{"id":555996,"date":"2026-04-19T12:40:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T12:40:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/555996\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T12:40:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T12:40:14","slug":"sunday-overreactions-jets-need-to-overhaul-top-heavy-roster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/555996\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Overreactions: Jets need to overhaul top-heavy roster"},"content":{"rendered":"

Among the teams that aren\u2019t participating in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Winnipeg Jets<\/a> would have to be right near the top of the list for most disappointed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Jets captured\u00a0the\u00a0Presidents\u2019 Trophy a year ago and expectations were sky\u00a0high heading into 2025-26. And why wouldn\u2019t they have been? Connor Hellebuyck<\/a>\u00a0was coming off a Hart Trophy win,\u00a0and Winnipeg also boasted the likes of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and\u00a0Josh Morrissey\u00a0all playing at a very high level.\u00a0Fans probably felt the Jets were much closer to the Cup than they were to missing the playoffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Individually, a lot went right for the Jets this year. Scheifele\u00a0topped 100 points for the first time, Connor eclipsed 90 for the second straight season\u00a0and Hellebuyck, despite a significant injury earlier in the\u00a0campaign, ended up winning a gold medal with a signature performance at the Olympics. Even Gabriel\u00a0Vilardi\u00a0nearly hit the 70-point mark.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Collectively, though, the Jets couldn\u2019t get it together.\u00a0Despite\u00a0working their way back in the race down the stretch, they could never close the deal. Winnipeg\u00a0lost its final four games\u00a0of the season by a combined score of 24-7, punctuating a\u00a034-point drop in the standings year\u00a0over year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hellebuyck\u00a0expressed his frustration<\/a>\u00a0at how this season unfolded for the Jets\u00a0during locker cleanout on Friday and\u00a0thinks\u00a0changes are necessary.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cComplacency is not gonna get us moving forward,\u201d Hellebuyck\u00a0said.\u00a0\u201cSo, something’s got to happen.\u00a0To just put that same product on the ice. I just, I don’t think it worked for a reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Jets certainly have talent to build around, but in order to stay competitive in a tough Western Conference, Winnipeg\u00a0needs a major shakeup throughout the rest of its roster.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jets need\u00a0significant\u00a0roster change this off-season<\/p>\n

One of the things that stands out from this Jets season\u00a0is how their offence really dropped off outside the top line of Connor, Scheifele and Vilardi.\u00a0After\u00a0those three and Morrissey,\u00a0their next highest scorer, Cole Perfetti,\u00a0had just 32 points.\u00a0Everyone else had less than 30.\u00a0Last\u00a0season, Perfetti\u00a0was a 50-point scorer and the Jets had another five players who came in\u00a0between 30-40 points. Not great, but a lot better than\u00a02025-26.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The offence also dried up on the power play\u00a0this year, as Winnipeg finished with\u00a0the league\u2019s 24th-best unit. Last year, it ranked first in the NHL in that department, clicking at nearly 29 per cent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As talented as the top end of the Jets roster is, there\u2019s no way they can\u00a0be a serious contender\u00a0with this little secondary scoring.\u00a0Brad Lambert showed some flashes\u00a0down the stretch, but counting on\u00a0the inexperienced 22-year-old for heavy offensive lifting in 2026-27 would be a big ask.\u00a0They may have little choice but to explore some seismic moves this off-season to get back on track.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Jets play in arguably the toughest division in the league, and you could make a case that Colorado, Dallas and Minnesota are three of the NHL\u2019s best teams. So you really need talent up and down your lineup to succeed in the Central.\u00a0Nino Niederreiter\u00a0and Alex Iafallo will continue to make a combined $7.6 million next season and the duo is coming off a campaign where they produced a total of just 48 points together. Can they get off\u00a0of either contract and look for an upgrade? Then there was the Gustav Nyquist experiment, which was a disaster.\u00a0Nyquist\u00a0tallied just one goal\u00a0in\u00a051 games\u00a0and almost certainly won\u2019t be back.\u00a0Jonathan Toews might, but he can\u2019t be counted on to be an offensive force at this point in his career.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That means the Jets will have to comb through a thin free-agent class or make trades to upgrade the roster.\u00a0It\u2019s always challenging for Winnipeg to attract players, but\u00a0it can promise those available on July 1st\u00a0opportunities that\u00a0not everyone can. The Jets could easily have three top-six\u00a0forward\u00a0spots open next season, and if they wanted to balance out the lines, they\u00a0could potentially dangle the opportunity to play with Scheifele or Connor as an incentive to prospective free agents.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s exactly what the Pittsburgh Penguins have done over the past year. The Pens\u00a0signed Anthony Mantha and Parker Wotherspoon\u00a0on cheap deals last summer and both have thrived in elevated roles. Then they traded\u00a0for Yegor Chinakhov during the season, and he\u2019s taken off since arriving in Pittsburgh.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Jets would be wise to follow a similar strategy to try and freshen up a lineup that\u2019s\u00a0become\u00a0stale. If they return with the status quo, it\u2019s going to be challenging for Winnipeg to avoid a similar fate\u00a0to the one\u00a0it endured in 2025-26.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maple Leafs\u00a0did enough to secure bottom-five pick<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a disastrous season for the Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a>, and there\u00a0potentially\u00a0wasn\u2019t even\u00a0going to be\u00a0a silver lining\u00a0of a high draft pick\u00a0at the end of it.\u00a0The Leafs\u00a0dealt their\u00a0first-round\u00a0pick to the Boston\u00a0Bruins\u00a0at last year\u2019s trade deadline with only top-five protection. Toronto didn\u2019t expect to be this bad this season, but here we are.\u00a0The Maple Leafs managed to finish fifth from the bottom to at least give themselves a shot at keeping the pick through the lottery.\u00a0They now have a 24.5 per cent chance at staying in the top five and an 8.5 per cent shot at\u00a0picking\u00a0first\u00a0overall.\u00a0Winning just five times\u00a0in their final\u00a025 games was enough to put themselves in a position to grab a franchise-altering player.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As well-positioned as the Leafs are, the chances of falling to sixth in the lottery are still 44 per cent, which would mean handing the pick over to the Bruins.\u00a0Had it\u00a0finished one spot lower, Toronto would\u2019ve had\u00a0a 60 per cent chance at keeping its pick and if it finished third worst, it would be guaranteed\u00a0to keep it.\u00a0Falling another two spots actually wouldn\u2019t have been that difficult, as both Calgary and\u00a0the New York Rangers<\/a> finished one point behind the Leafs,\u00a0and Toronto would\u2019ve\u00a0ended up\u00a0behind each of them due\u00a0to having fewer regulation wins.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It could be an agonizing fate for Leaf fans if they lose the pick because the organization did absolutely nothing to assist in\u00a0a drop down the standings. They continued to play top players heavy minutes, started Joseph Woll whenever they could and constantly\u00a0pulled\u00a0the goalie down multiple goals with minutes left in games.\u00a0In fact, in one particular 5-4 Leafs win against the Anaheim Ducks a couple of weeks ago, William Nylander played 23:35, posted four points and had eight shots. He sparked a Leafs third-period comeback to help them pick up two points. Could five or six of those minutes have gone to a young player like Jacob Quillan instead?<\/p>\n

The word tanking has a negative connotation, as\u00a0some people might think teams are intentionally trying to lose. Instead, an organization like the Leafs should\u00a0have\u00a0been\u00a0prioritizing\u00a0player evaluation and development over picking up points in a lost season. You learn a lot about your young players and who could maybe have value next season, while also likely sacrificing\u00a0a few points in the standings.\u00a0A lack of direction could be really costly here to the Leafs, as it\u2019s not like if they drop one or two spots in the lottery, they\u2019ll still be getting an impact player.\u00a0Toronto could either get a franchise cornerstone for the next decade in June or walk away empty-handed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Panthers\u00a0will be\u00a0a Cup contender again next season<\/p>\n

Not many people had the Florida Panthers<\/a> missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs on their bingo card heading into the season.\u00a0Things\u00a0never got off on the right foot for the Panthers after captain Aleksander Barkov\u00a0tore his ACL during training camp and\u00a0everything\u00a0snowballed from there.\u00a0The injuries and\u00a0three straight deep playoff runs took their toll, and it was evident the Panthers wouldn\u2019t be able to defend their title.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This\u00a0very likely won\u2019t be the last we\u2019ve heard of the Panthers, though. Florida still has a very formidable roster, and when healthy, it should again cruise to the post-season and challenge for another Stanley Cup.\u00a0The rest of the Eastern Conference should be on notice and take advantage of\u00a0this one-season reprieve where the Panthers are concerned.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Florida will be able to take advantage of a couple of benefits of missing the playoffs, which should allow it to come back stronger than ever. The first is the fact that it will get a long off-season to rest and recuperate for the first time in a few years.\u00a0Playing into late June three years in a row can really wear a team down, especially for veteran players\u00a0with the condensed schedule due to\u00a0the\u00a04-Nations Faceoff and Olympics over the past two seasons.\u00a0That should allow the Panthers to hit the ground running\u00a0at the start of next season with presumably no injuries to start 2026-27.<\/p>\n

Additionally, because the Panthers are\u00a0going to\u00a0finish in the bottom 10 after the draft lottery, they should\u00a0have a first-round pick to utilize.\u00a0It was top-10 protected as part of the Seth Jones deal and\u00a0the selection\u00a0will give Florida a lot of flexibility heading into the off-season. They could choose to trade it\u00a0for immediate help to their\u00a0team\u00a0or\u00a0use it on a young talent to freshen up their roster.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If anyone thinks we\u2019ve seen the last of the Panthers, they\u2019re likely headed for a rude awakening in 2026-27.\u00a0<\/p>\n

New York Rangers netminder Jonathan Quick put a bow\u00a0on a storied career earlier this week, suiting up for his final game and sparking a couple of healthy debates online.\u00a0Mostly surrounding whether he should be a Hall of Famer, which I firmly believe he should.\u00a0He has a .910\u00a0career save percentage,\u00a0more than 400 wins and helped the Los Angeles Kings to a pair of Stanley Cups.\u00a0There was also a question of whether Quick is the best\u00a0American goalie of all time.\u00a0No other American goalie has as many wins as Quick, and only John\u00a0Vanbiesbrouck\u00a0has played more games.\u00a0Plus, Quick has 20 more shutouts than the next closest\u00a0U.S. netminder\u00a0and also owns a Conn Smythe Trophy.\u00a0So, it\u2019s a fair question to ask and Quick certainly does have a good case to be considered\u00a0the best at his craft among his\u00a0American peers.<\/p>\n

As good as Quick\u2019s career has been, I\u2019d put him\u00a0second on that list next to Hellebuyck.\u00a0The Winnipeg Jets\u00a0goalie boasts three Vezinas and a Hart Trophy,\u00a0while also besting Quick\u2019s save percentage with a mark of .916.\u00a0Not to mention that gold medal\u00a0Hellebuyck led the U.S. to back in February with a performance for the ages.\u00a0Hellebuyck is also only 65 wins back of Quick and still only 32, so he\u2019ll easily pass him barring something unforeseen happening.\u00a0He also\u00a0has\u00a0a decent chance to catch Quick in shutouts as well by the time\u00a0his career concludes. I\u2019d say Quick is undoubtedly a Hall of Famer, but Hellebuyck is likely going to go down as the best American goaltender when all is said and done.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the more remarkable stories in the NHL this season was the Philadelphia Flyers<\/a>\u00a0storming back into the playoff race\u00a0when it appeared they were surely going to miss out on the post-season once again. A major catalyst for their run\u00a0has been Porter Martone, who joined the Flyers\u00a0after finishing up\u00a0his season at Michigan State. Martone has given Philly a huge boost with 10 points in nine games\u00a0down the stretch, helping the Flyers finish third in the Metro and book a date with the rival Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the playoffs.\u00a0The 19-year-old will\u00a0still\u00a0be eligible\u00a0for the Calder next season and it might be fair to say he\u2019s the frontrunner as it stands now.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s obviously a lot that\u2019s going to happen over the next year, but for now, how can you not have Martone right at the top of the list for next season\u2019s Calder?\u00a0The point production stands out, but it\u2019s his confidence and aggressiveness with the puck that make him look savvy beyond his years. Martone fired five shots on goal in his first game and then followed that up with nine more in his second.\u00a0He\u2019s averaged nearly four shots per game in his brief career and you can see\u00a0the confidence building every night, something that should only grow with a bit of playoff experience this spring.\u00a0He\u2019s off to a good start in that regard as well, notching the game-winning goal Saturday night against the Penguins.<\/p>\n

Sure, maybe someone like Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg\u00a0or Chase Reid will burst on the scene next season to claim\u00a0the award, but right now\u00a0Martone\u00a0has as good a chance as anyone to capture the Calder in 2027.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Among the teams that aren\u2019t participating in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Winnipeg Jets would have to be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555997,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5121],"tags":[5,78,4,77,18,5288],"class_list":{"0":"post-555996","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-winnipeg-jets","8":"tag-hockey","9":"tag-jets","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-winnipeg","12":"tag-winnipeg-jets","13":"tag-winnipegjets"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116431422940805347","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555996\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}