The Winnipeg Jets won the Presidents’ Trophy while setting a franchise record for most points in a season. They did not make it to the Western Conference final. Their offseason begins where those two facts intersect.

There are decisions for the team and players to make this offseason that will have far-reaching impacts. Nikolaj Ehlers’ uncertain UFA future is the most urgent, while Dylan Samberg and Gabriel Vilardi’s next contracts will help determine Winnipeg’s ability to keep the momentum going.

This year’s Jets were a special team, worth celebrating — and they have work to do to keep pushing forward. Resting on their laurels, even after the best season in franchise history, would come at next year’s peril.

Today, we break down the most important decisions of Winnipeg’s offseason. First, though, a quick look at one area to celebrate and another that needs improvement.

Biggest victory: A team culture where there are no passengers

Apologies in advance: This section takes a Toronto Maple Leafs storyline and makes it about Winnipeg.

When Leafs captain Auston Matthews criticized Toronto’s Game 7 performance, saying the team had too many passengers for a game that big, I thought about the Jets. Not only did the Jets show up for each other in their biggest games of the playoffs — Game 7 against St. Louis, Game 5 and Game 6 against Dallas — Matthews’ words made me consider what Adam Lowry might have said in the same moment.

Lowry would not have called out his teammates without calling himself out first. More likely, he would have called himself out in specific terms, while keeping criticism of anybody else’s performance to himself. We saw it when the Jets crashed and burned against Colorado in five games last year — Lowry took personal responsibility for his line giving up three goals to Nathan MacKinnon. His critique of the team’s play was couched with the pronoun “we.”

They’re different franchises with different histories and different paths to their second-round exits. It may not be fair to compare. But Lowry’s leadership style was apparent during his postgame press conference in Dallas. He was emotional, but mature. When he spoke, he put his teammates above himself.

“We’re a family,” Lowry said, fighting back tears. “You want to give (Mark Scheifele) the strength. You want to get that kill so bad. We just couldn’t do it.”

Matthews is one of the best players in the world. This is not meant to criticize him from thousands of kilometres away. But his comments are a reminder that Winnipeg’s leadership is in exactly the right place, the result of a process begun by Rick Bowness and continued by Scott Arniel.

Biggest problem: Great team defence with one glaring weakness

Rewind the calendar by a year. Focus only on the Jets’ critics, and it’s clear: There’s no way a season like this one should have been possible. No division title, no Presidents’ Trophy, no William Jennings Trophy, no finalists for the Vezina Trophy, Hart Trophy or Jack Adams Award. If you had only believed the angriest Jets critics, the team was broken and needed to be rebuilt.

There was one thing they were right about, though. Winnipeg’s special teams had glaring issues. The power play and penalty kill combined to cost a 110-point team the 2024 division title, leading to a first-round matchup with Colorado, where the 62.5 percent penalty kill helped sink the series.

This season, assistant coach Dean Chynoweth improved the penalty kill (slightly) while assistant coach Davis Payne’s power play became the team’s biggest improvement. Sometimes it’s wise to listen to squeaky wheels.

It’s time to listen to the critics about one more thing. The Jets gave up a ton of goals through traffic these playoffs (again) and, based on roster construction, it’s unclear how Winnipeg is meant to win the battle for the middle of the ice. Whether you blame Connor Hellebuyck for the goals against, the Jets defenders or both, the playbook to beat Winnipeg in the playoffs depends on beating the Jets in traffic and taking away Hellebuyck’s sightlines. Put enough goals past him, and he can get rattled.

Hellebuyck recovered from a miserable series against St. Louis to allow 13 goals in six games against Dallas, which will build confidence heading into future playoffs. Still, the Jets have long-term commitments to three very smart but undersized top-four defencemen in Josh Morrissey, Pionk and Dylan DeMelo. Bigger third-pairing defencemen like Logan Stanley, Luke Schenn and Colin Miller come with limitations. It’s hard to see an immediate path to a solution.

They’re not moving the franchise goaltender. They’re locked in on their top four defencemen, with a Samberg extension one of their top offseason priorities. Somehow, some way, the Jets are going to need to improve on this front — and probably faster than highly touted prospect Elias Salomonsson can make happen.

The Jets could use another Dylan Samberg. (Sergei Belski / Imagn Images)Biggest offseason priorities: Contracts

Winnipeg would ideally clone Samberg — perhaps making a right-handed version — but will have to settle for signing the 26-year-old defenceman as a restricted free agent. Samberg’s contract will be at or near the top of Winnipeg’s offseason priorities, and I fully expect the Jets to sign him to a long-term deal.

Vilardi’s power-play production cooled off at the end of the season and during the playoffs, but he still posted 61 points in 71 games heading into this summer’s negotiations. Vilardi, Samberg and Winnipeg’s other restricted free agents — Morgan Barron and Rasmus Kupari — all have arbitration rights, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see one or more of them file, even if they don’t make it to a hearing. It would make them ineligible for offer sheets, ensuring a Jets contract for next season, then create a bit of deadline pressure once the hearing dates are announced.

Ehlers’ future is the biggest question mark. There’s a sense he’s inclined to explore the UFA market after 10 years in Winnipeg. Could the Jets’ playoff run, his success during that run and a year’s worth of top power play time renew Ehlers’ optimism about an extension? Or did playing fewer minutes than Mason Appleton in Game 6 renew angst about ice time and usage? Ehlers played the ninth-most five-on-five minutes per game among Jets forwards in the regular season, and again in the playoffs.

Ehlers deflected questions about his future during the regular season while declaring his love for Winnipeg, his teammates and Jets fans. Now, with his intention to make it to the World Championships in time to play for Denmark on Tuesday, it seems he won’t speak at exit interviews, either.

Beyond Ehlers, Samberg and Vilardi, one expects straightforward negotiations with RFAs Barron and Kupari. Winnipeg’s other unrestricted free agents include Appleton, Brandon Tanev, Dominic Toninato, Haydn Fleury, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, Dylan Coghlan and Chris Driedger.

Winnipeg Jets 2025-26 roster
LWCRW

Kyle Connor

Mark Scheifele

Gabriel Vilardi*

Nino Niederreiter

Vladislav Namestnikov

Cole Perfetti

Morgan Barron*

Adam Lowry

Alex Iafallo

Jaret Anderson-Dolan

David Gustafsson

Rasmus Kupari*

LDRDG

Josh Morrissey

Dylan DeMelo

Connor Hellebuyck

Dylan Samberg*

Neal Pionk

Eric Comrie

Logan Stanley

Luke Schenn

Ville Heinola

Colin Miller

UFATop AHL Prospects (Projected)

Nikolaj Ehlers

Elias Salomonsson

Mason Appleton

Brad Lambert

Brandon Tanev

Brayden Yager

Dominic Toninato

Nikita Chibrikov

Axel Jonsson-Fjallby

Colby Barlow

Haydn Fleury

Dom DiVincentiis

Dylan Coghlan

Thomas Milic

Chris Driedger

Asterisks in the table denote restricted free agents
Prospect list projects NHL/AHL/ECHL eligible professionals

Ehlers’ absence leaves a gaping hole in Winnipeg’s projected lineup, with a ripple effect that puts Lowry’s shutdown line at risk. This Jets lineup would have ample cap space, regardless of how much is allocated to Vilardi and Samberg, and could probably afford Ehlers’ next deal if they believe there’s a fit. One also expects Winnipeg to be at the front of the line if the 37-year-old Jonathan Toews’ comeback goes well, but we’ll save UFA discussion for another piece.

(Photo of Adam Lowry celebrating the series-winning goal against St. Louis: Jonathan Kozub / NHLI via Getty Images)