Among the teams that aren’t participating in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Winnipeg Jets would have to be right near the top of the list for most disappointed.
The Jets captured the Presidents’ Trophy a year ago and expectations were sky high heading into 2025-26. And why wouldn’t they have been? Connor Hellebuyck was coming off a Hart Trophy win, and Winnipeg also boasted the likes of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey all playing at a very high level. Fans probably felt the Jets were much closer to the Cup than they were to missing the playoffs.
Individually, a lot went right for the Jets this year. Scheifele topped 100 points for the first time, Connor eclipsed 90 for the second straight season and Hellebuyck, despite a significant injury earlier in the campaign, ended up winning a gold medal with a signature performance at the Olympics. Even Gabriel Vilardi nearly hit the 70-point mark.
Collectively, though, the Jets couldn’t get it together. Despite working their way back in the race down the stretch, they could never close the deal. Winnipeg lost its final four games of the season by a combined score of 24-7, punctuating a 34-point drop in the standings year over year.
Hellebuyck expressed his frustration at how this season unfolded for the Jets during locker cleanout on Friday and thinks changes are necessary.
“Complacency is not gonna get us moving forward,” Hellebuyck said. “So, something’s got to happen. To just put that same product on the ice. I just, I don’t think it worked for a reason.”
The Jets certainly have talent to build around, but in order to stay competitive in a tough Western Conference, Winnipeg needs a major shakeup throughout the rest of its roster.
Jets need significant roster change this off-season
One of the things that stands out from this Jets season is how their offence really dropped off outside the top line of Connor, Scheifele and Vilardi. After those three and Morrissey, their next highest scorer, Cole Perfetti, had just 32 points. Everyone else had less than 30. Last season, Perfetti was a 50-point scorer and the Jets had another five players who came in between 30-40 points. Not great, but a lot better than 2025-26.
The offence also dried up on the power play this year, as Winnipeg finished with the league’s 24th-best unit. Last year, it ranked first in the NHL in that department, clicking at nearly 29 per cent.
As talented as the top end of the Jets roster is, there’s no way they can be a serious contender with this little secondary scoring. Brad Lambert showed some flashes down the stretch, but counting on the inexperienced 22-year-old for heavy offensive lifting in 2026-27 would be a big ask. They may have little choice but to explore some seismic moves this off-season to get back on track.
Overreaction? No
The Jets play in arguably the toughest division in the league, and you could make a case that Colorado, Dallas and Minnesota are three of the NHL’s best teams. So you really need talent up and down your lineup to succeed in the Central. Nino Niederreiter and Alex Iafallo will continue to make a combined $7.6 million next season and the duo is coming off a campaign where they produced a total of just 48 points together. Can they get off of either contract and look for an upgrade? Then there was the Gustav Nyquist experiment, which was a disaster. Nyquist tallied just one goal in 51 games and almost certainly won’t be back. Jonathan Toews might, but he can’t be counted on to be an offensive force at this point in his career.
That means the Jets will have to comb through a thin free-agent class or make trades to upgrade the roster. It’s always challenging for Winnipeg to attract players, but it can promise those available on July 1st opportunities that not everyone can. The Jets could easily have three top-six forward spots open next season, and if they wanted to balance out the lines, they could potentially dangle the opportunity to play with Scheifele or Connor as an incentive to prospective free agents.
That’s exactly what the Pittsburgh Penguins have done over the past year. The Pens signed Anthony Mantha and Parker Wotherspoon on cheap deals last summer and both have thrived in elevated roles. Then they traded for Yegor Chinakhov during the season, and he’s taken off since arriving in Pittsburgh.
The Jets would be wise to follow a similar strategy to try and freshen up a lineup that’s become stale. If they return with the status quo, it’s going to be challenging for Winnipeg to avoid a similar fate to the one it endured in 2025-26.
Maple Leafs did enough to secure bottom-five pick
It was a disastrous season for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and there potentially wasn’t even going to be a silver lining of a high draft pick at the end of it. The Leafs dealt their first-round pick to the Boston Bruins at last year’s trade deadline with only top-five protection. Toronto didn’t expect to be this bad this season, but here we are. The Maple Leafs managed to finish fifth from the bottom to at least give themselves a shot at keeping the pick through the lottery. They now have a 24.5 per cent chance at staying in the top five and an 8.5 per cent shot at picking first overall. Winning just five times in their final 25 games was enough to put themselves in a position to grab a franchise-altering player.
Overreaction? Yes
As well-positioned as the Leafs are, the chances of falling to sixth in the lottery are still 44 per cent, which would mean handing the pick over to the Bruins. Had it finished one spot lower, Toronto would’ve had a 60 per cent chance at keeping its pick and if it finished third worst, it would be guaranteed to keep it. Falling another two spots actually wouldn’t have been that difficult, as both Calgary and the New York Rangers finished one point behind the Leafs, and Toronto would’ve ended up behind each of them due to having fewer regulation wins.
It could be an agonizing fate for Leafs fans if they lose the pick because the organization did absolutely nothing to assist in a drop down the standings. They continued to play top players heavy minutes, started Joseph Woll whenever they could and constantly pulled the goalie down multiple goals with minutes left in games. In fact, in one particular 5-4 Leafs win against the Anaheim Ducks a couple of weeks ago, William Nylander played 23:35, posted four points and had eight shots. He sparked a third-period comeback to help pick up two points. Could five or six of those minutes have gone to a young player like Jacob Quillan instead?
The word tanking has a negative connotation, as some people might think teams are intentionally trying to lose. Instead, an organization like the Leafs should have been prioritizing player evaluation and development over picking up points in a lost season. You learn a lot about your young players and who could maybe have value next season, while also likely sacrificing a few points in the standings. A lack of direction could be really costly here to the Leafs, as it’s not like if they drop one or two spots in the lottery, they’ll still be getting an impact player. Toronto could either get a franchise cornerstone for the next decade in June or walk away empty-handed.
Panthers will be a Cup contender again next season
Not many people had the Florida Panthers missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs on their bingo card heading into the season. Things never got off on the right foot for the Panthers after captain Aleksander Barkov tore his ACL during training camp and everything snowballed from there. The injuries and three straight deep playoff runs took their toll, and it was evident the Panthers wouldn’t be able to defend their title.
This very likely won’t be the last we’ve heard of the Panthers, though. Florida still has a very formidable roster, and when healthy, it should again cruise to the post-season and challenge for another Stanley Cup. The rest of the Eastern Conference should be on notice and take advantage of this one-season reprieve where the Panthers are concerned.
Overreaction? No
Florida will be able to take advantage of a couple of benefits of missing the playoffs, which should allow it to come back stronger than ever. The first is the fact that it will get a long off-season to rest and recuperate for the first time in a few years. Playing into late June three years in a row can really wear a team down, especially for veteran players with the condensed schedule due to the 4-Nations Faceoff and Olympics over the past two seasons. That should allow the Panthers to hit the ground running at the start of next season with presumably no injuries to start 2026-27.
Additionally, because the Panthers are going to finish in the bottom 10 after the draft lottery, they should have a first-round pick to utilize. It was top-10 protected as part of the Seth Jones deal and the selection will give Florida a lot of flexibility heading into the off-season. They could choose to trade it for immediate help to their team or use it on a young talent to freshen up their roster.
If anyone thinks we’ve seen the last of the Panthers, they’re likely headed for a rude awakening in 2026-27.
Jonathan Quick is the best American goalie of all time
New York Rangers netminder Jonathan Quick put a bow on a storied career earlier this week, suiting up for his final game and sparking a couple of healthy debates online. Mostly surrounding whether he should be a Hall of Famer, which I firmly believe he should. He has a .910 career save percentage, more than 400 wins and helped the Los Angeles Kings to a pair of Stanley Cups. There was also a question of whether Quick is the best American goalie of all time. No other American goalie has as many wins as Quick, and only John Vanbiesbrouck has played more games. Plus, Quick has 20 more shutouts than the next closest U.S. netminder and also owns a Conn Smythe Trophy. So, it’s a fair question to ask and Quick certainly does have a good case to be considered the best at his craft among his American peers.
Overreaction? Yes
As good as Quick’s career has been, I’d put him second on that list next to Hellebuyck. The Winnipeg Jets goalie boasts three Vezinas and a Hart Trophy, while also besting Quick’s save percentage with a mark of .916. Not to mention that gold medal Hellebuyck led the U.S. to back in February with a performance for the ages. Hellebuyck is also only 65 wins back of Quick and still only 32, so he’ll easily pass him barring something unforeseen happening. He also has a decent chance to catch Quick in shutouts as well by the time his career concludes. I’d say Quick is undoubtedly a Hall of Famer, but Hellebuyck is likely going to go down as the best American goaltender when all is said and done.
Porter Martone is next year’s Calder frontrunner
One of the more remarkable stories in the NHL this season was the Philadelphia Flyers storming back into the playoff race when it appeared they were surely going to miss out on the post-season once again. A major catalyst for their run has been Porter Martone, who joined the Flyers after finishing up his season at Michigan State. Martone has given Philly a huge boost with 10 points in nine games down the stretch, helping the Flyers finish third in the Metro and book a date with the rival Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the playoffs. The 19-year-old will still be eligible for the Calder next season and it might be fair to say he’s the frontrunner as it stands now.
Overreaction? No
There’s obviously a lot that’s going to happen over the next year, but for now, how can you not have Martone right at the top of the list for next season’s Calder? The point production stands out, but it’s his confidence and aggressiveness with the puck that make him look savvy beyond his years. Martone fired five shots on goal in his first game and then followed that up with nine more in his second. He’s averaged nearly four shots per game in his brief career and you can see the confidence building every night, something that should only grow with a bit of playoff experience this spring. He’s off to a good start in that regard as well, notching the game-winning goal Saturday night against the Penguins.
Sure, maybe someone like Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg or Chase Reid will burst on the scene next season to claim the award, but right now Martone has as good a chance as anyone to capture the Calder in 2027.
