With the Stanley Cup Final matchup set between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers, 30 other NHL teams are onto their offseason. The Winnipeg Jets have a critical one ahead to ensure they keep pace among the top contenders in the Western Conference.
Here are four storylines, outside of the long list of pending UFAs and RFAs, that are intriguing to watch as we move through the offseason.
Will Jonathan Toews be a Winnipeg Jet?
Pierre Lebrun from TSN reported on May 29 that Jonathan Toews is 100% committed to an NHL return for the 2025-26 regular season.
Darren Dreger followed up that report by stating that the Winnipeg Jets would be “front and centre” regarding interest in signing Toews.
The 37-year-old centre last suited up for NHL action in the 2022-23 season, where he played 53 games for the Chicago Blackhawks, posting 15 goals and 31 points.
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Pierre Lebrun reported that Toews’ agent, Pat Brisson, will begin taking calls from teams leading up to July 1.
Toews, a three-time Stanley Cup champion from Winnipeg, Manitoba, would make for a cool homecoming story. I’d expect the Jets to put in a solid offer for Toews, who may choose to spend time in his hometown near the end of his career.
However, I’d caution against falling for the name value when assessing where Toews could slot into a potential 2025-26 Jets lineup.
In a bottom-six role, Toews could make an impact and be a strong option for Scott Arniel and the Jets’ coaching staff. Eyeing Toews to be the solution at second-line center seems far-fetched, given that he has not played in three years.
Regardless of where you may think Toews would slot into the lineup, with Adam Lowry out for the next 5-6 months due to hip surgery, there’s no doubt that the Jets are looking to add to their depth down the middle, and they are going to be one of the teams interested in the Winnipeg product.
2026 free agent extensions
Jets’ General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has a long list of free agents to sign this offseason.
While those players are likely the higher initial priority, future business can be taken care of.
Kyle Connor, Adam Lowry (UFA), and Cole Perfetti (RFA) are all under contract for next season. All three of them can extend their contracts once July 1 hits this offseason.
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The Kyle Connor contract will be a pricey ticket, as he’s fresh off the best season of his NHL career.
The Jets were in a similar scenario with Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck two summers ago. Entering the final year of their contracts, it seemed inevitable that the Jets would have to either extend or trade both of those players. They signed matching seven-year, $8.5M AAV contracts on Thanksgiving.
Connor’s AAV will crush that. Not only because he has scored 40 goals and 90 points in multiple seasons, is coming off of a career-high 97-point year, and added to his defensive game, but also the salary cap environment that the NHL is headed toward.
The league salary cap is rising from $88M to $95.5M this offseason. Next offseason, it’ll rise to $104, with it rising to $113.5M the offseason after.
When Kyle Connor signed his seven-year, $7.14M AAV contract in 2019-20, that AAV accounted for 8.76% of the salary cap. When he becomes a UFA with the salary cap at $104M, that same 8.76% of the salary cap would net him $9.1M. The following year, 8.76% of the cap would be $9.9M.
All this to say, Connor’s next contract could reach $10M in AAV or beyond, and I don’t think many people would be shocked.
Then there’s Lowry, whose leadership for this group has been written about at length throughout the past two seasons. He’s making $3.25M in AAV and is due for a raise.
Perfetti as well, who is making $3.5M in AAV on a bridge deal, but is an RFA at the end of the season. Coming out of his strong playoffs, where he was the Game 7 hero against the St. Louis Blues, Perfetti likely wants to play out this next season and earn himself more money on his next deal.
Kevin Cheveldayoff will have a handful of contracts to negotiate this offseason, and while Connor and Lowry aren’t hitting the open market, the Jets will look to have that long-term security heading into next season and beyond.
Does the defence core look the same?
The Winnipeg Jets have seven defencemen under contract for next season, eight if you include RFA Dylan Samberg.
The only UFA defenceman to sign is Haydn Fleury, who expressed his interest in remaining with the Jets in his end-of-season media availability.
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If the Jets re-sign Samberg and Fleury, that brings them to nine defencemen under contract, none of whom are waivers exempt.
The most likely defenceman under contract not to be back is Ville Heinola, who appeared in 18 games for the Jets last season and was often healthy scratched for Logan Stanley on the Jets’ third pairing.
Then there is the question of Elias Salomonsson, who put together a strong season with the Manitoba Moose in the AHL, one that Kevin Cheveldayoff took note of.
“I think if he has a really good summer I think he’s someone that could force us to make some big decisions,” Cheveldayoff said of Salomonsson.
Could one of those “big decisions” involve trading away a defenceman? Could a depth defenceman in Luke Schenn, Colin Miller, or Logan Stanley be moved?
Despite the potential of a move to free up space on the blueline, the outcome that has the highest probability is that Salomonsson, who is waivers exempt, spends another season in the American Hockey League.
With that being said, the crowded blueline is something to keep an eye on throughout the offseason and heading into training camp.
Do the Jets use their 2025 first-round pick?
Much to the chagrin of Jets fans, the Jets opted to hold onto their 2025 first-round pick at the Trade Deadline.
Will Nikolaj Ehlers’ pending UFA status and potential departure, will Winnipeg hold onto that pick and use it, or move it to potentially acquire an impact forward?
Even if Nikolaj Ehlers remains in Winnipeg and signs a new contract, Scheifele, Hellebuyck, and Morrissey aren’t getting any younger.
Any player who is drafted with the 28th overall pick in this year’s draft will likely need at least four years to crack the NHL roster.
By that time, Scheifele and Hellebuyck will be 36 and 37 years old and nearing the end of their careers.
The NHL draft is June 27. Free agency begins July 1. If the Jets are getting the sense from Ehlers’ camp that he is going to test free agency, that pick becomes one of Winnipeg’s best assets to improve their roster for next season.
For a team coming off a Presidents’ Trophy-winning regular season, with their core still in their prime, a departure of Ehlers with no move to improve the middle-six would be a devastating blow to Winnipeg’s offence heading into next season, and a lot to put on Cole Perfetti’s shoulders.
All four of these storylines are intertwined into one huge offseason for this Jets franchise. Stay tuned to illegalcurve.com for all of the latest news regarding the offseason and eventually the draft and free agency.
