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The Winnipeg Jets were the top team in the NHL in 2024-25, winning the Presidents' Trophy. They fell to the Dallas Stars in the second round of the playoffs. As the club looks to progress from their last campaign, they are working through a lot of turnover.
General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff had to make plenty of tough decisions, but there is one move he should have made but failed to do so.
The Jets had a magical run in 2024-25. At 56-22-4 they amassed 116 points, the best in the league by five points and best in the conference by six. It was the first time since they moved from Atlanta that they won their division. It was the most wins they have had since relocating as well.
The season also saw greatness from Connor Hellebuyck. He was 47-12-3 with a 2.01 goals against average and a .925 save percentage. This would not only earn him the Vezina Trophy as the top goaltender in the league but also earned the goaltender the Hart Trophy as the league MVP.
Meanwhile, many players had amazing seasons. Kyle Connor found the back of the net 41 times, which ranked him seventh in the NHL. His 97 points also ranked him seventh.
Meanwhile, Mark Scheifele lit the lamp 39 times while adding 48 helpers, which gave him 87 points, 17th in the NHL. As a group, they were tied for third in the NHL in goals per game while sitting first on the power play. The defense was also amazing, sitting as the top team in the league in goals against per game.
This team did have tight cap restraints going into the offseason. While some regression and loss is to be expected, a lack of true movement has truly hurt the franchise.
Jets lost Nikolaj Ehlers
The loss of Nikolaj Ehlers was not surprising. It was expected that he would test free agency, and he found an amazing deal with the Carolina Hurricanes. He had an amazing season with the Jets in 2024-25. Ehlers chipped in 24 goals while also adding 39 assists. This placed him third on the team with 63 points.
The former first-round pick of the Winnipeg Jets met his plateau once again in his prior run. Since becoming a full-time player in the league in 2015-16, he has topped out at 64 points but has scored 55 or more points in six of 10 seasons.
He has never scored more than 30 goals in a season but has also broken the 20-goal marker in eight of his 10 years. While the Dane has never been an elite scoring threat in the NHL, he has been a consistent top-six player, and for many times, a top-line forward in the league.
The forward is a solid playmaker who is great on the rush but does have some defensive concerns. Regardless, as a second-line forward, where he was used with the Jets, the playmaking ability outweighed any defensive deficit.
Ehlers is going to be paid $8.5 million per year for the next six seasons by the Hurricanes. For the Jets, this is a cost that was too high. While it would have been nice to keep Ehlers, the lack of keeping him is not the worst move the Jets made.
The Jets' big failure was a lack of replacement
The major issue for the Jets is not finding a suitable replacement for Ehlers. Two different players are now projected to patrol the second line, where the former Jet once stood.
The first is Jonathan Toews. While he is more of an upgrade over Valdislav Namestnikov, who is projected on the third line, he does not replace the production of Ehlers. Had this been 2012, the Canadian center would have been a perfect replacement, but that is no longer the case.
He has not played since 2022-23, when he played in 53 games for the Chicago Blackhawks. His last two seasons in the NHL were the worst two of his career, and now he is attempting to return from an injury that created a two-year hiatus. While a great signing for the Jets based on the cost and the potential, it does not fully replace Ehlers unless he can return to his prior form.
The other new member of the Jets is Gustav Nyquist. The Swede had 28 points in the 2024-25 campaign, splitting his season between the Nashville Predators and Minnesota Wild.
With the exception of 2023-24, when he compiled 75 points, he has regularly been between 40 and 50 points per year. Combined, the two players might be an admirable replacement but not an upgrade.
The issue then becomes the future. Toews and Nyquist are nothing more than a stopgap measure. Toews has missed multiple seasons and will be 38 by the end of this next foray. Nyquist is also on a one-year contract and will be 36 before the first puck drops in the first game.
Both players are past their prime, while Ehlers was square in the middle of it. The Jets had an amazing 2024-25 but could not bring Canada its first Stanley Cup 1993. If the Jets are going to be the team to do it, they need to do it this year with hopes their aging players regain some youth. If not, they will not be the team to break the drought.
