The Winnipeg Jets are 15-17-3 and seventh in the Central Division. The defending Presidents’ Trophy-winning team has seemingly lost their way this season.

Six wins since November 4th is just one of many marks that have plagued the Winnipeg Jets this season.

The month of December isn’t over, but leading up to the Christmas break, the Jets have been an absolute nightmare on the ice. The Jets are 2-7-2 in December, a tale of just how poor they’ve been, both with and without Connor Hellebuyck.

In their last 20 games? It hasn’t been pretty. The Jets are 6-11-3, and have found themselves in nine one-goal games. There are many issues with the team, but the biggest is the lack of secondary scoring, a problem that can be addressed through either internal roster movement or external trade.

The Jets were linked to forward Mason Marchment, but any possibility was slashed as the Columbus Blue Jackets picked up Marchment.

Christmas cheer may be around the city of Winnipeg, but the Jets entered the holidays with a bitter taste in their mouths, and the numbers show why. Winnipeg sits six points out of a wild-card spot and 29th league-wide in points, a mark that seems closer at face value, but with Winnipeg’s play, it seems like a mountain to climb.

Having been shut out five times this season, you’d think there’d be some lineup movement, but the Jets continue to stay put with the same top line and a different look to the bottom nine night in and night out.

Winnipeg hasn’t won back-to-back games since they went on a three-game winning streak with wins over Minnesota (Oct 28), Chicago (Oct 30), and Pittsburgh (Nov 1).

When the Jets are firing on all cylinders, they have scoring threats throughout the entire lineup. The team is too top-heavy, relying on Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, and Gabriel Vilardi to do the brunt of the scoring. Morgan Barron has stepped up his play this season, but the Jets are due to crash and burn if there aren’t adjustments and tough decisions made.

Free agency is always exciting for fans league-wide, but the Jets’ 2025 free agency class has produced duds on the NHL roster. Gustav Nyquist has just seven assists this season, Tanner Pearson has six points (2G,4A), and Jonathan Toews sits with just nine points (3G, 6A).

The Jets have just four players with 20 or more points on their roster currently, and three of them are paired together on the top line. It should come as no surprise that Scheifele, Connor, Vilardi, and Josh Morrissey are trying to keep the Jets from completely bottoming out.

People might say “play the young prospects,” and while I agree, Nikita Chibrikov has just two points (1G, 1A) in 13 games, Brad Lambert has five points (2G, 3A) in 15 games, and Colby Barlow has five points (2G, 3A) in 25 games, but has recently recovered from injury.

Leading the charge for the Jets’ prospect pool? Brayden Yager. Yager has been a strong part of the Moose’s production, posting 14 points (4G, 10A) in 28 games. However, down in Manitoba, scoring has been far more spread out this season. 11 players have registered 10 or more points at this point of the season, a striking difference compared to the Jets, who have two 40-plus point scorers and not much else.

Either Winnipeg needs to waive some veteran players and make room for the top scorers down in Manitoba, or they need to make trades to get younger and faster.

Elliotte Friedman has most recently talked about Gustav Nyquist not working in Winnipeg, and that’s the truth.

If the Jets can make a move to get Nyquist a change of scenery and bring in a scoring body that hasn’t worked out without another team, that would be the best-case scenario. However, part of me does feel like the Jets are going to move Nyquist for a pick before the trade deadline and stay put with their roster.

Having the league MVP in your net and still finding ways to lose games is also a shocking turnaround from last season. Winnipeg was 24-10-1 at this point last season, and now they have 47 games left to salvage their season, or begin a retool that seems sorely needed.

In Hellebuyck’s three-week absence, Thomas Milic was recalled by the Winnipeg Jets and made his NHL debut in a 5-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. Milic would appear twice more when head coach Scott Arniel pulled Eric Comrie to begin another period, but his stint was short-lived. Domenic DiVincentiis was also recalled, but never made his NHL debut when he was with the Jets.

Eric Comrie, who’s been front and centre of a lot of Winnipeg Jets community and social media work, appeared in the majority of the games in Hellebuyck’s absence. He has a .886 save percentage (SV%) and 3.30 goals-against average (GAA) across 15 games played this season.

Hellebuyck has posted a .912 SV% and a 2.48 GAA this season, a testament to the level he elevates himself to and the confidence the team has in front of him.

Goaltending has never been the issue with the Jets, even when Comrie wasn’t performing to the levels that Hellebuyck was before Hellebuyck was injured. It’s been secondary scoring all season long, and having Nino Niederreiter, Vladislav Namestnikov, Cole Perfetti, Alex Iafallo, and Adam Lowry all be held pointless for the majority of the past six weeks signals the secondary scoring issue.

Winnipeg, if they want a sliver of hope for the remainder of the season, needs to shake up their roster, either in a retool or a couple of callups from the Moose if they aim to still make the playoffs.

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