It’s time for the Winnipeg Jets to waive the white flag now and focus on the team’s future. They’re too focused on trying to salvage whatever they’ve fallen into this season, and it could send them into a wreck long-term.

There’s no doubt that Winnipeg are fighting to stay out of the bottom of the league’s standings, and now they’re certainly trying to string together some wins to close the gap they face from the second wild card spot.

10 points is too much ground to make up; they have 29 games left to play in this season, and they have to win at minimum 75% of those games, which roughly equates to a 22-9-0 win-loss record that Winnipeg needs to gain any ground.

This is entirely possible, given that the Jets have gone on hot streaks over the years, and the Olympic break can do wonders for them. This is a team that has lost five of their last seven games, and they’re not too far removed from that demoralizing 11-game losing streak.

I already know I’m going to catch some flak for saying a 22-9-0 record can barely scrape Winnipeg into the playoffs, but the product the team has produced on the ice has certainly been questionable.

Scott Arniel said it after the Detroit loss to finish the previous home stand. They’re fighting for their lives right now, and winning one game just to lose the next leaves them in the same spot they started in.

It’s just not good enough, and the minor changes to the lineup aren’t making a difference.

Further changes don’t have to be drastic either; they just need to make sense, and that’s already a low bar.

Winnipeg’s offence has only shown up this year in games where their opponent hasn’t provided much pushback. Their latest game against Tampa Bay saw them lose 4-1 to the Lightning, who hit an entirely new gear in the third period, and Winnipeg left the building searching for answers, given they’ve had a rough 2026 leg of the 2025-26 season.

The reality is simple: Winnipeg must make a decision soon, and it could cost them their future if they don’t.

People have thrown around the term ‘old and slow’ plenty of times this season, but the issue is roster construction. Being one of the older teams in the league, combined with slow footspeed, has admittedly gotten them into this mess. However, you cannot deny that there’s a serious lack of secondary scoring, and they have too many replacement-level players shutting out frustrated youth from even hoping for an NHL recall.

There have been trade rumours throughout the entire roster that doesn’t have any trade protection, and that shouldn’t surprise you. However, a name that should surprise you is Cole Perfetti being floated in a possible trade.

What an abysmally poor move that would be by the Winnipeg Jets if they were to consider a trade for Perfetti. The only way an agreement should be made is if the Winnipeg Jets get immediately better by trading Cole Perfetti, and everyone knows that just won’t happen.

There are two current Winnipeg Jets draft picks from the last 10 years currently playing on this roster in a full-time role.

That excludes Elias Salomonsson, who’s on recall to be depth due to Winnipeg suffering multiple injuries to their blueline.

This is a great example of the absolute failure the Winnipeg Jets have created for themselves and their draft and development model; it just isn’t working anymore.

Free agency doesn’t make the grass greener either; they’re attracting veterans who are years removed from their best seasons or pure depth players who may not play beyond the third line, and that only makes the case stronger for playing the youth.

Sure, you can look at the numbers that guys like Brad Lambert, Nikita Chibrikov, Colby Barlow, Brayden Yager, and other Winnipeg Jets prospects have posted with the Manitoba Moose, but there’s no better opportunity than now to see what is available in the farm.

The Winnipeg Jets need an injection of youth and speed to complement their top guys, and honestly, these looks need to be on the top lines to really get a sense of what they’re capable of.

Jumping back up to the thought about Jets draft picks, and it frustrates me seeing the lack of draft picks on their roster, but staying patient with Perfetti is likely the right move long-term.

He showed up in the playoffs to extend the season into overtime, and then ultimately was the reason the Jets pushed their way into the second round, even when they had no business being there.

Now, saying the quiet part out loud, the Jets need to find a way to immediately improve their roster, because this season is quickly turning into a pattern, and it’s a losing pattern, something you absolutely must shed after this season.

They won the Presidents’ Trophy last season, and they found ways to show up on nights they could’ve mailed it in, but they didn’t, and it makes people wonder what happened.

First to worst isn’t supposed to happen, but when it does, it shocks a lot of people who follow any sport, and it’s shocking a lot of people who are following the NHL this season.

While the Winnipeg Jets are likely to land a top draft pick in this year’s draft, it makes many hesitate, given the frustrations around some of their prospects surfacing this season.

A top draft pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft won’t immediately solve the team’s problems, and it certainly won’t make them better.

The trade deadline is coming up, and it feels like Winnipeg is going to stand pat for another year and watch other teams net big returns for their players, while Winnipeg sits in the distance, not recouping lost assets from previous years for what they’re able to trade right now.

If Winnipeg somehow can make the playoffs, which is highly unlikely given they’re 10 points out of a wildcard spot, they’re destined to face an early exit. If they miss the playoffs, it feels like Winnipeg will land a high pick and be left to internally reflect on a miserable season.

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