Breadcrumb Trail Links
SportsHockeyNHLWinnipeg Jets Get the latest from Paul Friesen straight to your inbox Sign Up
Published Dec 02, 2025 • 4 minute read
You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.
Buffalo Sabres defenceman Bowen Byram and Winnipeg Jets right wing Gustav Nyquist collide Monday. Jeffrey T. Barnes/The Associated PressArticle content
There were questions swirling around this team going into the NHL season, as there always are.
Advertisement 2
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Exclusive columns by Ryan Stelter, Paul Friesen, Ted Wyman, Scott Billeck, Lorrie Goldstein, Warren Kinsella and others. Plus newsletters: Gimme Stelter for your beat on the city, The Exit Row for all your Jets news and On the Rocks for curling.Unlimited online access to Winnipeg Sun and 15 news sites with one account.Winnipeg Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.
SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Exclusive columns by Ryan Stelter, Paul Friesen, Ted Wyman, Scott Billeck, Lorrie Goldstein, Warren Kinsella and others. Plus newsletters: Gimme Stelter for your beat on the city, The Exit Row for all your Jets news and On the Rocks for curling.Unlimited online access to Winnipeg Sun and 15 news sites with one account.Winnipeg Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.
REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.
THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an Account
or
Article content
But I don’t know if anyone was expecting to ask one as fundamental as this: Exactly who are the Winnipeg Jets?
Article content
Article content
A lack of identity didn’t figure to be this group’s issue, not after two straight seasons of being the stingiest team in the league.
But that’s what the Jets are searching for 25 games in, as they continue to sink in the standings.
For veterans who rode this team’s wave to the Presidents’ Trophy last year, it’s a bit like being thrown into deep water without a life preserver.
“It’s been a struggle at times this year to come up with that identity,” forward Kyle Connor said after Monday’s 5-1 flop in Buffalo sent another wave crashing over them. “It’s got to be us to figure it out and turn this thing around, grab that identity and grab a hold of something that makes us tick. It seems like we’re still trying to find that.”
The Winnipeg Sun’s Daily Headline News
Thanks for signing up!
Article content
Advertisement 3
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
It’s pretty deep into the season to still be looking.
You have to go down 16 spots to find this team’s defensive ranking. They’re giving up exactly three goals per game, half a goal more than they gave up in each of the last two seasons.
So clearly they’re not rubbing shoulders with William Jennings anymore.
They’re not making up for it by scoring, either.
Scroll down the NHL rankings and you’ll find them tied for 15th in that department, at a fraction over three goals per game. That’s down about a quarter of a goal from each of the last two years.
Being in that mushy middle for those two key stats somehow fits. The 13-12 Jets aren’t air-tight and they’re not explosive. Half the teams are better at scoring, half are worse. Ditto defending.
Advertisement 4
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
“I’d love to give you all the answers,” defenceman Dylan DeMelo told reporters in Buffalo, Monday. “If I had them all, we wouldn’t be in this position that we’re in. We’re trying to figure it out. Obviously time is of the essence.”
The odds were already against this team at American Turkey Day, recent history giving them just a 25 percent chance to carve their way back into the Stanley Cup playoff picture.
Every week that goes by pecks away another percentage point or two, until eventually the stuffing is right out of the bird.
“We can’t hang our heads,” DeMelo said. “We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. No one is going to be throwing us a lifesaver here and helping us out. We’ve got to figure it out.”
I’m not sure the people who can throw out a lifeline know where they even are.
Advertisement 5
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Head coach Scott Arniel seems as flabbergasted as anyone by the change in the personality of his team.
Going into Monday’s game, he and his staff showed plenty of video on how the Sabres attack, often with their defence.
It was like nobody watched.
“And we’re getting beat up the ice, shift after shift,” Arniel lamented.
Three nights earlier, in Carolina, Arniel had torn a strip off his players for not being ready to start the game.
That message lasted one game, and then they were right back to not showing up.
We’ve heard of coaches being tuned out after a while, but this is just Arniel’s second season as the head man. Surely the man has more staying power than that.
Moving up the chain, GM Kevin Cheveldayoff’s fingerprints are on this, too.
Advertisement 6
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
In trying to build a team more sturdy for playoff hockey, he seems to have forgotten the part about getting there, first.
Over the course of a single summer, Cheveldayoff has managed to make the Jets older and slower.
It was impossible to argue the sentimental side of bringing Jonathan Toews home, but shouldn’t there have been somebody in the room suggesting a backup plan, should Toews’ comeback fall a bit short of the No. 2 centre role?
Speaking of the second line, when Nik Ehlers took his wheels to Carolina, it left a hole Cheveldayoff didn’t fill. Instead, he stepped in it.
The resulting sprain has his team falling so far back that even a wildcard playoff spot looks good right now.
All this, of course, is easy to point out with the benefit of hindsight.
Advertisement 7
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
We might be singing a different tune, too, if Connor Hellebuyck was bailing his team out instead of rehabbing from knee surgery.
But not even a three-time, Vezina Trophy winning goalie would mask everything that’s wrong.
In the past, Hellebuyck was always there when the Jets struggled to find themselves. They eventually would.
At this rate, he’ll get back and barely recognize them.
The coach sounds ready to make some changes, and the GM should be, too.
“Everything is in play here,” Arniel said of his potential lineup for Wednesday’s game in Montreal.
When you’ve lost your ID, it should be.
paul.friesen@kleinmedia.ca
X: @friesensunmedia
Article content
Share this article in your social network