Winnipeg Jets 2025-26 Season Preview | Steve Dangle Podcast

Winnipeg Jets 2025-26 Season Preview | Steve Dangle Podcast

There was a lot of hardware in Winnipeg last year. President’s trophy, uh, MVP, Vzna Trophy, but not the one that everybody wants. Uh, it was a bit of a disappointing finish for the Winnipeg Jets in the playoffs, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. No, we’re talking about the regular season. 114 points for the Winnipeg Jets. Now, let me ask you guys this. You’re not going to believe the overunder that B MGM has them at 116. 116. Sorry, I don’t know why it says 114 when I have. Anyway, long story short, uh that’s what it says. Um that is it. It it is what it says. Adam and I are on both on NHL.com. Mine says 116, his says 114. Well, it doesn’t matter. Reality is I want to dig into that. Uh re we’re both on the same website. There’s no way. Uh is it? We’re We’re both on the same website. Oh, okay. It had me listed at April 15th instead of April 17th. Why? I don’t know. I just looked up the wild card standings and it put me in April 15th. How many other team previews have we screwed up? H probably a couple. All right. Now, uh let’s look at this though. Uh okay. 116 points. Yes. What would you estimate? What would you guess bet MGM would have them at this season? And by the way, it’s slightly lower. Yeah. 101.5. That would be a big jump or a big fall, right? That’s a 15 point difference. Jesse, what do you have? 108 and a half. They have them at 97.5. What? Wow. Which is really surprising. I’m not sure what you can attribute that to unless they were listening to Jesse Blake and saying, “Hey, Connor Hellabuk is a fraud.” You know, maybe [Laughter] I wasn’t wrong. I was just early. Yeah, that could be it. Love them apples. So, are you over or are you under at 97 and a half, Jess? No. Give me the over. Give me the over. I this year I don’t have some long impassion speech about how goalies can’t keep it together for years in a row which was factually true and where I based my my predictions on this year. No, I’m not doing that. I’m trusting that Connor Hellabuk is an outlier and not like the goalies of the past. So over. I’m going with a big fat No. Over. Yeah, over 90 for sure. I spoiler. They’re taking a step back. 97’s crazy. Yeah. Well, I mean, and there’s not really any reason they have to take a step back, but we’ll get into that. Starting with the goalending boys. I mean, obviously you’ve got the Hart Trophy and Vzna Trophy winner and Eric Comry, who’s pretty good as a backup, too. Um, I listen, this seems like a pretty good pairing. Connor Halabuk is 32 years old, though, and has played a lot of games. Regularly leads the NHL in minutes. Is he one of those guys that’s just an outlier and could just do that for his entire career and never get injured? Or do you kind of start to look at it and go, “Okay, 32 years old, doesn’t need to play that many games anymore. Does it even matter if we win the division?” Adam, you’re being tasked with finding out the last time Connor Halabuk played less than 60 games in a season. Oh boy. Steve. Um, I’m going to say uh 20 uh 2020 2021. You nailed it because there were only 56 games. Of those 56, he played 45. Wow. 45. The year before, he played 58 out of what I’m sure was about 70 because of COVID. And before that, 63 67. Oh, 1617 season. Mhm. Patrick Lion’s rookie year. This lazy bum played 56. It’s crazy. Like, it’s crazy. He’s regularly in the close to 4,000 minutes of hockey played every year. Three 37 3,800 minutes usually. Three straight seasons of 920 and above uh save percentages, which today is psychotic. No, all time it’s psychotic. Yeah, that’s that’s that was my whole thing last year about the 920. Yeah. like you’re not supposed to be able to do it for three consecutive years and he’s done it for three consecutive years and we forget like with the Vzna and Heart Trophy wins from last year that he won the VZNA the year before as well. He backto back the VZNA and it look like he’s the front runner for doing it a third time. And it gets to a point where it’s not like okay this is the rule and what it apply how it applies to goalies and then this guy is the exception to the rule. Like you outline those games played and how he’s done it consistently throughout his career. You outline the save percentage and how ridiculate it it is. Like there’s no reason to bank on like this is going to be the year he doesn’t do it because all he’s ever shown is that he can do it. The one the most difficult to replicate part uh is not the save percentage, it’s the wins. He had 47, which is a careerhigh. Um even though he’s played all these games, uh it’s it’s the second time he’s reached 40 wins. The wins are like it’s not pitchers in baseball, but goalie wins. They’re team stat. Yeah, team. Yeah, but 40 seven of them is a lot. Yeah, totally right. It is a lot. And it’s like plus minus bit of a team stat, but minus 40 is a lot. Might he hit 40 again? Maybe 47. Yeah, 47. So again, I ask you guys for a goalie. How many times in his career can the Winnipeg Jets, especially at 32 years old, can they expect him to play over 3500 minutes? and and and I’m I’m asking that honestly because this is a this is the piece of this team. That’s why we’re spending so much time on it. That’s going to be a question for the why why shouldn’t they expect it to continue? It’s 32. That’s okay. He was 31 last year. Yeah. Well, Adam, I’m think like 31 to 32 isn’t 37. Yeah. In February though, he’s going to get a month off because the Jets aren’t playing. Wait, no. He’s going to start for Team USA at the Olympics. M. So, he’s actually going to play more this year than he typically does. And does that make him even more dedicated to the game? Yes, probably. Like, does that make him want to peak at in February and then peak again in April so he’s even more committed to everything that goes on from October to February? As opposed to kind of just walking through it, which he’s never done. Yeah. I’ll use one of his peers, uh, Andre Vasileleski. Year in and year out, he’s playing like 60 65 games. And you when you’re talking about the best goalies in the league, you go to him um every year and you count on him every year until you see evidence of, you know, the armor cracking. Then he got the back surgery and he missed a lot of time and wasn’t very good. And you go, okay, Connor Halib just has not shown that, right? He has. Yeah, he’s he’s gotten the yips in the playoffs a few times. This is not a playoff conversation. This is the regular season. Uh so I’m going to give him the Vaselvki treatment of until you show me otherwise. Until you show me otherwise, you’re unbreakable. And and Steve, like the Vasileleski treatment of like, oh, when he gets the back surgery, he’s going to be awful and that sort of stuff. Vasileleski had one maybe down year, which is that year. 52 games started, 900 save percentage, and they were good. He had 30 wins and 20 losses. It’s not even bad. It’s bad by his standard, right? Year before that, it’s 34 wins, 22 losses. 60 games started 9:15. And then last year, in a year where nobody was on Tampa, he had a 921 save percentage, started 63 games. Wow. Crazy. Yeah. So, he’s he’s back. Like if if we’re if he’s that class, unless there’s a back surgery going to happen this season, we should expect Connor Halob to continue his reign. Yeah. And sorry, it’s like over we’re at like 8 minutes. Yeah, I know. I know. But that’s But here’s the other thing. So, well, we know what they’re good at, right? Yeah. The other thing we should talk about is the fact that, you know, up front, two major things to look at. Number one, Kyle Connor when he signs will be potentially, if he signs before Capri off, the highest paid winger in the league. He is already second only to Mark Shley on the Winnipeg Jets alltime scoring list. And by the way, we’re not including the 80s Jets in that. Uh he is second in even strength goals to Mark Shley and catching him quite quickly. Um and this is a guy who regularly pots 40 like he like it’s in his sleep and is probably the quietest 40 goal scorer in the league. Um, what do you think his next contract looks like? Just for fun. Give me 12. Jess, what do you think? 12. I think 12’s low. Oh, you think 12’s low? I think 12’s low. I think they get a good deal then. I’m going to go 12 as well. I think I’m going to go 11.8. I think this past summer he What about 893? Thank you, Mitch. That is uh that’ll be my number. Thank you. I think Connor is in the 13 to$14 million a year convers I I really really do. Uh the other one we got to talk about is Jonathan Ta uh goes out of his way to sign with his hometown team. Uh bonus laden deal 2 million bucks but can go up to 5.25 million 37 has missed the last couple of years although it’s looking like he’s going to be playing topline minutes again. Do you think he can do it? Well this is this is the the biggest monkey wrench with the Winnipeg Jets. They’re not adding Taves to the team. He is replacing Adam Lowry. Yeah. For several months. Yeah. Um I if if unless there’s been another injury. Yeah. Um what do they look like? Like let’s say Taves returns to the form he was at um before going away for a couple years. Yep. Uh then you have him on a team with Adam Lowry who is he’ll be returning from injury, but he’s also a very good player. Wow. Like all of a sudden that’s a pretty formidable group. Is it enough to make up for the loss of Eers? Well, that is going to have to be done by I’m looking for someone like Cole Perfetti to step up. I’m looking for Gabe Valardi to step up. Uh Nino need a rider. It wouldn’t kill him to like 37 points is fine, but I always feel like he’s capable of so much more. Nino. Yeah, El Nino. Um uh just just looking at that team. Uh they’re losing Eers on the wing. They’re adding to the middle. If you’re going to build a team, it’s probably better to do it from the middle, but I don’t think Taves is an Eer’s replacement in the slightest. Jesse, thoughts on Taes? Yeah, it’s it’s unfortunate for the Jets entering the season as good as they were last season. It’s definitely a step back in terms of the roster being constructed with Lowry and Eer’s gone. Well, Lowry injured and Eer’s gone. So, you’re asking a guy who is at his peak, the Selki winner, you know, one of the one of the best two-way centermen in the entire league to to really carry a big burden when he hasn’t played hockey in it’ll be two full years um since he’s played probably a little more than that. It’s probably like two and a half cuz he had to like skip out midway through the season in Chicago, too, right? Yeah. So, it’s it’s such an unknown like I don’t know what what he’s going to be at NHL game level, like training camp and everything. you can look good preseason you you can look good but over the course of 82 games playing second line center for a team that needs that it’s going to be it’s going to be a hard ask and I just I’m just really curious to see if he’s still got it. I have no idea. It’s not Gabriel Landisk who I keep saying, you know, whenever these guys, you know, make a comeback, can they? Can’t they? Landiskog didn’t play for several years. Yes, he was working with an NHL team’s staff the whole time. Taves hasn’t been doing that. He’s been working with very uh accomplished people and I mean he’s he’s rich, right? Like he can work with whoever he wants, but it’s just not the same. Um and just saying, “Oh yeah, he’s he’s just going to be silky guy again.” Like that’s I haven’t heard a lot of people questioning it though. I like the thing is like no one knows what to expect. I know, but there’s very little of the hey, what is this? Well, and I I that that part for me has been strange in its coverage because it seems to be more like pom poms, here he is. And that’s great, but that’s a July 1st story. That’s not a September story. And I and I’m I’m not hearing a lot of okay, where is it now? No one wants to write about um this great comeback from a Hall of Fame player is going to bomb. Like, no one wants to talk. Brave enough to write that story. No one’s Well, and also like you look like such an if you’re wrong. Yeah, because no one besides maybe Minnesota Wild fans is cheering for that failure. No, you know what I mean? Good point. Okay. I wonder if somebody like Brad Lambert uh who’s still so young but could find a way into this lineup. Yeah, that’s a good question cuz like they it’s not like I don’t see a der of young players coming to step in and fill some of these roles. They’re kind of middle-aged to youngish and they’re kind of all set. So, I wonder if a kid like that can can get it crack the lineup. seven goals in the A last year. All right. Well, let’s see where because we’re running a little late here. Where do you have the Winnipeg Jets? I’ll just start off by saying I have them second. I think that Colorado is going to be, you know, shot out of a gun uh to start this season, but I think the Winnipeg Jets are almost as good as they were last year. And if the loss of Eers and the addition of TA cost them two or three wins, well, that’s four to six points. And I still think that gets them over 110. So, I I like the Winnipeg Jets the way they are. Guys, what do you what do you think? Uh 97 points is disrespectful, but that being said, third. Third. Okay. Okay. Jesse Blake. I have them at second. Shout out Josh Morris. One of the most underrated defenseman in the entire league. Shout out Luke Shen, who’s still still kicking. Probably going to make their uh uh sixth defenseman. So, second in the division for me.

Steve Dangle, Adam Wylde and Jesse Blake preview the 2025 Winnieg Jets season. Can they possibly be better than last year? How will Jonathan Toews fit in with this roster? How big of a blow was it to lose Ehlers? Find out all that and more here!

For general inquiries email: info@sdpn.ca

Reach out to https://www.sdpn.ca/sales to connect with our sales team and discuss the opportunity to integrate your brand within our content!