The 2025-26 NHL season has not been what the Winnipeg Jets anticipated following their first President's Trophy-winning campaign last year. They fully expected and planned on being in the mix for a playoff position in the Central Division, even despite the loss of longtime forward Nikolaj Ehlers to the Carolina Hurricanes via unrestricted free agency.
However, the Jets find themselves in second-to-last place in the division, only three points behind the last-place St. Louis Blues, as the NHL schedule has officially paused to accommodate the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan.
Because of their subpar position in the standings, Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff is going to be faced with multiple difficult decisions in the weeks ahead, leading up to the March 6 NHL Trade Deadline. Multiple players are set to enter free agency, including future Hall of Fame forward Jonathan Toews and struggling veteran depth forward Gustav Nyquist.
However, multiple pieces on Winnipeg's blue line are playing on expiring contracts, making them ideal candidates to land in a new location. Among them is Luke Schenn, who is playing in his first full season with the Jets after having been acquired at last season's deadline in a deal with the Nashville Predators.
Schenn's best days are behind him, and he's seen his role with the Jets reduced to just barely under 14 minutes of ice time per game. He was also made a healthy scratch on New Year's Day ahead of what would have been the 1,100th NHL game of his career, and is reportedly open to a new professional home. He's a right-handed rearguard with 1,114 games of NHL experience.
Late last month, insider Chris Johnston of TSN hinted that a trade of Schenn was potentially imminent.
“They have a lot of defensemen, and it's pretty clear that Luke Schenn is one of the pieces they're dangling; he's another player I could see dealt relatively near term,” Johnston said, via Yahoo Sports.
Where are the best potential landing spots for Schenn in the weeks leading up to the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline?
Luke Schenn lands back with the Maple Leafs?
The Maple Leafs have been anything but fully healthy this season, and one of their most significant absences has been veteran right-shot defenseman Chris Tanev, who has already missed months of play and may not suit up again in 2025-26.
Schenn's NHL career began when he was selected in the first round by the Maple Leafs in the 2008 NHL Draft, and he has already returned once to the franchise for their 2023 Stanley Cup Playoff run in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks.
During a recent airing of The Chris Johnston Show, the insider hinted that Schenn could find himself back with the Maple Leafs for the third time in his career.
“There’s already some rumblings around that they’re even looking at a third trip through with Luke Schenn right now,” he said.
“Obviously, at this stage of Luke’s career, I think that the acquisition cost would be more modest and worked really well with him and Morgan Rielly. So we’ll see if that’s something that comes to fruition, but certainly have heard some talk in that direction.”
Schenn is already a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Tampa Bay Lightning (2020, 2021), and would be one of a small group of players on the Maple Leafs who had previously raised the hallowed trophy elsewhere in their careers, including Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Nicolas Roy, Steven Lorentz, Anthony Stolarz, and head coach Craig Berube.
Luke Schenn could stay in the Western Conference
Schenn has already played for a handful of Western Conference clubs in his career, and there could potentially be a fit with another one from northern Alberta.
The Edmonton Oilers would love to go on yet another extended run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and following two straight defeats at the hands of the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final, they hope that the third time could be the charm.
David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period recently speculated that the Oilers would love to add a defenseman in the vein of Mattias Ekholm to help bolster the blue line in hopes of making a third deep postseason run a reality.
“I think the Oilers would like to add a little more scoring depth on the wingers, more than anything,” said Pagnotta. “I still believe this is a team that would like to bring in an ‘Ekholm Jr.’ type of player on the backend to help solidify that d-core.”
Having captured an NHL championship twice himself, Schenn would be an inexpensive veteran addition for an Oilers club looking to finally get over the hump and claim its first title since 1990.
