now possible Perfetti could extend beyond that.

Jets rally to earn a 5-4 shootout victory over Flames, but DeMelo and Perfetti leave early

You will forgive Scott Arniel if he happened to mutter a quick "good riddance" to the exhibition season before hopping on the plane back home to Winnipeg on Friday night.

For as much as the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets enjoys the time he got to evaluate and install a few wrinkles to the system during training camp, Arniel had to adjust on the fly once again after a pair of players left the game against the Calgary Flames.

The Jets ended up rallying from a 4-1 deficit to earn a 5-4 shootout victory to finish with a 2-3-1 record in the pre-season, but it came at a cost.

After losing defenceman Dylan Samberg to a broken wrist during the first exhibition meeting between the two teams last Saturday, blue-liner Dylan DeMelo left Friday’s outing with just under seven minutes to go in the first period and forward Cole Perfetti didn’t come out for the third.

Road to the Stanley Cup set to begin

Is it October yet? You bet it is.

That means a brand-new hockey season is here — full of fresh starts, clean slates and endless possibilities.

The puck officially drops on Tuesday with a trio of games and will keep rolling for more than eight action-packed months until a champion is crowned.

To get you ready, Dump & Chase dives into some of the season’s most compelling storylines and dusts off the crystal ball for some fearless puck predictions.